May 31 (91 miles/week)

AM: 12 miles easy/moderate

I still felt tired from all of the mud all week, so I stuck to Beach Drive, looping south on Ross and coming back north through Meadowbrook. The highlight of the run was running past the stables and seeing all of the equestrian people shoot a guy driving an ice cream truck dirty looks as he bellowed the Harry Bellafonte classic "Day-O" out of his loudspeaker.

The run capped off a solid week with my highest mileage in almost two months. I feel like I'm moving in the right direction running-wise and am cautiously optimistic about summer racing.

After the run, I met Billy for a round of 18 holes at Langston Golf Course in SE Washington next to the Anacostia with steady views of RFK. My play was horribly inconsistent and Askey, who's a decent golfer (or maybe I just stink?), whooped me pretty well. By drives were all over the place, hurting my game considerably. That being said, a bad day of golf beats the hell out of a good day doing a lot of other things, especially with pleasantly warm weather and a course devoid of crowds like we had today. 

May 30

AM: 17 miles moderate

Solid effort today. I ran from the team run at the store in Georgetown. We started pretty easily going down the canal before crossing Chain Bridge into Virginia. We climbed a steep hill up to Glebe Road, where the pace picked up gradually into the Custis Trail, which we took to the key bridge. I'm not sure how fast we were going before the bridge, but a 12:15 2-mile split on the trail suggests an honest clip in there at some point.

We stopped back into the store for a quick sip of water and to drop off a few people. Taking off down to Water Street, the run continued past the Kennedy Center, around the Lincoln World War II memorials, where we got to zig-zag between throngs of tourists. Once we got out of people traffic and onto the Memorial Bridge, I picked up the pace, which I often like to do at the end of long runs, for the last 15 minutes or so. I finished comfortably hard up the ramp and hill to the Key Bridge with Klim, who'd caught back up to me. We jogged a couple of blocks out and back on M Street for a light cooldown and hit 1:50 even.

Despite fairly warm temperatures by the end of the run (low 80s), I wasn't too phased by the heat, but the summer's still young.

May 29

AM: 10 miles easy

We had yet more rain last night, though sleeping through a thunderstorm is usually nice if it's nothing so crazy it keeps jolting you awake. Growing tired of climbing through downed trees in the park, I just ran an out and back on the Capital Crescent. The air was thicker than mud this morning: I wrung my shirt and shorts out afterward in the shower, and Valerie looked at me like I'd just jumped in Rock Creek. The outdoor thermostat was set to "rainforest." My legs also felt completely hammered, which is a sign of my first big week back into hard training.

May 28

AM: 10 x 2:00 on/2:00 off, 11 miles

PM: 5+ miles easy

In the morning, I ran a moderate workout over the back stables/Levy loop, feeling OK and tiptoeing around some muddy patches. 

After work, I ran an easy shake-out run, mostly with Klim, in the park and through Meadowbrook. I also wore sweats for the first time. Given my historical struggles with the heat in July races, I'm experimenting with wearing sweats on my shake-out runs to acclimate to the heat. This strategy has definitely worked for some before me:

Kara Goucher, Galen Rupp and Adam Goucher prepare to run in "Sauna Suits" specially designed to make them sweat -- in order to simulate humid conditions that may exist at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan.

May 27

AM: 10 miles easy

PM: 5 miles easy

The park was still a mess this morning, so I ran sort of an improvised loop. After work, I ran an easy shake-out on the Capital Crescent and Connecticut Ave.

And now for a weird dream story from last night:

I dreamt last night that I won the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics in the 110m high hurdles. Since most of you who read this blog know me, then you also know that the idea of this is ridiculous: if you thought my speed was bad, you should see my "ups." I won the silver medal after the first, third, and fourth-place finishers were DQ'ed (for reasons unknown) after I finished fifth initially. The rest of this dream was pretty hazy, though I do know that in my qualifying round, I beat future #1 NBA draft pick Blake Griffin, who was the pre-race favorite. I remember going to work, telling people what I'd done in China, and getting a somewhat disappointingly subdued response..."Hey, that's cool." I also remember that I kept waking up, thinking it was a dream, and being pumped that I'd still won an Olympic medal and that I could one day show said medal to my children.

London 2012? I like my odds already.

May 26

PM: 14 miles easy, gym

After driving back from the beach, Murphy realized he'd misplaced his car keys. So rather than make multiple trips back and forth between our respective living quarters, we just ran to his place, picked up his spare set, and ran back to Silver Spring. While we originally thought this would be in the 12-ish range, it was definitely more in the neighborhood of 14-ish. With fairly cool, overcast weather, coupled with a rare Tuesday-workday-afternoon run, I was happy to go a little longer than planned.

Later that afternoon, Valerie and I stayed on the wagon and went to the gym. 

May 25

AM: 7 miles easy

An easy out-and-back along Highway 1 from Bethany Beach solo. Ugly beach weather, unfortunately, with rain all afternoon.

May 24 (70 miles/week)

AM: 25:00 tempo, 10 miles

I ran the first 25 minutes of the run with Murphy and James from the beach house, looping through town and through some of the back neighborhoods. After they split off and went home, I felt springy and hammered the pace for the next 25 minutes or so, stopping briefly once for traffic about 10 minutes in. I cooled down on the beach afterward.

May 23

AM: 9 miles

Ran an easy 9 with Murphy along Highway 1 in Bethany and looping downtown.

The first twenty minutes of this run were absolutely miserable: my brain felt like it was pulsating against the inside of my skull from what was my first unpleasant hangover. Some unsolicited advice: don't drink vodka that tastes like sweet tea. Ever.

We ran through disgustingly thick, warm air on the side of the highway; and I had a Brittany Spears song stuck in my head from the night before that was there to stay. Rather than going with my first instinct (rolling into the roadside retention pond and curling into fetal position), I soldiered on with Murphy and felt pretty solid again by the time we were done. 

May 22

AM: 16 miles easy/moderate

Long run in the morning with Murphy before driving to the beach...extended Zoo loop, and humid.

May 21

AM: 10+ miles easy/moderate

PM: gym

Still generally feeling good. Taking a few weeks to regroup and recover is beginning to show. I've been feeling great on runs basically every day. I want to say that my legs seem to have a greater "sense of awareness." I'm not sure that makes any sense whatsoever, but that's the best description I can come up with right now. The amazingly beautiful running weather we've had over the last few days has helped, no doubt.

Tomorrow, Valerie, PMurphy, John, and a host of my college friends are driving to Bethany Beach, DE for five days of much needed R&R. Good times ahead.

May 20

AM: 12 miles moderate

Perfect running weather this morning....crisp, no wind, no humidity, and in the 50s. I had one of those runs set on cruise control, just floating steadily along at a decent clip.

May 19

AM: 55:00 ERG, hard

When I got up this morning, it was onyl 40 degrees outside, and I for some reason really wasn't feeling the planned 13-miler today. So I'm putting that off until tomorrow.

Fortunately, I'd built in a day off this week, after overshooting my mileage last week, so I went ahead and just cross trained today. This is probably going to go a long way mentally because June and July is just going to have lots and lots of running. Mileage and aerobic fitness are going to be priority #1 for that two-month block.

That being said, when I do get on the Concept 2, I try to really crank it, making for what is usually a pretty brutal workout as far as cross training goes. Rowing is one of my favorite methods of cross training because it always shoots my heart rate into orbit.

Today was no exception. My back and butt are going to be unbelievably sore tomorrow.

May 18

AM: 8+ miles moderate

PM: 5 miles easy

Only double this week, just easing back into things. Rock Creek Park in the morning, and an easy shake out on Connecticut Ave.

May 17 (80 miles/week)

AM: 10 miles easy

PM: gym

Ran an easy 10 in a park in Columbia near Samy's place, mostly on trails. After a post-wedding gathering to send Nick and Aisling off, I made it to the gym with Valerie.

The bride and groom are biking for 5 weeks in the Pacific Northwest for their honeymoon...I'm pretty jealous. 

This capped off a decent week all in singles. My plan is to add one double per week over the next few weeks to keep plugging away at my summer base-building.

May 16

AM: 16 miles easy/moderate

Ran from the Georgetown store with the GRC crew with an extended Ernst Loop, finishing through Rock Creek Park. Klim and I picked up the pace slightly finishing around the Lincoln Memorial and the Key Bridge. This was my first real long run in a few weeks, and it felt good to get it in before Nick and Ash's wedding, which was just awesome: definitely one of the better weddings I've ever been to. 

May 15

PM: 9 miles easy

I worked from home today and knocked this out during lunch just before heading to Annapolis for my college friends, Nick and Aisling's, wedding rehearsal. This will be my first college wedding and my first all-runner wedding (Valerie and I both met them at Maryland's running club, TerpRunners).

May 14

AM: 60:00 progression, 11 miles

I gradually picked up the pace and intensity over the hills in Rock Creek Park. The last 20 minutes were a solidly hard effort. The only mile split I actually took was my last one on the Meadowbrook path (5:10). I generally felt pretty strong.

May 13

AM: 10+ miles easy

Just an easy run through Rock Creek Park in the morning. Nothing too crazy.

May 12

AM:gym

PM: 11 miles easy/moderate

I got to the gyn in the morning before work. I hope this means I am officially on the wagon with that. After work, I met Patrick for an out-and-back on the Capital Crescent from my place. My legs didn't feel bad, per se, just a little weird after a fair amount of time off this weekend.

May 11

AM: 13 miles moderate/hard hills

After three days of no running, I was back with a vengeance this morning. I took a long-ish run (not quite a long run) through Rock Creek Park, extending the Ross Drive loop to include the hill at Tilden and the longer hill leading up to St. Johns. I kept a pretty moderate "cruising" effort throughout the run while attacking hard at every hill . Thus, the entire run was sort of like running hill repeats but of varying lengths; this is going to be a workout I hope to incorporate regularly into the next few months of base training. Good effort overall.

I also ran with an iPod this morning, which I only do for easy runs or more unstructured workouts like this. This has its pros and cons. The good: getting the Foo Fighters while sprinting up Tilden. The bad: getting Tuesday's Gone and Landslide while running up the long, steep trail next to Ross Drive, which made me feel more like I was in the "slow walking away scene" following elimination from a realty TV show, not hammering up the most difficult hill of the workout. I need to do a better job of filtering my playlists.

The plan for the rest of this week is to get in a good long run of 15-16 this weekend, a longer tempo or progression run later in the week, and keep everything in singles through Memorial Day. I may include a cross-training day in there for good measure.

May 10 (40 miles/week)

AM/PM: ...a whole lotta nothin'

No running or any real physical activity of any kind today. The gym was closed by the time we got back from Norfolk. Because of brutal traffic, it took us 6+ hours to get home, which didn't include the hour or so we spent at Wegmans in Woodbridge. Thanks to MLB At-Bat, possibly the best iPhone application I've found and the best $10 I've ever spent, I got to listen to the Braves game while stuck in traffic in rural VA. This makes any boring road trip much more bearable.

May 9

AM: gym

I just got a lift in early in the morning before Valerie and I drove to Norfolk for her sister Brittany's graduation from ODU. There will be no running this weekend due to a mandatory, self-imposed three days off.

May 8

PM: 45:00 ergometer

I cross-trained this evening after sleeping in this morning. Sleeping was beautiful.

I can tell I hadn't rowed in a while. 45 minutes basically destroyed me.

May 7 - Maryland Alumni Mile

AM: 3 miles easy

PM: Mile track race, 4:36.7 (PR); 7 miles

This race ended up being a lot more fun than I'd expected. I thought that it could very well be me running this thing alone, but instead I was pleasantly surprised to find a cast of characters ready to run, including several old teammates. All I wanted today was to break my soft 4:42 mile PR today. When I say "soft," I mean relative to times that I've run in other distances. I've even tried to do this before with sometimes frustrating outcomes.

Actually, coming back to College Park, I was reminded that in college, I wasn't even allowed to race the mile...ever. It's not exactly my strongest event. And to be fair, I felt like I could have run 2 miles at the pace I ran tonight, but running faster would be challenging (though I think I have a sub-4:30 in there eventually).

Unfortunately, because Valerie and I got caught in traffic driving over, I got to the start of the race with about 20 minutes to spare, giving me enough time for less than 10 minutes to warm up. It wasn't ideal, but this was a pretty low-key "race," if you can even call it that. Because the UMD track doesn't have a mile starting line, meet officials measured the extra eight meters, lining us up across strips of tape and paper cups. 

Though old teammate/roommate Josh Davis beat me for the win, today my main concern was getting some low-hanging PR fruit, running close to even splits (68-69). I was happy to do that much and end the spring racing season on a high note, later watching Murphy race the 1500 and catching up with a few people. Plus, the alumni race was sort of disorganized and fun, which in a weird way was sort of of a welcome respite from recent road racing.

My plan now is to take a few days off to refresh myself (yes...you read that correctly) before picking things up again next week and using the next two-plus months before moving to Durham as a true base period where the #1 emphasis is going to be mileage. I want to build my mileage up to the level that I want to peak with this fall but without the pressure of racing and strict workouts at the same time. Basically, I want to see how my body responds to the mileage first before I dive into increasing both volume and intensity in the fall.

I won't race again until mid-June, and I could even be talked into racing another mile again at some point this summer.

May 6

AM: 8 miles easy, 5 x:10 hill sprints

Just one easy run today through muddy Rock Creek Park. In a bit of an experiment, since tomorrow is sort of a low-key, season-ending race, I did hill sprints instead of the traditional pre-race day strides today because I like the pop they give my legs afterward.

May 5

AM: 6 x .25-mile @ mile pace w/ 1:30 recovery jog, 7 miles

PM: 5 miles slow and easy

I ran a brief workout on the Meadowbrook bike path, just to get a feel for mile pace and open up my stride. I'm hoping like hell that I can just break 4:40 in the mile on Thursday night. Given my times in distances from 2 miles through the marathon, it's sort of ridiculous that I've never seen the sunny side of 4:40 on the track. As long as I try to run even splits and don't do anything stupid, I'm pretty confident I'll pull it off.

Splits: :66, :70, :69, :68, :68, :68

After work, I jogged an easy five in the rain. 

May 4

AM: 10 miles easy

PM: gym

A muddy and rainy run in Rock Creek Park in the morning. After work, I got back on the wagon with the gym, which I sorely need to do now that I'm not racing as much...the emphasis tomorrow will be on "sorely."

May 3 (87 miles/week)

PM: 11 miles easy/moderate

After catching an early flight back to DC, I ran a rainy out-and-back on the Capital Crescent. With about 4 miles to go, I dropped down to what I'd guess was low-6:00 pace, feeling good. I got in a good stretch afterward also.

This was generally a good week of training after a few crappy ones, so I'm feeling better about the summer ahead and perhaps, maybe a mile PR on Thursday night to end the spring on a high note.

May 2

AM: 5 miles easy, 3k hard (5k pace) plus 6 x 1' on/1' off; 12 miles

I caught a ride to Westminster to run a quick track workout, but there was either a track meet or a soccer game underway. Improvising, I ran a couple of loops at Westminster, jogged over to Memorial Park, and ran a hard lap (2.95k), shooting for 5k pace. Given that I was only in trainers and just kind of went for it, I was happy to hit 9:04 for the loop (4:56 pace). I ran another loop of one-minute pickups before I ran into my old high school assistant XC coach, Coach Justice. I jogged an easy lap with him and caught up a little bit on all things Westminster, and then I jogged back to my mom's house to finish up. All things considered, this was a good tune-up workout.

May 1

PM: 12 miles easy

I went back to Atlanta for my brother and my mom's birthdays this weekend. After working in the morning, I ran a longer loop through the Buckhead neighborhoods that I hadn't done in a couple of years. I admittedly got a little lost at one point.