January 31 (85 miles/week)

AM: 18 miles easy

I stuck mostly to the streets today. As I quickly figured out, we don't treat or plow many of the roads in North Carolina following a snowstorm, so the run today was a little slow through ice, slush, snow, and the occasional stretch of asphalt. I got in 2:15 but am only logging it as 18.

I met Liam and Joey about a half-hour into the run, and we took to the streets of downtown Durham and both East and West Campus. Traffic was light so we were able to run in the middle of the road at times.

I'm going to shoot for triple digits this week after a recovery week this week. It looks like a fair share of it will be on a treadmill since a lot of the untreated snowmelt is going to refreeze on us, though I'm driving to DC on Thursday afternoon for most of the weekend. Quality days on Wednesday and Saturday would be sweet.

January 30

AM: 30:00 tempo, treadmill, 12 miles

Durham got 7 inches of snow last night. While beautiful to look at, the snow means nothing around here is plowed or otherwise treated, the thought of getting in any sort of quality workout outdoors went out the window. We even got a decent covering of snow on my enclosed deck as the photo above shows.

I warmed up outside and then jumped on the treadmill for 30 minutes at close to the equivalent half-marathon goal pace (11 mph at 2% grade, or ~5:20, with the last few minutes at 3%). I had to increase the incline because the treadmill at my apartment complex maxes out at 5:30 pace. I felt strong and was clipping the front of the belt the entire time, which suggests I had plenty left in the tank.

January 29

PM: 7 miles easy

I took just a short run while at school today after sleeping in because of the sickness scare last night. I ended up feeling pretty much fine on my run. No biggie on losing the mileage because I'm overdue for a recovery week. It's also generally a good sign that my fitness is progressing when 85 miles/week feels like I'm slackin'.

January 28

AM: 11 miles easy

I woke up this morning totally congested. The run on the ATT with Liam seemed to make me feel better, but by the time I got home, I had chills all over and was running a fever. I immediately tried to nuke the problem with some tea and ibuprofen, and my fever had eventually broken by the end of the evening. This was a little worrisome because the last thing I need is to get sick...again.

January 27

AM: 4 miles easy, treadmill

PM: 12 x 2:00 on/1:00 off, 10 miles

I peeled myself out of bed in the morning to get in a shake-out run before my 8:00 class, though I could actually see the sun walking back from the gym.

After classes, I went to the track for something a little quicker (400s or 600s), but the Duke women were still working out. Instead, I jogged over to the WaDuke trail and actually ended up putting together a solid workout, only suffering a slight :15 positive split between the 2.91-mile loops. Again, the WaDuke trail is rolling with a few short, steep hills, making it perfect for a fartlek, and I only averaged ~10 sec/mile slower than I would have run for this workout on the track (for the entire workout, including the recovery jogs).

This is the best quality day I've had in weeks. Sometimes it's good to get off the track for a little while.

January 26

AM: 10 miles easy

I was up until 2:00 in the morning working on an assignment, but I still felt spry enough before classes to head out for a morning run, shuffling along the WaDuke trail.

January 25

AM: 9 miles moderate, treadmill

PM: 4 miles easy

Until early March when one of my classes ends, I'm going to have early 5AM wake-up calls to get in runs before school. I'm a morning person and am most productive when I knock out my main run of the day early. It's going to take some adjusting...and possibly even more coffee when it comes to the afternoon (I'm 0-2 for staying awake in my urban planning class). It's also pitch-black this time of year with no lighted roads in sight that I've found yet. This means I'm also on the treadmill. It's kind of peaceful that early in the morning.

The weather was nice enough that I went out for a second run around the neighborhood, even though I'm seriously contemplating a recovery week this week.

January 24 (97 miles/week)

AM: 20 miles easy

I started this run with Liam at the golf course parking lot before heading into Duke Forest for a solid 1:20. We then parted ways (he's coming back from injury) and I made the executive decision to run 20 rather than my planned 15-17. I was feeling good enough, and after a relatively crummy week of running, I needed something positive. Since this was in Duke Forest and on the WaDuke trail, it wasn't the fastest run in the world but had its share of hills. It was also almost entirely on soft surfaces, which was a nice bonus. I finished in 2:18 with plenty left in the tank. I could still feel my chest soreness, though it wasn't as bad as yesterday when I sneezed and damn-near knocked myself over from the acute pain.

This is my longest run and highest mileage week since the City of Oaks Marathon in November. I also decided to take an ice bath afterward since I've been licking my wounds recently. There's a quote in one of my all-time favorite films, The Endless Summer where the narrator quips that when the water and air are both 80 degrees, surfers can't tell if they're underwater or above the surface because everything is just so gosh-darn pleasant.

This same principle does not apply whatsoever when the air is 50 degrees and the water is 50 degrees as the photo above illustrates. Despite wool socks, a hat, and cup of coffee, I still fought back hyperventilation in the first minute or so, but my legs (especially my hamstrings) desperately needed it.

January 23

PM: split miles (1200/400) w/ 400 jog recovery, 11 miles

To put it simple, I felt awful today...really awful. 5:00 pace, which should feel like clockwork, felt rather difficult. The good news is that the pain in my knee is gone and that my hamstrings, which had plagued me all week, were only mildly bothersome.

The bad news? I've developed some sort of weird chest pain. I honestly don't know what's wrong: when I breathe in deeply, I get a pain in my left chest, around my pectoral. Assuming it was just heartburn or something odd when it appeared yesterday, I could still feel it through the entire workout this afternoon. It hurts even worse when I put weight on it or press on it at all. If this crap continues through Monday, I'm going to the doctor. I've never felt anything like this before, and it's a little scary to be honest.

My body's decided to revolt against me this week. When it rains, it pours. I'm shelving any and all plans to race until I start feeling back up to snuff. There is an indoor 3k in mid-February I might race to try finally to get under 9:00, but I'm also perfectly content waiting until Shamrock in March if it means I'll actually be prepared to race at that point. I'm not sure what happened last weekend, but that 3k really seemed to screw me up something awful. This week has seen one weird thing after another.

January 22

AM: 10 miles easy

I ran with Liam this morning, and felt fine, but when I tried to go out again in the late afternoon, I felt a stabbing sensation in my knee. Playing it conservative, I stopped and walked home after a half mile. Bummer.

January 21

AM: 11 miles progression run

PM: 6 miles easy, treadmill

I was somehow *still* sore from the weekend today. This is unbelievable. I wanted to do a track workout, but I instead flipped it with my planned Saturday progression run. I jogged the last five minutes or so as a cooldown and got in plenty of hills along the way.

After classes and school, I didn't feel like running in the dark and rain, so I wimped out and looked to the treadmill instead.

January 20

AM: 5 miles easy, treadmill

PM: 5 miles easy

Just a very light recovery day. I want a productive workout tomorrow so this seemed like a good idea. I woke up much earlier than I've been used to (5:00) to get in the run before a long day of classes, meetings, and career stuff. I need to get back onto my school sleep schedule.

I got to run with Liam in the evening for the first time since before Christmas, and we caught up on what's been happening in the last month.

January 19

AM: 12 miles easy

PM: 5 miles easy

I fought some major league soreness on both runs today, in Duke Forest in the morning and the WaDuke trail after classes. I had a painful albeit productive date with the foam roller in the evening.

I have a long day of class and meetings tomorrow, so I'm planning to postpone the usual Wednesday workout to Thursday. An extra day of recovery would also be nice. This weekend left me with all sorts of aches and pains, which have a habit of snowballing.

The plan remains the same to get the mileage a little higher this week. Triple digits would be awesome if I can make that happen.

January 18

AM: 12+ miles easy

PM: 23 miles easy bike

Valerie and I drove to the Line to meet the GRC for a classic group run through Rock Creek Park's sloppy trails. This weekend reminded me that GRC group runs are probably one of the things I miss the most about living in DC. The team is getting both faster and larger in number; it's exciting to be a part of that.

I still felt a little sore from Saturday and Sunday, but more than anything my left foot still looks and feels like hamburger. That's unfortunate. I bought some moleskin on the drive back to Durham, which has helped this issue in the past.

After a quick lunch, Valerie and I went into the RCP woods to pay our last respects to Bandit before taking advantage of the weather and getting in a ride to cap off a solid weekend. Also, I finally have the race video from Saturday uploaded:

January 17 (88 miles/week)

AM: 17 miles moderate

Though I thought there was a decent chance I'd never run out there again, I found myself out at the GRC's famed Duel Ferries run on a cold and rainy Sunday.

We had a large group of fit dudes braving the elements, moving at a quick clip by the time we passed the transmission lines in "Kansas." Several inappropriate jokes were made about the weather being cold enough to render vital appendages useless. I showed up 30 minutes late after getting lost. It's like I'd never left DC.

Because VH and I showed up late, I hopped out of the car and booked it counterclockwise on the 10-mile loop to catch the GRC crew running in the opposite direction. I'd guess I was moving at a decent clip, maybe 6:00 or better, and caught up to them in just over 21 minutes. When we got back to the cars, instead of running a second loop, we ran an out-and-back on the River Road portion because the canal was total slop. I'm guessing I averaged 6:30 pace for the entire run, but that might be conservative because we were humming along lightly despite the weather. Other than the cold rain, the only bummer about today was the blister from yesterday's race. I didn't feel many lingering effects from the race other than that.

I finished my portion of the run with Karl and Chris Sloan because people were running various distances. The three of us picked up the pace for maybe 20 minutes toward the end, but it seemed more like we just wanted to get the run over and done with.

I was drenched and cold afterward, and after a 30-minute trip to Potomac Village for post-run refueling, my legs and hamstrings locked up to the point where I could barely walk getting out of the car. A warm shower afterward was much appreciated.

January 16 - UMD Indoor Invitational

AM: 2 miles easy shakeout

PM: 3,000m indoor race, 9:04.00, 16th place (3rd in heat), 8+ miles

I made the relatively last-minute decision to jump in an indoor meet at my alma mater after some coaxing from GRC teammates, as I was in the DC area this weekend visiting anyway. The GRC had a solid showing as a whole, with Klim notching a PR.

I'd gone almost four years since I'd run an indoor race, stepping on an indoor track just once before, and that was two years ago. The tight turns generally are kind to me, and today was no exception. I had a strong opening, took the lead too soon, and faded in the last 1,000m, as Valerie's video reveals (note: video to come later).

I should have stayed more patient than I did and hung back, but I also wanted to go through the mile in 4:45 to give myself a chance to break 9:00, and the pace was slowing already at 800m. I feel like if I'd not taken the lead so soon I'd posted a better time and had a stronger second half. In college, my coach used to say, "Don't take the lead until you know you can win." Four years later and I'm still figuring this out. I was too impatient, but it's good to learn these lessons in early season rust-busters rather than races in March, April, or May.

Another positive takeaway is that it felt awesome to get out there and race again. It's also good for me to work on my weaknesses, one of the most glaring being any speed under 4:50/mile pace. It's an ongoing but welcomed challenge.

It was somewhat of an uninspired performance: not great but not terrible. I faded, but I didn't crumble, either. It wasn't a PR but faster than any 3k I pieced together in college. My goal was to dip under 9:00, but I was just short of that. I think I'm OK with this and don't think it's a real indication of my true fitness, but the race did show that I'm lacking leg speed (...what else is new?). I'm also lacking "speed-strength," which explains the suffering in the last third of the race. Needless to say I know what I need to work on in the weeks to come.

Full disclosure: of all distance running disciplines, indoor track is hands-down my least favorite. I didn't miss it that much. I don't care for the tight turns, the indoor air is like breathing evaporated sandpaper, and every race less than 5,000m, which puts me at a distinct disadvantage as a runner. Those are all acceptable cons, but a major reason I don't care for indoor track is that it always tears up my feet, or at least the track at the PG Center does (it gave me similar scars in college). This is something I'm really going to need to fix before racing indoors again. See the colorful photo evidence:

January 15

AM: 7 miles easy, strides

Easy run before classes and driving to Alexandria in the late afternoon. I found a flat place to do strides next door to my apartment. I need to get back on the legspeed bandwagon with shorter races coming up in the next few months.

January 14

AM: 10 miles easy

PM: 5 miles easy

I was a little tuckered out on both runs, both on the WaDuke trail. I got to run in shorts in the afternoon for what felt like the first time in weeks with temperatures in the 50s.

The good news is I seem to be back on the wagon with core work. The door-mounted pull-up bar proved to be a great investment.

January 13

AM: 13 miles easy

I got in just a steady run in Duke Forest before my first day of class for the semester. I again felt like I'm on the upswing. I kept it at one run today because I want a low-ish mileage week to avoid embarrassing myself this weekend on the track.

I'll probably try to keep my mid-week 13-14 mile runs in on days following workouts, which I think will ultimately be helpful for 10-mile and half marathon racing this spring. I've stuck to mid-week long runs only twice: in my build-ups before Boston 2008 and City of Oaks 2009. Those, perhaps not coincidentally, are my two most successful training periods to date.

January 12

AM: 1600 (400 jog recovery), 1200 (400), 2 x 800 (400), 5 x 400 (200), 12 miles

Because I'm racing a 3k at Maryland this weekend, I wanted to get on the track one more time for a 3k/5k-type workout. I have no idea what to expect out of this race. I do know that my 3k PR is soft at 9:01, coming from a split in a 5k time trial last spring. I think I can dip under that if I have quasi-fresh legs.

Solo track workouts suck. There's no getting around that. I felt just OK and was slightly off the times I was shooting for: 72s on the 1600 and 1200, 70s on the 800s, and 70 or better on the 400s. I battled a surprisingly stiff wind on the homestretch. I usually like to hit workouts on Wednesdays to give myself a couple of days of recovery on my Sunday long runs, where I often push a little bit. I'm assuming this is why I felt a little stale, but I wanted to give myself more recovery for Saturday's race. I have no idea what kind of 3k shape I'm in, and I literally can count the number of indoor track races I've done on one hand (Georgia has no high school indoor track, and I only raced it once in college). We'll see how it goes...

Splits: 4:51, 3:39, 2:21, 2:21, :70, :69, :69, :68, :69

January 11

AM: 10 miles easy/moderate

PM: 4 miles

I got in a run around West Campus and Duke gardens in the morning, followed by a dark and uneventful run in the evening. I'm still feeling considerably better. My legs have more pop than they have in weeks.

I have been out of school for a month now and am tired of being a waste of life. Fortunately school starts Wednesday.

The one high note on today is that I made a beef stroganoff that was good enough to slap yo' mama.

Bandit

The one very low note is that we lost a good friend last night: Bandit. He was a hearty soul and probably a little misunderstood. To the end the little guy had personality and a lot to say at times. He may have been afraid of his own shadow, but he was a great bird.

We'll miss him!

January 10 (94 miles/week)

AM: 18 miles moderate

I felt fairly strong for my first run back in Durham following a four-week hiatus. I was able to push in the middle and toward the end. Temperatures in the mid-30s seemed mild compared to what we'd had in Atlanta.

This is the first week I've felt happy with in a little while. Momentum's going forward again.

January 9

AM: 11 miles easy/moderate

Easy on the icy/frozen spots and moderate on the clear grass and asphalt. I got in one more cold morning run at Bobby Jones and Memorial Park before saying my farewells to my family and hitting the road. VH and I made the trip back to Durham in the afternoon and evening.

January 8

AM: 10+ miles easy

I ran out in the snow in Atlanta through icy streets and a snow-covered Bobby Jones. Local news video shows how much the city struggles in the snow (see here and here). We got maybe a half inch of powder. All of the schools are closed in the city.

I got in 80 minutes with a couple of stops for #1, so I just called it 10 miles with the snow and ice.

January 7

AM: 10 miles w/ fartlek

PM: 5 miles easy

I started the morning by warming up to Bobby Jones, which is still closed on account of the rare Atlanta freezing weather. I tried a "tee-to-green" workout, using each of the 18 holes as an interval. I ran down the fairways and stopped at the greens, using the distance between holes as what turned out to be rather brief recovery. I'd read about this old-school workout before but hadn't ever tried it (see Billy Mills, for example). I needed some speed work, got in some hills, and in the end it proved to be fairly taxing with the short rests between reps.

In the evening, I went for an easy 35 minutes just as snow was starting to fall on Georgia...GODHELPUSALL.

The plan is to drive back to Durham tomorrow. Valerie came down with some kind of nasty bug, so we stayed in Atlanta today.

January 6

AM: 10 miles easy

PM: 5 miles easy

I hit Bobby Jones in the morning. The golf course was still closed on account on the unseasonably cold weather. Ice was everywhere, including on the pipes on my mom's house, which made for a fun afternoon project as the photo shows.

In the evening, I ran a pleasant shake-out with Valerie, again on Bobby Jones. It's a soft surface and also a rarity for me to get to run there, so I'm taking advantage of it.

***UPDATE***

The National Weather Service forecast for Thursday calls for 1-2 inches of snow in metro Atlanta. Cool-headed city residents remain calm and act like they've seen it before.

January 5

AM: 13 miles easy

I got to run on Bobby Jones Golf Course today because the greens were frozen. Bizarrely enough, it was colder in Atlanta today than in DC. I love running on gold courses, but it rarely gets cold enough to pull it off it Atlanta.

January 4

AM: 5-mile tempo, 6:00 jog recovery, 4 x Manor Ridge hill, 12 miles

I started the workout with a tempo run around Memorial Park. About 3 miles in, a wandering black labrador retriever started running with me. "What up, dog?" I asked audibly between breaths.

No reply. She made running look so effortless and every time I'd get closer to her, she'd speed up and look back at me with an impish grin. She was obviously toying with me.

"Listenbitch...(gasp)...don't...triflewithme." I was losing this battle, and she knew it.

As soon as our run began, she became bored with me. My new canine friend peeled off to examine of an interesting smell of some kind, which after a few seconds of contemplating she opted to pee on for good measure.

My tempo run had started a hair too quickly. My legs felt heavy. I felt heavy.I continued my workout and stopped at 26:40, which may have been a little long given my 3k splits.

I jogged over to the the Manor Ridge hill, a 450m ski jump near the park, where I hit four repeats before jogging a cooldown.

Splits: 9:46, 9:51 (3k splits for the tempo run), 1:44, 1:43, 1:44, 1:37

In other news, it's officially time for me to get back to Durham and get productive again.

January 3 (85 miles/week)

PM: 11 miles easy

Night run through the Buckhead neighborhoods, wearing a headlamp for the first time ever on a run. I don't like headlamps, but I really, really don't running around parked BMWs blocking the shoulder of the roads while Expeditions whip past me in the dark. I also came across a wooded, pitch-black cemetery that creeped the bejeezus out of me.

My legs still have that weird stale/trashed feeling. I haven't been running more than usual, so I'm not really sure what's up with this. It doesn't seem to be affecting my ability to run fast when I need to, but easy days have been absolute slogfests lately.

January 2

AM: 10 miles easy

Easy run in the morning before spending the day with my brother and his family. My legs felt rocked for some reason.

January 1

PM: 18 miles easy

With my brother Eric and his family coming into town for the weekend, I ran long around Westminster, Memorial Park, and Peachtree Battle for a shade over 2 hours. This was one of those thankless solo runs in the dark of the evening. Fortunately, I had a ton of podcasts to catch up on as I haven't been using my iPod a ton in the last several months.

December 31 (4,548 miles/year)

AM: 10 x 500m @ goal 3k pace w/ 200 jog recovery, 8 miles

PM: 6 miles easy

Valerie and I went to Westminster for a track workout on a cool and drizzly New Year's Eve. I've probably run just a handful of speed workouts in the last several months. It felt good to get the legs turning over again. I tried to keep the pace under :70 for 400m, or roughly 1:27. The recovery time ended up being slightly less than 1:1. I briefly contemplated running home for a long cooldown but instead opted for a second run in the early evening.

Splits: 1:27, 1:29, 1:27, 1:26, 1:28, 1:26, 1:27, 1:27, 1:27, 1:25

2009.

I ran almost exactly the same amount of mileage this year as last year (4,500 miles in 2008 compared to 4,548 in 2009). This is still an all-time high for me and a number I'm happy with. It's been an interesting year for me as a runner that brought both highs and lows:

First the lows:

1.) Whatever I did to me knee in the spring. This was the closest thing I've had to a real injury since my metatarsal stress fracture in October 2007. In retrospect I'm pretty sure it was tendonitis, and it cost me valuable training time. It happened right as I was in PR shape over 5k and 10k, and it ended up hurting me for my peak races in the spring: Pike's Peek, Cherry Blossom, and the Penn Relays 20k. My best performances came instead at meaningless time trials at a track 5k and a GRC 10k where I ran from the front the entire way.

2.) Any race with the word "Twilight" in its name. I've taken enough knocks at this point to realize that for me, the summer is for training, not racing. I suck at racing in the heat, and I see no point in banging my head against the wall again with a summer full of races.

And now the highs:

1.) The City of Oaks Marathon.

This was a big win for me. Klim described this as the race of my life, but I'm honestly not sure. The race felt like a totally controlled effort, and to some extent I feel lucky that I won: the race was won in 2:20-ish in 2008, and I won because the race leader fell apart. That being said, it was my first marathon win. I had perhaps the strongest closing miles I've ever had in a race, and the nasty conditions made it that much more meaningful. Instead of feeling trashed afterward I felt elated and ready for more.

2.) The Army 10-Mile

I say this because it was both a successful race and a part of a solid marathon build-up. I've run two "good" marathons where I didn't blow up at the end whatsoever: Boston 2008 and City of Oaks 2009. For both races, had logged 10-week stretches of more than 1,000 miles. I now believe that those numbers are the mileage sweet spot for me for my marathon prep: 10 weeks, 1,000 miles. It works. Moreover, the Army 10-Mile was payback for me for a disappointing Cherry Blossom several months earlier. This race was a promise of more to come.

3.) Peachtree Road Race

This race destroys me every single year. This may have been the first time I've been anywhere close to feeling happy with my performance there. Plus, the stupid summer sauna suit may have worked: I wore it before this race, and then I ran well. I stopped wearing it after Peachtree, and then my races turned to crap. It seems straightforward to me. The sauna suit will return in summer 2010!

The most positive experience I can take from 2009 is that even though I ran myself into the ground a couple of times, I was able to successfully rebound with strong performances later down the road. I didn't have any major breakthroughs this year. Instead, I sort of chipped away at my times, getting a few seconds here or there. And I'm pretty happy with this but know I'm still capable of more.

Looking back now, I actually missed most of my time-specific goals in 2010: sub-32:00 for 10k, sub-52:30 for 10 miles, sub-2:30 for the marathon. You'd think I'd be disappointed, but though I have some room for improvement, I'm happy with the year.

That's largely because in addition to being a runner, I also coach myself, so I get a silly sense of satisfaction when experiments like the Peachtree sauna suit actually work. And though I chase a lot of times, I'm happy when I race well also, which is why I was happiest with my Army 10M, marathon, and Peachtree: I only got one PR out of those three, but in all three places I feel like I competed well and/or ran smart races.

I know 2010 will be a tougher year for training. I have no clue where I'll be next summer, and though my training in Durham has gone well (thanks, Liam), I don't have a stable of GRC teammates that I used to living in Maryland (thanks, GRC teammates) that made it "easy" to get out an crank workouts and long runs. I like my odds of improving, but it's going to take some resilience on my part. Particularly with school, I'm going to need to be flexible. I think I can and will be able to handle it.

Because I did, alas, miss some time goals in 2009, I still have plenty of room to improve. I suspect that having a lot of strong miles behind me will help tremendously in 2010.