May 25

AM: 8 x 400m hill repeats - 11 miles
PM: 4 miles easy

I jogged from my apartment to the WaDuke trail for my first set of hill repeats in a few months. I kept it at eight, starting at the creek at the parking lot of the trail and then trekking up the Cameron Road hill to the gate, which is approximately 400m. I felt that good anaerobic stimulus during the last couple of reps: that old familiar discomfort where is feels like an elephant is stepping on your chest. A short shake-out run on the ATT capped off the day.

Next week is going to bring little to no running while Valerie, Wilson and I drive across the country to Irvine, CA, where I'm working this summer. Honestly, I'm probably due for a few days off before I ramp up the volume this summer, but I wanted to log a few quality but low-key weeks in first, mostly because I have the time and ability to do so before I start working full-time and will need to manage my schedule accordingly.

May 24

AM: 11 miles easy

I met Jason for an early morning run through Forest Hills Park and campus. Even though it was early, I felt like I was trying to breath through mud because the air was so thick.

May 23

AM: 12 miles easy
PM: 4 miles easy

A mid-morning conference call meant that I made the mistake of running in the middle of the day again. I finished the run drenched in sweat and totally gassed, even though I only averaged ~7:10s (albeit on the WaDuke trail). I waited until the evening to go out with Valerie for a leisurely shake-out run.

May 22 (92 miles/week)

AM: 15 miles moderate

I struck out around 11:30 for an out-and-back long run on the ATT, only to immediately realize that my days of running at noon are over in Durham until at least late September. I felt fine enough on the way out that I picked it up some on the way back, which only turned out to be around 6:00 pace no matter how fast I thought I was running as the heat climbed to above 90 degrees. Some GI issues necessitated a "walk in the woods" around mile 12, resulting in a miserable few minutes; the only thing more uncomfortable than dropping trou behind a tree when you're overheated is trying to hold it in when you're overheated.

I ended up jogging the rest of the way in but still managed to average under 6:30 pace and booking my first week over 90 miles since February. Generally speaking, 85-115 miles/week is my training sweet spot that I'm hoping to return to this summer.

We've been lucky in that we've had a relatively mild spring in North Carolina, but that's quickly turning into the harsh reality of summer, which I fortunately will be escaping from in California.

May 21

AM: 11 miles easy

Today was an uneventful run through campus and the WaDuke trail. Since I finished class for the semester, I've rededicated myself to core and strength work (pull-ups and pushups). That's a trend I want to continue because it makes me feel much healthier overall.

May 20

AM: 13+ miles moderate

I met George and Matt for an out-and-back run on the ATT this morning. We picked it up about 3 miles in for George's marathon workout and were cruising between 6:00-6:30 pace the rest of the way. The only downside was some stomach trouble: I had to stop midway through the run and was penguin-stepping during the last mile before rushing back inside for a second trip.

May 19

AM: 4-mile hard tempo - 8 miles
PM: 4 miles easy

I started today with a hard tempo run on the track to see where I am. I honestly did not feel that great doing it, but I wanted to get a feel of where I am going into a base-building period. I followed that up with a slow shake-out run on the ATT at sunset.

Splits: 5:08, 5:08, 5:12, 5:15 (20:43)

May 18

AM: 12 miles easy
PM: 4 miles easy

I ran through campus with a loop on the WaDuke trail in the morning, and then ran easy in Forest Hills Park with Valerie in the evening.

May 17

AM: 12 miles easy
PM: 20 miles bike

I ran a solo out-and-back on the ATT in the morning, and then went out for my first ride in a while in the afternoon.

May 16

AM: 20 x 1:00 on/off - 13 miles

I ran to the WaDuke trail, hit the workout for two laps, and then jogged home after doing some work in the morning. I'm going to dust off the bike tomorrow for an afternoon ride.

May 15

DNR - 0 miles

With a long travel day, I took my first day off of 2011 with some stretching and core work in the evening. Running is going to continue to be low-key until June.

May 14

AM: 18 miles easy

This run was pretty wild. Valerie and I were staying in Baltimore to see our friends Lauren and Dave get married. I had dropped Falls Road's and fellow Terp Ryan McGrath to see if he was up for a run, and he brought half of Baltimore with him. Our group started at Camden Yards, went up through the hills of Druid Hills Park, and then came back down through the Inner Harbor and Federal Hill.

When I got back to the hotel after about 12 miles, I found a text from Dave asking if I wanted to run. I was feeling pretty chipper, and not wanting to leave him hanging on his wedding day, I jumped in for another 6 miles (with maybe 30 minutes between runs) around 8:00 pace back to the Inner Harbor and up to Fells Point. So, I ended up with a great, relaxed, sorta-long run before what was an awesome wedding that afternoon and evening. It was the perfect adventure run given my current phase of training.

May 13

AM: 11 miles easy

Valerie and I stayed at her folks' place last night, so I ran in Lusby from the house down the fire road at Calvert Cliffs and back with some drills afterward.

May 12

AM: 8 miles easy

An easy run in the morning in Atlanta before flying back to North Carolina, and then driving to Maryland.

May 11

AM: 7 x 3:00 on/2:00 off, 8:00 hard - 11 miles

I ran a placeholder workout around Memorial Park in Atlanta. Great googley moogley it was humid. Even though it was "only" 85 degrees, I was tapped out afterward.

May 10

AM: 10 miles easy

Today was another slow run in Atlanta. It's absurdly muggy here. I won't miss running on the East Coast all summer.

May 9

AM: 10 miles easy

I ran a very slow 10 miles through Memorial Park, Cross Creek, and Peachtree Battle in Atlanta after longer days on Saturday and Sunday. My left hip was acting up again by the end of it. Whether I take time off this week or when driving to CA, a little rest is probably going to do me good.

May 8 (77 miles/week)

AM: 17 miles easy

Reed and I broke from tradition and ran some of the old neighborhoods from last year, including Durham Academy. After a long day yesterday morning, we both felt spent by the end and eagerly awaited a lunch of chicken and waffles at Dame's in downtown Durham with Valerie and some friends from school.

I'm off to Atlanta this evening to see my family for a few days of golf and otherwise taking it easy.

May 7 - Capital City Classic

AM: Capital City Classic 10k, 32:53, 3rd place - 14 miles

I'll post more on this race later, but today was more about place than time with the top-five North Carolina residents receiving $500-300-150-100-50, respectively, for the USATF North Carolina 10k Championships. I pushed forward early trying to separate from Reed and one other guy to just pick up third place on an honest course with rolling hills. However, I wasn't even within spitting distance of the win as former D-I All-Americans Joe Moore and Bobby Mack went soundly under 30 minutes to take the top two spots. I finished in the money and felt OK with the effort given where my training has been in the last few months and that I was doing a lot of the work on my own today; this race was more meant to salvage my spring racing season than anything else. The rest of May running is going to be fairly low-key before I move to California for three months in June.

May 6

AM: 7 miles easy

I went easy for a pre-race jog in Forest Hills Park. The weather for tomorrow seems promising.

May 5

AM: 10 miles easy

I got in a solo out-and-back on the ATT, feeling pretty chipper after 10 hours of sleep. I have a race ahead on Saturday (the Capital City Classic 10k in Raleigh), so today and tomorrow are going to be relatively light.

May 4

AM: 6 x 2:00 on/off - 9 miles

After I turned in my last final for the semester, I met Reed at school for a tune-up workout in Duke Forest. I was running on 4.5 hours of sleep, and he wasn't feeling so hot, either, so we opted for a short tune-up workout before the race this Saturday instead. I finished off the afternoon with a round of golf and was passed out on the couch with Valerie and Wilson by 9:30.

May 3

PM: 8 miles

Easy lunchtime run during a break from my last final.

May 2

AM: 12 miles easy

I met Reed at the bus stop for a run through campus, and we were joined by David Roche after 25 minutes or so. Roche is a supernova of enthusiasm, in addition to running really well right now. I was planning 9 or 10, but we were rolling along nicely so I made it 12.

I have a big, steaming plate of schoolwork ahead of me, but summer is in sight. I finished one final this evening, leaving one more 24-hour final before I'm done with year 2 of 3 of grad school, including what has been a long first year of the MBA program that started at the beginning of last August.

May 1 (85 miles/week)

AM: 16 miles easy/moderate


Reed and I hit what has become the go-to Sunday loop through Duke Forest on another cool and mild morning. I finished wanting more, but finals loom tomorrow and Tuesday. On Wednesday, we're going back to the track in an attempt to break my flaccid mile PR.