January 31

AM: 10 miles easy
PM: 5 miles easy

Tired legs today. I dragged butt through a run with Reed in the morning, and then made it out to the ATT for a shakeout at dusk.

January 30

AM: 12 miles easy
PM: 4 miles easy

I met Reed in the morning for a campus and fitness loop run, and then went out in the dark through downtown and East Campus in the evening. I felt reasonably good despite the weekend's workload.

January 29 (91 miles/week)

AM: 20 miles easy

I ran the usual campus and Duke Forest long run with Reed, adding the fitness loop and a couple of miles on the ATT when I got back to make it 20 miles for the day. We kept the pace pretty easy, and I wasn't up for more than that fast yesterday's fast race and battle scars.

My foot throbbed in pain despite wrapping my blisters in moleskin. The large blister popped a mile into the run, filling my sock with a warm, bloody mess that stained the toe box on my Pegasus beet red. While completely gross, this actually made the pain in my foot subside a lot. The two other smaller blisters I picked up from the indoor track yesterday also yielded during the run, easing more pain. I cleaned up accordingly when I got home and gladly got off of my ravaged foot. With a recovery week behind me, I'm ready to jump back into higher volume next week--including a tough 20-mile trail race on Saturday at Uwarrie.

January 28 - Liberty Indoor Invitational 3,000m

PM: 3,000m race, 8:56 (PR), 5th place - 9 miles

One goal I had in my only indoor track season in college was to break 9:00 in the 3k. Not only did it never happen, but I'm pretty sure I never came close. 9:11 may have been the best I managed on the indoor oval. I've tried to break 9:00 several other times because I considered it a "soft" personal best, but I've never had the natural leg speed for it to come naturally. I've tried to get under 9:00 in the 3k three times since college:

1.) once en route to my 5k PR on a cold time trial with Kilm and Bert;
2.) once at the Maryland home meet where I tied up something awful after taking an early lead; and
3.) once in a time trial with Liam on Duke's outdoor track

That makes three times I've tried and failed since college. I don't race the event very often, so my attempts have admittedly been few and far between. And because my only other races on an indoor track were some disastrous 5ks at Maryland, I'll venture to say that I've never once felt good about racing on the small oval.

Today, after more than seven years following my first attempt, I finally managed a decent race indoors.

Indoor track is and has been hard on my body. My broad-shouldered frame and inherently weak leg speed don't take kindly to the tight turns and confines of indoor tracks, especially the non-banked variety at Maryland and Liberty. As the post-race photo of foot illustrates below, I almost always tear up my feet racing on indoor tracks, and today was no exception. My left foot felt like a shoe-demon was stabbing it with a hot spoon for the last 10 laps of the race, but with more than two hours of driving each way, I earnestly wanted to make this race count.

A handsome blood blister as my reward for a PR.

As for the race itself, the field immediately shot me, Alex, and Monk to the back of the pack coming off the line because college races always go out way too quickly. Alex made his way to the front after two laps, and I followed to the chase pack that was running steady 35-second laps. I kept the rhythm through the mile in 4:40, after which I slowed a little bit and focused on passing guys to block out the growing discomfort and singe of lactic acid that comes with racing 3,000 meters.

Normally the second mile is my weakest moment when racing the 3k. After going from last place up to the chase pack early on, I again fell back as far as 10th place in the race, but instead of accepting my fate and ceding the race to younger, faster legs, I hung in and fought. I was passed by at least three runners in the second kilometer, but then I'd fight back and re-pass.

Another huge improvement is that I out-kicked four considerably younger college runners in the last 400m. I've never had much of a kick, but I closed the last 200m in :32 and got one last guy at the line. That just doesn't happen that often for me, particularly in short races.

The PR and the respectable kick fired me up so much that I ran through the line and immediately high-fived Alex (who won in 8:37) without breaking stride. Monk came in behind me and set a PR in his first ever indoor race. That made three BCTC PRs propelled by the encouraging cheers from Coach George (Monk's eight year-old son) on every lap.

I've unquestionably found some pop in my legs in the last few weeks. I don't know what exactly brought this on given that I'm only now just getting into higher mileage, and I haven't otherwise introduced new stimuli into my training recently, but I'll gladly take it.

I'm really pleased with the way the training cycle for Boston has started: we aren't even a month into 2012, and I've already broken two PRs after a nearly two-year drought. It's extremely satisfying to get that frustrating chapter of my running career behind me, and unlike last week, I even managed a PR in a real race--with timing, competition, and everything--this time. My major hope is that breaking these relatively soft PRs will set me up to break through to bigger and tougher challenges at 10 miles and the marathon in April.

The video of the race is here. I look like a huge dork with my t-shirt tucked in because I forgot my BCTC singlet at home.

Three PRs are all that could have made four hours of driving worth it.

January 27

PM: 11 miles easy

I waited until the late afternoon to run with Reed when we hit campus and the fitness loop. My legs felt good despite waiting until late in the day to run.

January 26

AM: 9 miles easy, treadmill

I snuck in an early morning run in the hotel in Oklahoma City before spending the day in the field and flying home to Durham.

January 25

AM: 9 miles easy

I got up early to catch a flight to Oklahoma City for two days and slogged alone through the darkness across downtown Durham and Duke's campus. As a part of a class with Duke's environmental management school, we're going to visit a natural gas company. In a surprising turn of events, they sent the jet. Dragging butt in an early morning run proved well worth it to feel like Jay-Z for a day, saving the world one G-5 at a time.

Beaming with irrational confidence.

January 24

AM: 10 x 1:00 hill repeats - 11 miles
PM: 6 miles easy

I felt the workload this morning as Reed completely carried me through a hill workout on the WaDuke trail. Looking back at my last four days of running, it doesn't come as a huge surprise. I snuck in another run on the ATT and Forest Hills Park at sunset and responded a little better.

January 23

AM: 10 miles easy
PM: 6 miles easy

I ran a couple of recovery runs today: once in the morning with Reed through campus, the fitness loop, and light rain, and again from school in the late afternoon on the WaDuke trail.

January 22 (102 miles/week)

AM: 19 miles easy

I met Reed mid-morning for a cold run through intermittent drizzle, Duke Forest, campus, the fitness loop, downtown, and a small add-on back home on the ATT. I don't have much to report otherwise because although tired, I felt fine otherwise.

January 21

AM: 8k tempo, 25:45 (PR?!) - 15 miles

March 21, 2010.

That was the last time I ran a PR at any distance at the Shamrock Half Marathon. Today brought an end to an almost two-year drought, even if it was just a workout. I'll take what I can get, when I can get it, after a slump like that.

Reed, Adam, and I headed to the track. When we got there, a couple of Kenyans were ripping up intervals on the track, and they'd still be there cranking away when we left. Perhaps that provided our motivation to take the pace out fast because we went out well under the targeted 5:15. At that point, I knew I was going to crash and burn or run a great workout.

We traded the lead every two laps for the first three miles. Reed stopped to stretch out after two miles, jumped back in after three miles when he and Adam put a little ground on me. I tried to let one of the Kenyan runners pull me back to my group, but I couldn't keep up with her during her 200m interval.

I contemplated stopping after four miles, but once I saw that Adam was pushing on, I got tough in last last mile even though my fourth mile was slow, suggesting I left some in the tank (though not a ton...this was unquestionably faster than half-marathon or "tempo" pace). Reed jumped in with me for the last three laps, and we still finished smoothly with a :34 last 200m. I really believe I can carry this positive momentum into the spring, peaking at the Boston Marathon, because I've only recently started running big miles and solid workouts. Today left me chomping at the bit to get racing soon.

Happy with the result (Adam said this was his second-best 8k ever in 25:33), we jogged a long cool down in the light rain. That made for a long morning and made me feel a little better about punking out on a shake out run yesterday evening.

It's days like these where the benefit of working out in a group are really magnified because we definitely carried each other this morning. Running an unexpected PR, even in a workout, feels pretty great. I'll have a chance to lower the 8k PR in March at the Shamrock 8k in Virginia Beach.

Splits: 5:06, 5:05, 5:07, 5:17, 5:09

January 20

AM: 12 miles easy

I met Jason early before dawn for a run through campus, the Fitness Loop, and downtown before my first long class day of the spring. I did some core and strength work in the evening as well.

January 19

AM: 14 miles easy/moderate

I ran the ATT in the morning with Dan that included six, two-mile stretches at low 6:00 pace when he was doing pickups. My calves were only a little sore, and I'm guessing the slow shakeout yesterday afternoon helped keep that at bay.

January 18

AM: 6 x 800m @ goal 3k pace with 300m jog (2:00) recovery, 3 x 200m strides - 9 miles
PM: 5 miles easy

Given how crappy I felt going into the workout this morning, I'm pretty pleased with how it went, especially since Reed and I finished into a pretty strong headwind on the straightaway. My legs felt surprisingly snappy. I ran a workout fairly similar to this in 2009 (with longer recoveries), when I was in 10k and 5k PR shape, and I hit close to the same times today. Today's workout was also way faster than the same effort more than a month ago, which again had longer recoveries. I'm not exactly going to shout the results of today's workout from the rooftops, but it at least has me thinking that it sure would be nice to run a 3k PR weekend-after-next.

Splits: 2:22, 2:23, 2:22, 2:22, 2:21, 2:18

January 17

AM: 12 miles easy, strides

I met Reed in the morning for an easy run through campus and the fitness loop. I added on the ATT when I got home and three in some strides. I'm feeling a little pooped, so I kept it at one run today.

January 16

AM: 11 miles easy
PM: 5 miles easy

Today brought a pair of recovery runs with Reed in the morning through campus and the fitness loop and East Campus with Valerie in the evening shake-out.

January 15 (102 miles/week)

AM: 20 miles easy

A long run with Reed wrapped up my best week of running in quite a while. Though cold when we started, it warmed up fast. We went through campus and Duke Forest, including adding the Fitness Loop. Reed and I parted ways around 1:50 in, and I added on the AT&T when I got back to make it 20. I also went in for a massage about an hour after the long run that really helped flush out my legs.

This was a great week for running that included two good workouts, a medium long run, and today's long run, adding up to 102 miles in just 9 runs. After a forgettable 2011, things are clicking for me right now early in 2012.

January 14

AM: 3-mile, 800m jog (5:00) recovery, 2-mile, 400m jog (3:00) recovery, 1-mile - 13 miles
PM: Beer Mile, 7:12

I warmed up with Reed in the morning to the track where he peeled off to rest up for the evening's "primary" workout (he's an impressive 5:56 beer miler). I didn't completely feel like it at the time, but I was apparently ready to have a great workout today. This was one of my best workouts in recent memory, and it was certainly my best solo workout in a long time, especially on a cold and windy track.

Based on this morning's effort, I can officially report that I'm ahead of schedule. I'm psyched to start racing in a few weeks to prove that this perceived progress is for real.

Splits: 15:24, 10:15, 4:58

As for the beer mile, it came together pretty quickly, amd i got to check it off of my bucket list as a result. I'm satisfied with the time for my debut at the distance, coming in fourth behind Reed, Duncan, and Jason. The former two ran in the low-6:00s and were clearly the class of the field this evening. And yes: I'm counting a beer mile it toward my weekly mileage. It's *my* training log. So...yeah.

January 13

AM: 12 miles easy

I met Reed mid-morning for a run through campus and got in a good stretch afterward. It's been a while since my legs have felt this good: weird timing, but I'll take it.

January 12

AM: 14 miles easy

I ran easy with Dan at sunrise on the ATT, keeping the pace pretty easy (7:00). I knocked out some core as well to get an early jump on the day. I'm in the middle of winter break where it's easy to become a waste of life.

January 11

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

Reed and I ran from school to Duke Forest for an honest fartlek. Two pleasant surprises included the resurfacing of the dirt road in the Forest, and the rain more or less holding off for the entire run. We stretched out the last rep to finish up the long hill on the WaDuke trail.

January 10

AM: 10 miles easy
PM: 5 miles easy

Relaxed run with Reed in the morning through campus and the fitness loop, followed by a shake-out on the ATT at dusk.

January 9

AM: 12 miles easy
PM: 4 miles easy

Morning run through campus and the WaDuke loop with Reed with core work immediately afterward, followed by an evening shake-out run on East Campus.

January 8 (93 miles/week)

AM: 18 miles moderate

I drove up to the Park N' Ride from the Hagan's house for a solo long run this morning. I began by doubling back over the same park I ran in yesterday (Calvert Cliffs), which is a little more than 5 miles from the lot, and then ran to Solomon's Island and back through mostly bike lanes. Other than some wind in stretches, I felt generally good, leading to arguably really good in the last 20-30 minutes of the run.

I finished up with my first ice bath in a really long time with a soak in the Chesapeake Bay. At about 50 degrees, it was perfect: I suffered for the first two minutes with the water up mid-thigh, and then relaxed once my legs turned numb. I also had the beach entirely to myself. With a lack of wildlife in the bay this time of year, the only noises I heard were the waves lapping on the shore and the chattering of my own teeth. It was the most natural silence and stillness I've experienced since standing in the middle of nowhere in Utah last summer, marking a great end to  productive week of running.

Solomon's Island

January 7

Curious indeed.

AM: 6'/5'/4'/3'/2'/1' with half-time jog recoveries - 11 miles

I ran from Valerie's parent's house up the busy Cove Point Rd. to get to Calvert Cliffs State Park, which has a 2-mile rolling dirt road down to the beach. The hills and soft surface make it perfect for fartleks like today. Rather than run back down the busy road, I did a long cool down and finished up at an upper parking lot where Valerie had her car and finished her run.

January 6

PM: 7 miles easy

Slow ATT run after a morning interview and before driving to Maryland to spend the weekend with Valerie's family.

January 5

AM: 14 miles easy

I opted to run once today while I prep for a big job interview tomorrow morning. I met Dan for an out-and-back to the end of the ATT for a relaxed run (starting at 7:30s and very gradually picking it up) with good conversation.

January 4

AM: 7 x 1000m with 1:30 (200m) jog recovery - 11 miles
PM: 5 miles easy

After a morning meeting at school, I made my way to an empty track for a solo workout. I hit my target of keeping it under 5:00/mile pace, battling heavy legs in the last few reps and heavy wind throughout. The abbreviated recoveries made this a tough workout. It wasn't my finest body of work, but it got the job done today. If I can hit three more reps at the same pace before Boston rolls around in April, I'll be in business.

Splits: 3:06, 3:06, 3:06, 3:05, 3:07, 3:07, 3:05

Another still evening shake-out run on East Campus followed later in the day. Most students are still on winter break, making Durham even quieter than usual.

January 3

AM: 12 miles easy
PM: 4 miles easy

2012 means a return to doubles. I ran the Forest Hills and WaDuke loop in the morning, followed by an evening shake-out around East Campus. I love wintertime doubles at night: cold but peaceful.

January 2

AM: 10 miles easy

Relaxed run through Peachtree Battle and Memorial Park before driving back to Durham in the afternoon with Valerie and Wilson.

January 1

AM: 17 miles easy

I started the year off with my longest long run in a few weeks, running down Peachtree Battle to Westminster, covering a little over a half hour on campus, and then ran through Memorial Park and Bobby Jones GC. I felt a little beat up, but it's tough to complain about shorts and short sleeves in January, even in Atlanta.

December 31 (4,290 miles/year)

AM: 15:00 tempo, 5:00 jog recovery to Manor Ridge hill, 5 x 500m hill repeats - 12+ miles

Near the crest of the hill, someone had spray painted the phrase "Do Not Pout" on the asphalt. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what mysterious messenger or otherwise hand of god wrote motivation for me on that hill, but I used that as my mantra to get me through that workout. At no point was I allowed to feel sorry for myself as I gasped for air and fought the singe of lactic acid that comes with a good session of hill repeats.

I started the workout with a 4-mile warmup with Valerie, and then covered 3k + 1 mile on a tempo around Memorial Park, hitting right on target. I then jogged over to Manor Ridge, a long hill with sparse traffic slightly over a quarter mile from Memorial Park. Once there, I tried to make it count on the hills.

Splits: 15:00 (9:44 lap split), 1:44, 1:45, 1:42, 1:44, 1:38

After the last rep, I realized I'd misread the message, which is actually utility labeling that reads "Do Not Pour." I decided that I like my version better, and it serves as a good segue for my 2011 running year in review. Do Not Pout.

2011 Year in Review

It's tough to feel anything but disappointment on my running in 2011. I ran a few good races (the Capital City Classic in May, the City of Oaks Half Marathon in November, and Club XCs in Seattle just a few weeks ago), but I wouldn't consider any a "great" race. I'd like to say that I could point to sickness or injury as the cause for this lackluster year, but I can't. Even though on its face I ran and raced a lot in 2011, in many ways I just felt like I was going through the motions.

No, the down year in 2011 can only be attributed to a tough year of school and work, including a cross-country trip to California and back, and generally a lack of motivation and tangible goals. With so much else on the line with both my career and personal life, running often felt self-indulgent (irony noted as I write a year-end summary...entirely about myself). I felt guilty just getting out the door a lot of days, which makes it understandable why I neglected things like doubles and ancillary work in retrospect. I often felt like I was deferring real work or responsibility, just by running.

And, because I didn't have much structure to my training, I didn't expect to race well when I toed the line with this half-in, half-out approach. Sure, I was within a stone's throw of a few PRs, but for the first calendar year since I started running more than 11 years ago, I didn't run a personal best at any distance. The closest I came was a hard mile on the track with Jason a few weeks ago when I equaled a soft PR. For the first time ever as a runner, I was no better this year than the year before. Mortality means that at some point we all will run slower one year than the year before, and this year was my year. 2011 ended with the bile taste of mediocrity lingering in my mouth. I've officially plateaued and will be looking to break out in 2012.

2012 is going to be a year of major changes for me. In all likelihood, I'm going to be moving to a new city. I'm going to take a demanding job of some kind, leaving my future ability to crank out structured triple-digit weeks in question. School was crazy at times in 2011 (and late 2010), and my training undoubtedly suffered for it. I had higher annual mileage totals in 2009 and 2010, and perhaps not surprisingly, I also raced better in those years. Consequently, in my upcoming training cycle for the Boston Marathon on April 16, I'm going all in. This will be the last time in a long time that I will have this much flexibility in my life, and I'm going to take advantage of it. Breaking 2:30 in the marathon is on my life's bucket list, and I'm feeling more determined than ever to give it an honest effort from Hopkinton to Boston come hell, hills, or high winds.

My training plan is a pretty simple one. For Boston 2008 and City of Oaks 2009, my two "good" marathons, I've logged a block of 1,000+ miles in 10 weeks followed by a two week taper, mixing in the standard variety of long runs, workouts, and recovery days. In addition to doing this again, I need to get back to a lot of the little things that make big differences in becoming fit and fast. That list includes but isn't limited to 1.) Short Hill Sprints after Easy Runs, 2.) Improving My Nutrition, 3.) Ice Baths after Long Runs and Hard Workouts, 4.) Consistent Core Work and Stretching. I neglected everything on that list in 2011. Regrettably, that could be the difference between success and failure when the margins are so thin.

In summary, I'm feeling angry and unsatisfied about 2011 and motivated to do something about it in 2012. I need to remind myself that it's OK to pursue something that few can achieve, even if it's relatively arbitrary, small, and admittedly self-indulgent at times. 2011 left me feeling that life's clock is ticking away on opportunities where I can go all in and set high water marks for my running, and I'm determined to make the most of the time at hand.

At the very least through Boston in April, I'm rededicating myself to running and making it a priority: no regrets, and no pouting.

December 30

AM: 12 miles easy

In the cool rain, I ran around Memorial Park and Bobby Jones, keeping the run flatter than normal. It always proves tough to avoid hills in Atlanta, and running them day after day accumulates fatigue in my legs.

December 29

AM: 8 miles easy

Easy neighborhood loop from my mom's house, pretty slowly. I felt a little beat up and took it really easy.