April 23 - May 15

I'm obviously super behind on my running log. I got a text from Klim this week that read, "UPDATE: Reaves quits blogging"? I can take a hint. I need to do a better job of getting back into the habit of doing it, for both myself and my other comrades in the daily struggle, so here it goes.

The last couple of weeks have been a slow climb back to racing shape without much to show for it yet. I really don't care for road 5ks, but I forced myself into two of them to both score for my new team (New Balance Silicon Valley) in the PAUSATF race series, which is insanely competitive, and to get my ass racing again. The results were a little murky. The first race, the Zippy 5k, wasn't very Zippy on account of a course that was nearly uphill for the entire first half and downhill for the second half, but I still limped in around 16:05.

Two weeks later, I ran the 5k4Play, and I ran the same time (16:04) on a course with the opposite profile (down, then up). The good news is that I ran an identical time here despite running nearly 2.5 hours with Reed and Varner in Marin the day before, so that could be interpreted as a sign of improvement. It would have been a major psychological boost to get under 16:00 though.

Other workouts have included a 2x2-mile, 1-mile workout (10:31, 10:36, 5:08) on my own; an shitty tempo run on the windy CSM track (5:15, 5:15, 5:18, 5:28, 5:27); and a few uneventful workouts with NBSV where I didn't feel my best or do a good job of recording my efforts.

I'm a little frustrated because I'm at a loss for why I've lost a step. I've clearly lost a step. I'm about 5 lbs heavier than I really need to be, which is tough to see on my already large-for-a-runner frame, but could be a tangible reason why I'm running 30 seconds slower for a 5k than I expect to be, and struggling to hit my 10k PR pace for half of the distance. It honestly sucks because I have no real explanation (injury, motivation, etc.) for losing ground over the last year, but that's why more than anything I opted to join my fifth team in my 13 years of running competitively with NBSV.

The reality of working for a living has also hit me. Last spring, with my master's thesis and most of my meaningful schoolwork behind me, I was able to bang out 100+ miles/week without abandon, and I got in killer shape that lead to PRs at 3k, 8k, 10k, 10 miles, and a good marathon relative to the conditions. Now, I'm lucky to get in 80-90. It may not seem like a lot, but I've always run my best logging 100+ miles/week. That's just what works for me.

I'm trying earnestly not to get frustrated, but as the Boston Marathon came and went in April, the tough reality that I've lost a year of running sat heavy on me. That, more than anything, lit a fire to get racing again. My mileage has been just OK with weeks of 80, 88, 92, and 59 since my last update.

I traveled this week and last, spending a few days in Atlanta for my brother's graduation where I hit the 3-week sweet spot between suffocating pollen and a summer climate feels like getting bludgeoned with a warm mop. I got in a solid long run from my mom's place all the way through Piedmont Park, checking out the new Beltline Trail (Atlanta's brand-new rail trail that will eventually circumnavigate the city along an old railroad line). I got a compliment on my running form from a girl on a bike toward the end of my long run, which of course put a spring in my step, only to immediately bring myself back down to earth when I looked down and saw my first really bad bloody nipple. That it was just one and clearly bled through my shirt made it that much more ridiculous, but I didn't see it until I stopped 17 miles in.

I stopped in St. Louis for a seminar for work for two days on the way home; I'm writing this on the plane as we speak. As a consequence, I haven't had a chance to work out this week, so I'll probably just do something light tomorrow after work in light of racing this weekend.

The next few weeks will include at least a couple of more races before I call my late spring racing season, including Bay to Breakers and the Marin 10k. Given where I'm at right now, if I can break 40 minutes and 32:40, I'll call either of those races a success.

After that, I'll carve out my standard 12-week block for a marathon buildup toward the end of the summer in Santa Rosa. It's not a particularly competitive marathon, and I suspect it will be in warm weather, but I need a Boston Qualifier before registration opens in September. Long term, I want sub-2:30 before I'm 30. That's the goal, and that's what's going to get me out of bed in the morning over the next 18 months. I'm confident I'll bust out of my current rut/plateau. Thanks to the mild NorCal summer, I at least have time on my side this time.