T-minus 20 weeks: Acclima-SHUN!

Apologies for the silence. There was no wireless at SIGMOD/PODS, so I found it difficult to blog. I did run though: 3x that 7mi (?) loop of Stanley Park, one shorter (25min) run in the park, and a 6am trail run with Karl from UCSC up Grouse Mountain. The last one kicked my butt: Karl is a regular trail runner and aspiring ultramarathoner and I'm used to running in flat-as-a-pancake Philly. It was a really fun run--we made it up over the snowline and into a cool Pacific NW rainforesty type bit near the top. The view of Vancouver from the peak, normally spectacular, was a whiteout with all the fog, but it was still great to reach the peak.

It's been a rude awakening returning to Philly (high 80s, muggy) after Vancouver's perfect running weather (mid 60s.) Made it out for a Strawberry Mansion loop (1h17m) and a Montgomery Loop (1h5m) this weekend. I am still acclimating to the heat, so took both runs at an easy pace and enjoyed my last weekend before real training begins. T-Minus 20 weeks to NYC!

Stanley Park II

Monday's run was another Stanley Park Loop. Call it between 6.5 and 7mi.

Stanley Park

My day: red-eye to Seattle, Amtrak to Vancouver, check in to wonderful Westin Bayshore, run the Stanley Park Loop. The weather (cool, 50s) made me grateful to be here in the Pacific Northwest vs. Philly's heat wave; the length of this city's standard loop (10k) vs. Philly's did not. Still, it is a start and I felt strong today. It really feels great to have a marathon to train for!!

Back!

Not back to Philly, but back online... Alaska was amazing. Not much to report on the running side of things (for the sake of logging: 45min on Sunday, 1hr on Wednesday, 25min on Friday, and a warmup + 5k race today) but kayaked the first half, and hiked the second.

Two exciting pieces of news:

• My lottery number came up for NYC! My training is now organized around November 2.
• I ran a little 5k this morning here in Anchorage and placed third overall and won my age bracket! More on that later--it involves kicking in the last mile to beat a military-looking guy, then letting up in the last quarter to let a local middle-schooler ("Gil") have second. By my watch my time was just under 20min, but I'll wait for the official results.

Running for a plane...

But snuck 5.25 in. Those may be the last miles for this low-mileage in.

Treadmill Speedwork

2mi warmup, 4x800m with .2mi jog between, 1mi cooldown. Total was just under 6mi.

Pottruck

Did an evening workout at Pottruck. 3.5mi on the 'mill (up the ladder from 8mph to 9.5mph). Then full leg lifting circuit.

Catching up

• Monday: Drank beer, ate BBQ'd veggie burgers, did not run (first off day in 20!)
• Tuesday: Sweetbriar Loop from Pottruck. 5mi, untimed.
• Wednesday AM: South Philly Loop with Jeff. 5.88mi.

Most of a SuperLoop®, Bonky weirdness.

Ran the SuperLoop (extension out to Ridge) which, if I'd finished, would have been around 13. But on the return leg on Kelly Dr, I felt my gut starting to cramp up. I *just* made it to the toilets at Lloyd Hall in time, and even after clearing out the old system, twice, when I started running the last bit, I started cramping up again.

I'm not going to read much into this (i.e., really strange to have been hit so hard by a truncated 12 miler). Obviously, for whatever reason, I found my limit today. I think I may have been starting to bonk? I didn't eat a whole lot today and I felt progressively weirder until getting something in me. I'll just take it as a sign that I got a good, hard workout in. Meh.

Montgomery Loop

Did my usual Tuesday loop in reverse. This takes one up to the Belmont Plateau and is about as hilly as one can get in a run of this distance from my house (i.e., without going up to East Falls or Manayunk.) Total was 8.65mi in a few ticks over 1hr.

Sweetbriar, Lemon Hill

BCP gave his talk in the morning, and I sent off the ICFP rebuttal in the afternoon. After another long week I was tired, but really, really wanted to get a good workout in. I came home, lay down and read some New Yorker fictions, which got my energy level back up... and did a Sweetbriar / Lemon Hill loop. It started slowly--I think I was around 13 minutes to W River Dr, but I felt better once I was on the river and, by the time I hit the back side of Lemon hill, felt great.

Repeat

Same thing as yesterday.

Oof

I woke up early today and worked pretty much continuously from 6.30am until 8.30pm (with only a few short breaks--coffee with DV at Good Karma Cafe in the morning, a trip to the Magic Carpet food truck to grab lunch, and the usual water/bathroom breaks.) Megh. Got home around 9 and did a brisk AM Loop in 28m; I think this is a little under 4mi.

I am very much looking forward to beer o'clock on Friday, and running long this weekend.

Sweetbriar / Lemon Hill

Another day of meetings. Woot.

Finally got home a little after 8, and was out the door a few minutes later. I didn't even have time to make a plan, but as I made my way through Fitler Square, I settled on warmout out to Sweetbriar, then a few Lemon Hill repeats. I wasn't sure I was up to run hard--I feel tired--but as it turned out it was one of those days when every stride feels bouncy and your lungs feel bottomless. Everything felt easy for the first three. I picked up the pace for the bit around the waterfall opposite Boathouse Row and was doing just under 6.30 pace (for .5mi at least) and it felt easy. Threw in another pick-me-up just before Sweetbriar, and then did 4xLemon Hill repeats. These are short--only ~1/8 mi--but very steep and enough to get your heart going. Came down the backside and came home via the Parkway and 22nd. Total was around 7.25 in 56min. A good run.

Monday

Pottruck is closed all week, which puts an odd hole in my usual routine (even when I run outside, I like to do it from campus; also gives the chance to do some weights after).

Came home after another marathon day of BCP meetings (we may have finally gotten to the bottom of the blame game: it seems to be a type algebra with two kinds of arrows!) and ran an AM Loop via Rittenhouse. 32 minutes which I'm estimating was 4.25 miles (may be closer to 5, but I'm too tired to GMap it, and they're junk miles, so really who cares what the pace was.)

These long days are wearing me down and when I got back from running, I really felt like doing something non-academic. I did my latest obsessions for dinner--tofu / bok choy / scallion / red pepper pepper spring rolls with Braggs liquid aminos, natch, and spinach salad--then made hummus and baked bread for the week, then made a double batch of Cara2's almond / cranberry biscotti. Yum.

The Loop

I woke up (at 9.30! I've been rising with the sun--5.45ish or so--sans alarm clock all week, so it was good to sleep in a bit) to a grey, gloomy day. The rain was coming in and out, which made for a nice morning with coffee, a crossword, and music. Fueled up for an early afternoon run, but the ran started coming heavier, so I went to Good Karma and worked for a while. Then went to BCP's for yet another meeting on The Meaning Of Blame (if Hinze is right, then contracted functions are the arrows in the Kleisli category of a comonad--woah categories!) We finally finished around 6 and by then the high-carb fuel I'd put in my belly was gone so I loaded it up again, gave it an hour to settle, and finally hit the trail a little after 8.

It was a gorgeous time to run: everything all wet and green, dogwalkers (including Darren), birds, and worms all out enjoying the first clear skies of the day. Ran a sunset East Falls Loop and came back via the river path for 11.75mi in unknown time. 45 miles for the week. No speedwork, but some tempoish shorter runs during the week. I'll have to taper down for my next race which is ... in ALASKA!! Yeah, I finally got my act together and bought my ticket last week! I'm so psyched: 8 days in Anchorage / Denali. Unfortunately I won't be able to stick around until the solstice half marathon, but Clare and I are going to run a 5k in Anchorage on my last day. ALASKA!!

Pottruck, Strawberry Mansion

Did a 3mi run at the gym last night, and 9.75 today.

Leif Statue

A long (13hr) day today: the first half spent compiler hacking and the second half spent in BCP's office trying to figure out what "well typed programs can't be blamed" means, if anything.

I stepped onto the treadmill at the gym, thinking I'd do a speed workout, but as soon as I tied my shoes and stretched, I realized there was no way in hell I'd be doing a hard workout. My legs feel fine, but my head is really, really tired, and therefore not in it. I decided to take (another) easy day and just did the 5mi+ out to the Leif statue. Sigh. Total time was 36 even. Finished with a 12min bike cooldown.

So many easy days! Perhaps I'll do that hill workout I like tomorrow, or sneak into Franklin Field (if it's not closed for graduation.)

Pottruck

3mi and change in 22 flat. Then full upper body circuit.

Tuesday 8

Back to my usual Tuesday workout: the Montgomery Bridge loop via Mantua and the Concourse. The total time was 58min and sumthin', but really there is only one number I care about: the split for miles 5-6. When I do this workout well, I warm up to Civil War memorial (about 18min), then pick it up a bit across the Concorse and down the hill from Belmont to the river, and then work the measured mile on MLK Drive at a good pace. This time the split came in at 6:34.

I want to get faster, and for that I need to train with specificity--easy workouts easy and hard workouts hard. Too often, like most recreational runners, I just run at the upper end of comfortable (for me, 7-7:15 pace.) I'm still not very good at pushing myself on hard days, but I'm learning...

Morning AM Loop

Met Jeff for a morning Art Museum Loop. 4.62mi in unknown time.

Wissahickon

Ran for 1h47m up into the Wissahickon. Didn't get all the way to Forbidden drive, but that had really better be 14mi.

Strawberry Mansion

I was supposed to meet up with KT and another Jeff resident, but they got delayed and told me to go ahead, so I ran Strawberry Mansion solo. My legs were pretty sore after lifting two days ago, but it ended up being a solid run. I guess the low mileage this week helped. Total was 9.5mi in 1h13m (not actually so slow: I stopped at Good Karma to say hey to Aaron).

Pottruck

Weather is meh, legs are meh, workout was... meh. 3mi in about 22, upper body circuit.

It's been an easy week, and that's OK. But I really want to put some tall blue bars on it the next few days.

Pottruck

It was a gloomy, humid day, a reminder that Philly's sticky summer weather will be here all too soon. I hit the gym and did a tempo-ish workout: 2mi warmup then up the ladder to sub-6:30 pace, increasing .1mph every 1min. Finished with a .5mi cooldown at 7:15. Total was 4.25mi in 30 for the tempo, and 4.75 total. I finished with a full (including hip abductors; usually I just do squat, lunge, quad and hamstrings curls, calf raises) leg lifting circuit.

Today was yet more evidence that biking and running workouts can be stacked up against each other. I was mad sore when I woke up today, and each trip up and down the stairs to the 5th floor reminded me that I did a long (for what kind of biking shape I'm in) ride yesterday. Then I hopped on the 'mill and felt great. I love that I can get a hard workout in riding, and when I run the next day, it feels like I just rested.

First BSR photos posted. Evidently I have awful running form. What is this? A race? Or the Funky Chicken dance?

KoP

Oh man, I'm tired.

I felt like biking so I did this loop, which turned out to be 45 miles. No energy for blogging the details, but it's a great little loop. I had a ton of fun.

Sweetbriar / Pottruck

I first felt the wonderful feeling of legs truly exercised, as well as the awful feeling of chafed nipples after a long run Xtie and I did in Cordoba, Spain way back on spring break 2k. My legs are used to lots of miles now, so the first feeling is harder to come by, but the nipple problem still pops up every now and again. I wore a singlet for Saturday's race--something I hadn't done all winter--and both yesterday and today I noticed some painful chafing a few minutes in. Perhaps I need to take up taping. Or develop callouses. Hmpf. Silly.

Was planning a Strawberry Mansion Loop, but when I got to Sweetbriar the problem from above and legs still a bit tired from Sunday, convinced me to loop back to the gym. Call it a (very) conservative 5 miles in 40. Finished with 20 minutes on the bike to round out an hour of cardio. I think I will bike tomorrow.

Broad Street Run

My story (and it is long) starts on Saturday. Long-time readers of this blog will remember that last year I crashed my bike hard and, instead of getting a good night's sleep Saturday night, I woke up every 90 minutes to talk to a very sweet almost-Dr CAC (who was home in Palo Alto for the weekend, but got up through the night to call and make sure I hadn't gone unconscious from subdural bleeding.) I was still thinking of racing, and woke up at 5 to see how I felt, but with the chorus of "don't runs!" coming from friends and family ringing in my ears and the bruises puffing up overnight... for once, the Stubborn Boy listened and did not run (and then stubbornly snuck in a 7 miler later that day.)

I rehash this story (yet again) because, well, bike crashes are sort of traumatic by definition, and because this past Saturday started out as a Groundhog Day-esque replay of last year: I hopped on my bike, peddaled over to the Linc, locked my bike to the same pole, picked up my bib and shirt, went to the same market (Reading) and bought dinner supplies, and then started back. The whole ride home I kept reminding myself that lightning couldn't possibly strike twice but, even so, I was extra paranoid/careful/defensive... and, thankfully, made it home in one piece this year (last year, I literally did not come home in one piece: a large chunk of molar ended up somewhere on Spruce Street.) I cleaned the kitchen, which was still all nasty from our house party on Friday night, got dinner going, and then rushed over to Darren and Jen's excellent Derby Party. Watched the greatest/fastest two minutes in sports, hurried back home to finish cooking (vegan sausage, sauteed veggies with a light farfelle pesto, salad, and blueberry crumble) and had a nice pre-race meal with fellow first-time BSRer Jeff. Capped over the evening with a prickly pear vodka tonic, brought by our weekend houseguest from AZ, which knocked me out.

Sunday morning I was up at 5 for yogurt, banana, and coffee, then ran over to Jeff's place and caught the subway up to the start. I wanted to get a good warmup in, but figured I might as well get to the start wicked early and run around up there. Did a ~20min easy jog with Jeff down past the 1mi marker and back, got some water and stretched out, and then did another ~10 min loop with some short strides. I hadn't run in 3 days, and had managed my food prep perfectly (ate like a pig for the previous 36 hours, but emptied everything out shortly after waking up in the morning... sorry that's probably TMI, but GI stuff can be important!) Lined up in the middle of the 6-min mile pace section and waited for the start.

Mayor Nutter gave a little speech and fired off the horn and about 20 seconds later I was going over the chip mats. The race bunched up, predictably, but since we had both sides of Broad Street, and I was close-ish to the front of the pack, it wasn't too bad. The first mile is a gentle but steady downhill, so I just let it carry me down, and didn't worry about wasting any energy making silly surges. The first mile passes in 6:4x and feels easy, so I feel good. The second and third miles have some gentle rolls (can't quite call them hills) but I'm in a pack of people running at around the same pace, so we glide up over them and speed up on the downhills. I miss the second mile marker, but the split at mile 3 is 13:31, so I'm right on 6:4x pace. Mile 4 goes by Temple and I slow a bit to 6:51, but then I see City Hall through the fog and the 5th mile goes in 6:45 again, putting my halfway split at 33:57. We wind around City Hall and through the crowds in Center City. I've heard that this is often a fast mile, but my stomach is starting to feel heavy (maybe I didn't plan that eating so well after all) and it goes in 6:50. My legs feel a little heavy, and I wonder if I'll have anything left for the last three. I hook onto a father-son East African looking team. The dad is clearly an experienced runner, the son is really young (14? 15?). They are gliding along and making it look easy. The dad keeps talking about focusing on staying strong and running easy, and that the race starts at 8, and I try to follow his instructions (relax my breathing, pull my shoulders down, let my stride glide along strong). At mile 8, the dad says something about now let's do sixes, and I assume they'll take off, but after an initial surge they slow again and soon I'm with them again. My stomach worries have gone and I feel strong now, so I make a move. I'm picking people off slow but steady and the the miles between Oregon and the stadiums, which are often long and boring, don't even register. The marker for mile 9 goes by and I kick it up some more. We pass the gate to the Navy yard and I pick a guy in front of me a few dozen yards in front of me and take off in a full on kick. I pass him, he catches up, and we're the only two kicking as we zoom by what feels like a bunch of people. I actually can't remember who finished in front, but we both surged through the chute together and I click my watch stop and see 1:07:37!! (The :32 I wrote below was just me reading my watch wrong.)

This post is already getting way too long; I promise I won't drag it out much more. But I'm so happy. I haven't raced anything this short in a while (5k a few weeks ago was a tuneup for this), but also have not felt like I've been in good enough shape to really go at the distances I've been doing. My new plan (after a short break of just running whatever I feel like) is to keep focused on BQ-equivalent training. That means a 5k at sub-19m26s, a 10k at sub 40m21s, and a half at sub-1h29m48s. I'm probably just delusional after a good race, but they feel doable.

The rest of my Sunday consisted of a long trek around the hood trying to find brunch with Jeff, Heidi and the cute vet surgery residents, then taking our AZ visitor for a spin out to Conshy via Lower Merion and back by the Schuylkill River Trail, Manayunk, and Kelly Dr.

Today I just did an easy 3mi and a short upper body lift at Pottruck.

BSR SBRR

I'll write up a full-blown LBRR (long, boring race report) from yesterday morning, and a description of our 30+ mile spin to Conshy on the bike yesterday afternoon, as soon as I can find some time. But for now, let me just say that I am thrilled. Hitting a goal, even a somewhat modest one, feels great.

For now, here are the splits from my watch. I am really pleased with these numbers. Each mile went by right in the 6.45-6.50 range, until the last half mile, when I kicked a bit and saved ~15 seconds.

1	2-3	4	5	5	7	6	9	10
6:48.7	13:31.2	6.51.5	6:44.8	6:45.1	6:50.9	6:48.6	6:44.2	6:31.5

Also hit a secondary goal--running the second half faster than the first. The split for the first 5 was 33:57 and for the second second was 33:35.

Unofficially...

67m32s!!!

Ready...

Two days of total rest and a whole lot of eating had me practically bouncing as I walked down to the Brey's for their Derby party tonight. Can't wait for tomorrow!!

AM Loop

I went to Pottruck this evening, changed, stretched out, and climbed up on the treadmill, and then realized I didn't want to do a treadmill run at all. I went outside instead and found an absolutely perfect late spring evening. Ran the Art Museum Loop, back by Spring Garden; call it 4mi in something a little under 30. I ran easy for most of today, thinking about form more than speed. Did a few strides in the second half to get the heart going a bit and cooled down with 15min on the stationary bike.

I am locked into the taper routine: my diet, sleep, workouts are all on autopilot now. It feels familiar. Sunday is only 10 miles, so much of this is not needed, but I have a routine that works and I don't want to mess with it. Here's how it goes: a last longish run on Sunday, two days of what amounts to the Atkins diet, break a sweat with my run on Tuesday, switch to carbs on Wednesday, then eat, eat, eat on Thursday and Friday. No running on Friday, but continue with bagels, pasta, yogurt etc. A short run with some strides on Sunday, and a good night's sleep, then up early for yogurt, banana, and coffee, then off to the start.

I am trying to figure out if I should just run to Temple. I don't want to waste energy, but I think I need 3-4mi of warmup and unlike a longer race, I can't just use the first few miles for that... Perhaps a compromise is run to City Hall, hop on the subway, and finish warmup on the track?

Pottruck

Hit the gym again for a brisk 3mi treadmill run, then more upper body lifting (no way I'm lifting legs this week, but I wanted to do *something* more than 21min.)

Strawberry Mansion

Just a hair under 10mi (9.89 according to GMap) in 1h15min. This is not really a good taper workout, but I felt strong today. I felt like I had many more gears, but I kept it reined in until the last mile from the AM to the Chestnut Bridge, where it was too fun not to kick a little. Cooled down with a short (7min) bike.

I'm so ready for Sunday. I'm not in 65 minutes shape, but maybe I can do 68 minutes (=BQ pace according to McMillian's calculator) if things come together. A realistic goal is under 70.

Pottruck

Did an easy Monday workout: 3mi (about 1.5mi easy warmup, then 1.5mi up the ladder) which felt snappy and easy, then full upper body circuit.

I am not going nuts.

I took an unexpected goose egg this week (Wednesday) and didn't run as long as planned on my hard day (Thursday). But even though I just wrote in the last post that I'm happy with a high-quality, low-mileage week, I've been sitting here scratching my head wondering how I'd ended up with only 37 miles! It didn't seem right...

... and it wasn't. I forgot to map and log yesterday's workout. It was indeed more than 6 (6 1/3 miles), which puts the week at a somehow more respectable 43 miles.

The Loop

Last Night: Rode my bike a little under 20mi in a little under an hour up a new route towards Chestnut Hill. Up Lemon Hill to 33rd to Strawberry Mansion to Chamounix to East Falls to Henry to Schoolhouse. Back via Lincoln Drive (huge mistake! Even though I was riding consistently above the 25mph speed limit, cars were whizzing by at 45-50 and honking! Oops) to Kelly Drive.

Then hit the Orchestra for a somewhat restrained performance of my favorite violin concerto (Sibelius). I'll miss Eschenbach.

Today: Last long run before BSR next Sunday. I know I can't do anything for my fitness between now and then, but this run was a nice confidence booster. I didn't push hard, but all my splits came faster than usual. I hit the East Falls Bridge in 40:30 (vs. 42:xx usually) and, the fairy / US Grant statues in just a few ticks over an hour (vs 1:03-1:04), and the end of Boat House Row in 1:08 (vs 1:12ish.) Total was 11.5mi in 1:23:4x.

My mileage this week was less than I would have liked, but I'm OK with that. I got my quality workouts in, lifted twice, and got a good bike ride in yesterday. I'll take a week like that over one with gaudy mileage numbers anytime.

Sweetbriar

I was hoping to get up early and ride, and then run late, but I slept in and there are T-storms forecast, so I figured I'd better get the running in.

Did a slightly extended Sweetbriar Loop, just to even with US Grant on the W River Dr side. 46:00 even. That better %#@$ing be 6 miles.

I'm spending $151 on race entries between yesterday and today: BSR of course, and bought a lottery ticket for the New York Marathon. I'll know if I get a spot or not in mid-June.

Catchup

Missed a few days.

Wednesday: Came home around 5, intending to run, curled up with The New Yorker and fell asleep. Woke up at 10 to eat some dinner, then slept some more. Guess I was tired.

Thursday: Speedwork. 2mi warmup, then 5x800 with .15mi walking between each rep. Total was 5.25mi in 42min. I tweaked something on the 5th, so didn't do the 6th. Finished with a full leg lifting circuit.

Friday AM: Did a morning run with Jeff and Drew. We went down to the Delaware (Front St) and back. I'll have to GMap it, but I think it should have been at least 4 miles. [Update: it is 4.5 miles.]

Friday PM: Still a little antsy, so went to Pottruck and ran a couple of miles to get the twitch out of my legs. 14:30 on the nose I think.

Montgomery Loop

Did my usual Tuesday run: Montgomery Loop via Mantua. Started easy, then sped up on the Concourse to what felt like tempoish pace (a 6:40 on the measured mile on MLK Dr). Went easy from Chestnut Bridge back to Pottruck.

I'm afraid that I might be entering overtraining territory. Last week had two days with more than 13mi, and I feel like I'm recovering a little slower than usual?

Yo swarthy stocky Slavic dude...

... please stop following me around the gym? Maybe I'm just paranoid, but when I was doing the stair thing earlier this winter, you'd always get on the machine next to me, whenever I shower at the gym, you always seem to appear, and now you've decided to be a runner (uh, you're not--runners can usually go for more than 30 seconds at a time and never hold on to the bar, k?) Alright, I don't know if I actually have a stalker, and I really have 0% homophobia ("some of my best friends are gay!") but this dude--mostly just the intense staring--creeps me out. I got on the treadmill today and after he materialized on the machine next to me I could I could see him looking over ever few seconds in my peripheral. Treadmill etiquette dude!!! I guess this is what it is like to be a girl at the gym and is why I keep my eyes to myself as much as possible (to the point of not noticing when I'm on a bike next to a friend.) Ok. Rant over.

Ran 2mi on the treadmill before I got fed up with the above situation. Headed outside for a Spring Garden loop. Call it a conservative 5.5mi in 41 flat. Finished with full upper-body circuits.

ps. I swear, sometimes Wilco resonates with the harmonics of my soul. I love that band.

pps. Let's Barack the vote ya'll.

Near-death Spin

I forgot to mention that I did two QCW loops in Fairmount Park around dusk on Saturday: across Girard St Bridge, up,up, up the hill at Landsdowne, past the Civil War Memorial and across the Concorse, up, up, up St George's Hill, then Chamounix, down, down, down the hill on Ford Rd, across Strawberry Mansion, then around the Reservoir to and back across the bridge. This loop is a lot of fun and about as hilly as you can get while staying in Philly proper. As always, I think the bike ride helped loosen my legs up for the long run on Sunday. Hooray for biking! The numbers: about 20mi in about 1hr. (I was surprised at how much pep my legs had--was doing 24-26mph on the flats without working too hard.)

The only bad part of the ride was, oh yeah, almost getting killed. On the downhill on Ford, the road gets narrow and the shoulder is quite dirty, so I moved over and rode in the single lane. I was moving faster than the speed limit, so this shouldn't have bothered anyone. But as a Chevy minivan was passing me on the next uphill (when I'd moved back to the shoulder) the driver scooted over so he was driving IN the shoulder. I guess he thought he'd teach me a lesson or something. Anyways, I looked up and there was this van about two inches from my handlebars. SO not cool. I caught up with him at the next light and just looked over, trying to see if he'd done it on purpose or was just absent minded. I got my answer when he rolled down his window and shouted "get off the road!" Seriously?

Forbidden Drive

The plan was to run for one hour, or to the start of Forbidden Dr. As it happened, I hit the Forbidden Dr parking lot right as the clock ticked 1:00:00. The return leg is a little shorter, due to the big inside bend around the Columbia Bridge. 15.5mi in 1h58m.

Botched

Yesterday: Rest day. Walked around NYC quite a bit, but no running.

Today: I was planning to run the Clean Air 5k, but after waking up at 6 to have breakfast, I climbed back into bed to grab a few more minutes of rest and ... woke up at 9. Damn. So much for being a lover of mornings, eh? It's actually not so disappointing: the past few days have been busy (cranking hard on TopSecretProject, went to NYC yesterday for DB/IR day and hung out with John+Lia) I'm not sure I was ready to run hard and I don't like paying $30 for a 3.1 mile training run.

The actual run: a Sweetbriar Loop at high noon and maximum heat (mid-80s). Call it a sweaty six.

I may head out for a spin when it cools down a little later. We'll see.

Inveterate Lover of Mornings

Woke up with the sun at 6, and was out the door by 6.15. I ran the AM Loop, which is 3.91 miles (not 4 as I'd been assuming--it's exactly 2 at the turnaround, but I usually walk home from 22nd and South.) I wasn't hoping for anything other than an easy run, and I didn't bring my watch anyways.

Better

Ran the 34th / Lansdowne / Concorse / Belmont / Montgomery / W River Dr / Schuylkill path / Chestnut loop. Yesterday's low mileage and new shoes gave me a little bounce: 8mi in 57 and change.

Pottruck

Oy. I was a bit stiff today. Ran 3.5 on the mill and it took me an extra minute (26). Finished it off with a full upper lifting circuits.

Now that the weather is warming up, I want to shift my workouts to the mornings. I've been waking up with the sun anyways (so 6.30 today) and pretty soon mornings will be the only time cool enough to run.

Monday 14

I ran out to Manayunk to sub for the Joy of Sets. The other team was actually good! We beat them 2-1, and I was a little sad not to be playing this season. Oh well, there will be plenty of grass ball closer by now that the weather is nice, and I can't really afford the time to get out there. The run home was a little bit of a slog at the end, but it felt good to run long.

Totals: 14mi in around 1h47m, with a 1hr break for the game in the middle. (This week may have gaudy mileage numbers due to shifting last week's long run to today.)

Weekend

• Friday: Very light vb practice at Hutch with Pigs.
• Saturday: Wharton Tourney, ran 4mi after.
• Sunday: Very sore. Only did 3.5mi.

The Wharton Tournament was a lot of fun--better than expected. About two months ago I'd hoped that we might be able to put together a Pigs dream team and win it. But with Matt moving to UCSF, Andrew busy with Spring Fling, and Darren out of town for a wedding, just getting six together took some doing (full credit to Clement.) We went with Tim at setter, Ashley opposite, Clement and Jethro outside, and Chris and me in the middle. Given this rag-tag group of players and positions (no true setter or middles--we're basically a team of OHs), I was really pleased with how we did: beat the teams we should have (Columbia and Harvard) and one that was better than us (Chicago), and gave Wharton Red some trouble in the semis. Everyone played well, I thought (Jethro was not his usual self, but had been up all night, and was nursing a shoulder and hamstring injury, so understandable) but Tim was truly great. Whatever he lacked in setting experience he made up for with hustle; any success we had was due to his amazing effort.

With the volleyball "season" is done, it's time to get back to some serious training. Two more hard weeks, then a taper week, then BSR!

Hills

Thursday, according to Nate's Wingin' It BSR Training Plan®, is speedwork... and hills were on my mind today. 2mi warmup up the hill on 34th and past the Zoo to Sweetbriar. Then 7 repeats of the hill from the overpass to the stop sign where Lansdown meets 41st by the Civil War Memorial. Each repeat went like this: sprint up from the bridge to the stop sign, then turn around and jog easy back down to Sweetbriar, then turn around and pick it up to a sprint by the overpass. I was only gonna do 6, but I got confused at 4 (thought maybe I'd only done 3; counted splits on my watch back at the gym.) Then down Black, and back by W River Drive / Shuylkill River Trail / Chestnut.

10.55mi in 79 minutes total time.

Broke in the new 2130s today. AMAZING. I love new shoes.

Sweetbriar

Just over 6mi, unknown time.

Hutch, VB, Columbia Bridge

Ran Home -> Hutch, played a few hours of vb (have been dragged onto a team for Wharton Tourney), then did the Columbia Bridge loop. Eight and a quarter total miles, 52 minutes for the last seven and change.

Pottruck

Monday, easy day. A surprisingly brisk-feeling 4.5mi on the mill in 33min, then upper body lifting (legs on the schedule, but was feeling creaky, so swapped it for end of the week.)

A slow, slog of a Loop

It's always a bad sign if I tuck a SEPTA token into my arm strap wallety thing: I don't do it unless I am afraid of getting stranded many miles from home. I started the day with the idea that I might do a SuperLoop, or even make it into the Wissahikon. But then I got out, very stiff, and sluggish, and settled for the regular kind of Loop.

Forgot to start my watch until I was on the trail. Call it 10.75 in 1h20m-ish.

36 for the week. You can see the hole that ICFP left in the middle of my week.

Strawberry Mansion

I love this bridge. 9.5mi in 1h11m = 7:30 pace on the nose.

The Wagner was amazing.

Pottruck

I lifted a little after the Montgomery Loop on Thursday, and I was surprisingly sore on Friday. I hate lifting, and always neglect it. I try to remind myself how much muscle I lost during my first training cycle for PDR. Lifting is important.

Anyways, Friday I just did 30min on the 'mill. I started at 7:30 pace and went down to 7:10 during my warmup, then started to hit the pace button every 90 seconds, finishing at 6:20 pace. In total, I ran something just over 4.25. Finished with a 3min cooldown @ 8:00 pace, chatting with the guy who'd hopped on the 'mill next to me: former Greenhills classmate and current Lauder student O'Day.

I'm planning to get some miles (10) in this afternoon, and then have orchestra tickets for Brahms (meh) and Wagner (woot!)

Double Digits

I switched my running log to Running Ahead last month. It's been nice having some better stats and analysis again, but Monday's 3.5 have been staring at me all week. Finally got above 10 for the week with the 8mi loop; Pottruck / 34th / Lansdowne / Belmont / Montgomery / W River Dr / Chestnut / Walnut. 59min even.

Publish or...

The last few days were a slog: we had to push pretty hard to get the ICFP paper submitted, but it went, and (although it could have used another editing pass, I'm sure) we think lenses modulo are pretty damn cool idea.

• Tuesday: DNR (and didn't really sleep either.)
• Wednesday: Submitted the paper at 4pm, was on the bike by 5pm. It was one of those weird days where my head was exhausted, but my legs were antsy. I did an 1hr loop through W Fairmount Park and the edge of the burbs. Wanted to find some hills, but mostly just felt like spinning my legs. Finally found the big hill off the back of Chamoniux. After doing those hills, the ride back to campus--via W River Dr, Sweetbriar, 34th--was nice and quick: speedometer was above 25mph for most of it (wind-aided, I'm sure, but still fun to go fast for a few.)

I'll run today.

Pottruck

Mondays are easy days: 3.5mi on the 'mill, lifted legs.

Pretty pretty.... shoes?

I have some serious brand loyalty to Asics (going back to volleyball; bought a pair of Mizunos once and they sucked!). My current ones have about 350 miles on them and with REI's Member sale, a sweet dividend, and three gift cards burning a hole in my pocket... it seemed like time to order some new shoes. The 2100s were great, 2110s were not--all squishy and soft, and 2120s have been wonderful. Hoping 2130s are even better.

Loop

The ICFP deadline is getting close, but I managed to get away from the paper long enough to run.

I did the East Falls Loop today, ending at TJ's. The all-important numbers: 10.75mi in 1h22m = 7:38 pace. I didn't push it at all today, and just tried to enjoy a long run. It was a nice way to cap off a 54 mile week.

Saw a few friends: Darren and Jen rode by on their new bikes (and gave me a high-five as they zoomed by) around Walnut St, and I stopped briefly just before Sweetbriar to chat to Katie, who was running Strawberry Mansion CCW (I almost always go CW).

Kelly Drive was closed due to a crew race early, so there was the most amazing quiet on the return leg. You forgot how noisy the city is sometimes. I was glad my iPod ran out of juice so I got to (not) hear everything.

[Long Boring Race Report] A PR of sorts...

It was a good race ...except for that whole following the course part.

This morning was the modestly named "Race for Humanity" at USP. I don't really feel in 5k shape yet, but I really wanted to race. So my goals were to run hard, and finish under 20.

The race started at 9, so I woke up around 7, ate some breakfast, and hit the road for a warmup run around 8. Ran around the hood, then over the South St Bridge, around the hospital, and finished with a few strides, pulling in to the registration table right around 8.30. Got my bib, found my friend Jen milling around the start, and went with her for some more light jogging. Came back with about 5 to go, checked the course map (but did not check close enough!)--it looked like two loops around a Woodland / 46th / Larchmont / 43rd, with spurs to/from the starting line. Jen and I and walked over and got ready near the start.

The starting gun went off sooner than I expected, and although I was in the third or fourth row of people, I got caught behind a row of three slow college kids and felt the main pack of runners rush by. It was windy, so I wanted to tuck in and draft someone doing sub-7 pace for the first 3-4 minutes, so after we turned the corner onto Woodland, I closed the gap back to the pack with all the action, and got in behind a guy about my age. Most of the next half mile was up a hill, but we started passing people (who all started faster than they could sustain). Then the crest, and I fell into what feels like a fast pace, and it's easy. I noticed the first mile marker go by in 6:39, and given the slow start and hill, I start to feel pretty good about my chances.

We zoom down the hill and I scoot across another gap and make contact with the group ahead. People are really fading now, but I feel better and better. Ahead of us there's a guy with some HS XC shirt on, and I move through the group and try to make a move up to him. The course loops around to Woodland and back up the same hill, and I catch up on the hill and tuck on in behind him for the windy climb. I missed mile 2, but as we crest the hill the second time, I make a move and try to open up a little gap. Then I hear him behind me and he makes a surge as we come down the hill on 43rd the second time. I stay with him, and as we approach Woodside and the USP gym, we're running side by side.

Now, the course was two loops, and there were race marshalls near the bottom of the hill pointing people we'd just lapped around to the second loop. I should have been thinking about figuring out which way to turn, but I was so focused on XC dude, I make a little surge and hang a right. I'm ahead all of a sudden (in hindsight, he was probably trying to figure out which way to turn and slowed), but he stays behind me and starts following me back up the hill. We go another few hundred feet before I catch my breath just enough to say "where's the finish?!". He goes "Oh shit!" and we look behind us to see the pack that was behind us turning towards the driveway. Oh shit, indeed.

We turn around and backtrack towards the finish. When I see the chute I kick hard, but with our detour, we cross in 20:4x. Shit!! I pat him on the back as we exit the chute and say sorry for leading him off the course. So, I have no idea what my 5k time was. But I now have a 5.2k PR! Woohoo! Uh, yeah. Not actually so exciting.

Even so, while I'm pretty pissed that I don't get to know what my finish time would have been, I am pleased that I ran a strong race, and am confident it would have been in the 19s (= sub 6:30 pace.) Those were the two goals I was shooting for... so, on the whole, a good day. And looking forward to another in a few weeks.

Call it 3 mile warmup + 3.2mi race for 6.2?

Easy

Just something to stretch the legs: 2.25mi in 15;20.

I'm excited for tomorrow. I don't know what will happen, but I'm excited.

Loop

A smidge under 12 miles in a 1h27m = 7:19 pace. Tomorrow is going to be super easy cause I'm racing on Saturday!!

Racing...

I'm not really in shape for it yet, but I think I'm gonna do a few in the next few weeks: USP 5k, Clean Air 5k, then BSR 10 miler.

A good run...

...is one that's done! Ugh. Low energy today, and I'm not sure why. Last week I did some kinda-sorta-tempo-ish runs, but not really anything that counts as genuine speedwork, so I knew today had to be the day. Warmed up with an AM / Spring Garden / 34th St loop, then did 6x800 @ 6:15ish pace (start at 6:27, then down the ladder to 6:08) and 90s recovery between on the treadmill. Overall, I felt meh about this workout. On the one hand, I felt shitty going in but better towards the end; on the other hand, I feel like I should have been ready to really attack it. Meh. Next week I'll do hills, and the week after, it should be bright enough to do my intervals at Franklin Field.

Numbers: 6.75mi in 26:30 + 19:45 running time.

Grace Kelly's Daddy

Ran up to the John B. Kelly statue near the Columbia Bridge, then stopped at TJ's for groceries on the way home. The Schulykill
wind nipped at my tail on the out leg, then blew in my face on the return. The numbers: 6.75mi, had a watch but didn't time it (crude estimate is 50min ~ 7:25 pace.)

A Goal

Broad Street Run didn't happen for me last year. I was all revved up for the race--had had a great last Loop the Sunday before, and a nice mini-taper. I biked down to the Linc to pick up my bib, and was on my way to Reading Terminal to pick up some supplies for a big pasta dinner party I was hosting when... the last thing I remember is "oh shit! pothole!"

My next memory is coming to and trying to stand up, and then a very nice stranger telling me to sit down and wait for the ambulance. In the end, modulo some nasty bruises, a busted helmet, and a cracked molar, I was fine. But Tita Mary convinced me that I was insane to try to race.

This year I am determined to race and I want to reach one of my long-standing time goals: 10 miles in 65 minutes. That's probably a bit of a stretch, but one has to aim high, right?

Strawberry Mansion

Got home late after a long day on campus preparing the PODS camera-ready version. Had a big snack, then hit Strawberry the Mansion loop. I felt GREAT today and very nearly just Loop'd it, but decided to stick to the original plan. I had a nice kick on the way home for once. It's amazing how cycling will loosen your legs up. The numbers: 9.75mi in 1h11m42s = 7:22 pace.

I've switched my workout log to Running Ahead at the beginning of the month. I really like being able to save routes, track miles on each pair of shoes I have, and graph my miles. Here are the last two weeks. Notice how much of a step-back last week was from two weeks ago.

Easter Ride

If I had two Sundays, I would have done a long ride and a long run. But, alas, I only get one Sunday a week. So given how creaky my legs have been feeling, I picked the ride, carrying on a sort-of tradition of cycling on Easter ('07 I ran the loop around Dru Hill with C2, then down to Inner Harbor, it appears). Today was a just under 40mi in just over 2hrs loop out in the west burbs (Merion, Narbeth, Villanova, Radnor, Haverford, etc.) Hooray for biking.

Objects on the map...

...may be shorter than they appear. Ran a new loop. I figured it'd be safely over 6mi, but it's only 5.8! Sheesh. Probably better anyways: I was feeling sluggish today.

Montgomery

Got my legs back! I'm finally feeling normal again. Didn't want to go too hard and blow the weekend, but did the Montgomery / Belmont / Concourse / Lemon Hill loop, ending at TJ's. 8.2mi, no clock (but around 1hr.)

Windy!

Sweetbriar / Lemon Hill / AM loop = just over 6mi in 45 min. I'm kind of proud of that time, given the conditions. It was wicked windy and, in typical Schyulkill fashion, felt like it swirled around so that it was a headwind for 90% of the run.

Botched.

Damn. If I was a little tight yesterday, I was damn sore today. Anyone know why the hurt from a hard workout doesn't kick in until the second day? I've never understood it.

It was raining decently hard, and though I like running in the rain, running in the dark and rain is less pleasant. So I hopped on the mill and did a 3mi warmup (22min). Then was going to do mile repeats at around [what I think my] 5k pace [should be], but after the first one (6:2x) I could tell my legs were shot. So I changed plans and did the AM / Spring Garden 3mi loop. Around 7.75mi in 54 non-contiguous minutes.

Tuesday 8

My legs were very sore today (must not neglect lifting!) I got stuck on campus until late, and was not looking forward to running: it was either going to be a cold one outside, or a boring one indoors. Finally got to Pottruck around 7.30, and realized I didn't have a lock so I had to bike home and run outside. The upside was, I got to dress properly: winter hat, tights, ziptop.

Things started out slow and stiff, but up around the AM I started to loosen up. The hill up Montgomery really loosened me up and I felt great coming down the Concourse and down to Sweetbriar. Barely noticed the heavy rain falling on the last four miles. Ended at TJ's. Verdict: a nice recovery run.

Totals: 8.2 in 1h0m20s = 7:21 pace (which agrees exactly with the one measured mile on W River Dr I noticed the splits for.)

Nothing to see here...

Took it easy today with a Pottruck workout.

3mi treadmill run. Easy warmup for first 10 minutes, then up the ladder to finish at 9.2mph. 21:20 total.

Then full leg lifting circuit: press, quad + hamstring dodads, lunges, calf raises. 3 sets each, 12-20 reps depending on the exercise.

Then lots of stretching.

SuperLoop®

This afternoon I ran the Ridge Ave extension of the Loop, just a hair under 13mi, in 1h34m19s for 7:18 pace. Started slow, and into a headwind on the W River Drive. Was chasing a guy running at almost the same pace from the turnoff near the AM all the way up to the Falls Bridge. Finally caught him right as he turned right onto Kelly Drive and I turned left up to Ridge. Hit the turnaround and the headwind turned into a tailwind. I felt good, so I decided to rev it up. Ran at just under 7:00 pace back for the four measured miles down to Lloyd Hall (then took it easier for the stop-start-stop-start couple of miles down the Parkway and 22nd). A nice capstone to a 58 mile week!

Princeton, Philly

Am in Princeton for spring break 2008!!

Friday: rest day.

Saturday AM: woke up and did a 6mi jaunt with Johanna down the towpath off the back of Lake Carnegie. We ran at a nice but conversational (=7:47) pace for 46:5x.

Saturday PM: came back to a beautiful afternoon and felt like getting a short run in. Did the AM loop, so 3.5ish?

The Loop

Ran the East Falls Loop. 11.5mi, time unknown (took off watch to wear my HRM but then forgot to put it on!)

Repeats

I am sick again, and have been having trouble sleeping (woke up at 6am the last two days, hungry). My body wanted to hit the gym, but my head wanted to sleep. I dragged myself to Pottruck and... as soon I got on the 'mill, everything was good. The numbers: 3mi warmup in 22min, then 3x1600 in 6:41, 6:32, 6:23. That's not really a proper speedworkout, but given how I felt, I'll take it.

Strawberry Mansion

Ran to my favorite bridge. Pretty bridge, but not a pretty run. I ate too much food about an hour before setting out, and I ran the first bit too fast (mile one = ~7:00). The stomach cramps started around mile 3 and continued in waves through mile 7, when I ducked in to Lloyd Hall to use the loo. I stopped the clock for that break, so unlike most of my times, this is not wall-clock time. 9.6mi in 1h13m = 7:40ish pace while running.

Megh. My running has no specificity right now. No real long runs, no real hard runs. Just 6-10 miles most days at middle-7 pace. I guess that's OK for building a training base, but it's about time to mix things up again.

Back on it

Joy of Sets crashed out of playoffs tonight, sadly. I'm not too upset--we lost to the best remaining team (mixture of USP club teams, I guess?)--but we were better than them! The two things that killed me were (1) a horrible whistle for two touches when there was clearly a block between the first and second hit, and getting stuck in a rotation for 4 or 5 points in the second game, finally siding out and DECIDING NOT TO ROTATE!?! Ok, ok, it's what we always do, but given how much trouble we were having in that rotation, I would have tried to move along as quickly as possible. Instead, we ended up 8-2 down when we finally sided out again. (Take away that deficit and we actually won the remainder of the game.) Oh well. I was actually quite impressed with how our beginners played. We have a "full spectrum" of talent, and played some pretty damn scrappy defense at times.

Running: before the game I ran home to campus (a little over a mile; not worth mentioning except that I was very late and ended up running it about as fast as I could). After I ran home from Manayunk. The route is shown, and turns out to be 8 miles on the nose. I ran it in 1hr2sec, = exactly 7:30 pace. I need to do some higher intensity stuff. I have been doing higher mileage than I had been doing this winter, "and that's cool..." but I want to run fast at Broad Street. While high mileage is what I feel like doing right now, I can't neglect speedwork like I did last year.

Sunday

It was not the day I expected. I woke up early and did another morning workout--a bike ride through West Fairmount Park. It was a difficult ride for two reasons: (1) the wind was very strong today, and I seemed to be riding into it for much of the ride and (2) I kept running into road closures due to the Philly Phlyer team time trial taking place in and around the Belmont Plateau. I went a little slower due to the first, and I discovered some new roads due to the second. A nice way to start the day. Picture is of my loop. I think it was around 15mi?

Hosted the Harmony team (BCP + Michael) for a research meeting chez moi, got our door knob fixed, and then headed out for a run as the sun was setting. I didn't have a plan: was ready to run anything from the Art Museum to Manayunk. The same wind was blowing into my face and although I haven't run long in a few days, my legs were kind of tired. I really could have pushed for 5 or 6 without a problem but I decided to convert it into recovery run instead. Cruised an easy 4mi in about 30 minutes.

Evening 5

Caught a break in the rain and did a bookend run. Easy pace, unknown time, 5.5mi.

Morning 4

Friday: I got all dressed to run last night and decided that I really didn't feel like being out in the rain.

Today: Woke up this morning to even heavier rain, so went straight to the gym. Did a fast (for me) 4.25mi on the 'mill at Pottruck: 8.2mph to start, up the ladder to 9.3mph. Hit 3mi in 21:1x or so, 3.5 in 24:3x and 4 in 27:4x. Then cruised a quarter-mile cooldown. Running in the morning is so great. I should do it more often.

The Loop

Ran the East Falls Loop: 11.5mi in something like 1.5h (didn't wear a watch, so that's a crude, conservative estimate.) The last 2-3 miles got a little hard, but just tried to keep my stride long and run steady. This has been a good running week: am on 42 miles and its only Thursday.

I've been asked to be on the PLAN-X '09 PC! My first (and probably a sign that its time to get my graduation on) The PC co-chairs wrote this in their invitation:

Your help would be instrumental in ensuring the PL-DB balance in the PC.

Um which way do I tip the balance? :-)

A definition

re·cov·er·y run (rĭ-kŭv'ə-rē rŭn)
n., An easy workout that leaves you feeling stronger at the finish than you felt at the start.

Woke up feeling a little creaky and by the end of along day on campus, was even creakier. Hopped on the mechanical trail for 3 treadmiles in 21:0x, then hit the real pavement for this loop out to the AM and back via Spring Garden (untimed; around 25min). Total was 6.4mi in 46-ish? Legs felt great at the end. Toying with the idea of Loop'ing it tomorrow.

Let's do ten.

Was planning a treadmill run, but two miles in I decided to head outside. There are only so many days in Philadelphia in the 50s-60s, and Pottruck was stuffy. I didn't have a distance goal in mind--figured I'd do 4-5--but then I felt good when I hit Girard, so I continued up to Belmont/Montgomery for an 8mi loop.

The numbers: 2 miles in 14:50, then 8 windy miles in 1h1m = 10mi in 1h15m50s = 7:36 pace. The analysis: it felt good to run longer than I've been doing mid-week, but I did not feel fast (as the time reflects). For comparison: I like to see how fast I cover the measured mile on MLK (this factors out the warmup and early hills on this loop). The past few times that mile has gone by in around 6:40; today it took 7:04.

Manayunk

Joy of Sets won our playoff game, 2-0. Then I went for beer, pizza, and fries at the Bayou, and then decided to run home. What a mistake: the combination of being tired from waking up at 5am, dehydrated from playing vb and drinking beer, and bloated from the junk food... it was not pretty. If I felt strong on Sunday, I felt as weak last night. I soldiered through to Lloyd Hall, and my head was aching/spinning so I just walked it home from there. Yikes.

Monkton

Saturday: was hosting/driving down with Ted and DNR.

Sunday: Trail run at the NCRT in Monkton. 8.44mi in 1h0m26s = 7:09 pace. Wasn't keeping splits throughout, but did for one of the last measured miles, and it came in at 6:29. I can do faster.