12 24 to 12 30

mon 20 not as sick as a few days ago. i felt good so kept running. i hadnt planned on going that far so i had a solid bonk going on the end. i didnt mind. a few extra miles today wont hurt, considering all im gonna do tomorrow is eat and watch basketball.
weds 20 felt great, did 4 sets of the 6 min 5 4 3 2 1 workout. all single track, a lot of fun. going easy the next 2 days.
fri 7
sat 10
sun 10

12 17 to 12 23

monday 0 really needed it
tues 10 with rocko. 4 sets of 5 doorway pullups. in case any one was wondering, its the same doorway that broke away from the wall when chirp was doing pullups on it a few years ago, causing him to fall flat on his back. it seems to be fixed but i still wont be using it to do any L pullups like we did last time.
weds 11 at drummer hill 8x4, 4x2. wasnt too happy with times in the high 80s and high 30s. i was getting super discouraged with how slow i was and felt like quitting, but quitting wont get me faster so i finished the workout.
thurs 0 wicked sick, flu, sinus infection, didnt go to work, didnt even bowl. thats when i knew i was really sick.
sat 9 at the mini meet. i was still feeling horrible but i ran anyway. 519/231

12 10 to 12 16

mon 10 sore, of course. after a while you just get used to feeling like your leg is attatched to your hip with a nail. ill probly just stop mentioning it since its been that way for months. other than that it was an enjoyable run,
weds workout 10 ran the whole thing with george. started with some easy 200s to get loose (38-39), then 1600, 4x4, 4x2 (536.78,78,75,73,36,35,34,34). not pleased with the 16, but i started too fast so i got what i deserved on that one. the 4s and 2s were good. i guess its a good sign if youre able to bust balls with a wolverine while running 34 sec 200s. obviously i dont have the fitness to run a fast mile saturday but im gonna race it anyway. ill probly be the slowest guy to to ever step onto the track in zoom victorys, but i didnt buy them to let them sit in a box under a pile of dirty laundry, so what the hell just run, right?
thurs 5 mile limp jog. bowling was terrible. hit my average in 3 games, but the other 2 were horrible. i had no consistency, other than the amount of bad breaks that never stopped. naj was on fire (205,190,222,178,190,985 total). he got 7 strikes in a row. i think he did it twice but i dont really remember. i dont want to either. next week is the last night of the league before we start over. weve each blown 200 plus point leads, and now were only 8 pins apart.
fri 10
sat 8 b.u. mini meet. greg led team duck ass to a solid performance (2nd in the mile, 1st in the 800), while me and glenn (english teachers cringe, incluging glenn) did the best we could in our current physical conditions. for me that meant 524/225. i got almost no sleep the night before, so i guess that was pretty good considering.
sun 20 i wasnt too sore, which was a big surprise.

12 3 to 12 9

mon easy 5, wings, chromium.
tues 8 broke out the headlamp. stonewall farm trails at night. fun run, really hot out. almost 50 degrees. kind of hard to see cuz of the fog and mist. wicked sore, not sure why since i took it easy yesterday.
thurs 13 did the 6-5-4-3-2-1 workout again, 3 sets, all in the dark. the soreness was dulled by a lot of advil. im starting to like running at night. ran the same route a few weeks ago and i was faster this time. i ran the 1 min recoveries quicker. i didnt think i was faster on the repeats but it turns out that i was. last time i ran an 800 during the 4 min on the 3rd set in 319, and this time i was 304, also late in the 3rd set. i was not close to all out so i was pleased when i saw how much faster i was. i felt good that i was able to run a solid time when i was over 10 miles into the workout. i wish i felt that good about my bowling. i had an off night. i couldnt get a consistent release and only averaged 171. naj crushed the first game (255, 7 strikes in a row) and i couldnt get out of the hole. i didnt think it was possible to roll a 197 and lose by 58. he made up 76 pins tonight. im still up 199, but it doesnt feel like it. i know what i did wrong and i know i can fix it, so im already looking forward to having a good night next week.
sun 18 tough run with ferenc and goup. wouldve been easier but yesterdays hermathon had me tired before it even started.

11 26 to 12 2

mon 7
tues 8
weds 10 track workout, only the 2nd one in 8 months. 2,2,4,4,8,4,4,2,2 (37,37,79,77,244,77,74,34,33). for a long time this year ive felt tight and uneven, like i had one leg longer than the other. not today. i felt smooth for the first time in a long time. considering the huge amount of time away from the track, i am very pleased with how it went.
thurs bowling was awesome. i had my best night ever (161,190,224,180,266) 1021 total. 9 strikes the last game (5 in a row, spare, 4 in a row, spare). if i had gotten a strike in the last frame, it would have been my best game. i did get my best 3 game series though. i finally capitalized on a rare off night by naj (811). he had been lighting it up the last couple of weeks. now im up by 275.
fri 13 advil wouldve really helped on this one. i was incredibly sore in my hips and groin, but mentally i was able to let my mind go. that made it so at least some of the time i didnt notice how bad i felt. this was no doubt the most uncomfortable run ive had lately. the good news is i know ill feel better tomorrow, cuz its just not possible to feel worse than i did today.
sat 10 with ferenc. he is getting better really fast.
sun 14 the clearing. ran it really tough. i was tired on the climbs, but thats what happens the day after running in saxtons river.

11 19 to 11 25

mon 8 turkey trot at school. 27th annual. this is a huge tradition and the whole town shows up for it. its one of my favorite days of the whole year. every kid in the school runs the race. i run every race with whoever is leading, to make sure they go the right way. k,1, and 2 run 0.4 miles, 3rd and 4th run 0.7 mi, and 5-8 run 1.1 miles. i was tired from running 15 yesterday but i knew each race would only be fast for the first 200 meters. the only races that were tough for longer than that were the 5th and 8th grade races. there were two 5th grade boys i had on my team this year that were legit and they ran the race at 613 pace, so i had to work a little bit. by the time i got to the last race, the 8th grade, i was getting tired. a girl i had on the team ran 622 pace so i had put some effort in again. the average pace looks way easier than the effort because every race started with about a 35 sec first 200. it ended up being kind of a workout. after the turkey trot, there was a ceremony where the school gymnasium was dedicated to a good friend of mine. he taught at the school for over 30 years and is one of the most important people in my life. the best part was when they opened up the mic to anyone who wanted to say a few words about him. of course i had to get up there and give my thanks. what i didnt expect was after i was done, about 50 kids lined up and said how much they loved him and that they miss him. it was awesome.
tues 8 ran up beech hill. hit the trails at the top. i stopped to check out the view looking out over the city. ive lived in keene for 7 years and this was the first time i did that. i think i spent at least ten minutes taking it all in. the sun was going down and it looked really cool. i couldve easily spent an hour up there but it was getting dark so i had to keep moving.
weds 6 really sore, no advil, so i kept it easy.
thurs 10 thanks, advil. dinner at my moms neighbors house. this dude is the best cook ever. i didnt bother with the turkey and mashed potatoes. i filled up on stuffing with sausage, fresh mozzarella, and banana peppers stuffed with prosciutto and provolone.
fri 14 had to make it a good one after i somehow packed on 8 pounds of thanksgiving goodness. i dont know if its a world record but its gotta be close. i felt heavy and the headache was bad but i felt great after.
sun 17 did 3 sets of the 6 min,5,4,3,2,1 with 1 min rest. all of it was on single track. that made it go by really quick. solid workout.

11 12 to 11 18

mon 12 i was planning on doing the railbed tempo, but i could tell after the first mile that it wasnt happening. i shut it down and just ran comfortably until the turnaround. i figured i would try to run one fast mile just to see if i could get anything going. it was one of the toughest 6 min miles i ever ran. bummer. i had nothing today, so i went back to just running. at 10 miles i thought maybe if could run another 6 min mile that late into it, then the run wouldnt be a total loss. i was able to do it, but it wasnt easy. i guess for a day when felt horrible, it wasnt too bad. i really need my new kinvaras to get here. my joints are aching. might be why i felt so shitty.
tues easy 7 on the robin hood park trails. felt ok other than the sore knees and ankles. finished in the dark. i dont recommend doing that after spending the previous 2 days watching 20 episodes of the walking dead. every noise i heard had me ready to pick up a huge rock and crush the skull of a groaning blood dripping zombie.
weds 0 i planned on working out, but i totally screwed myself on that. i stayed up almost the whole night watching more of the walking dead. i am totally hooked. i got about 2 hours of sleep, so i was tired when i showed up at the track. then i realized i forgot my watch at home. i took it as a sign that i should bag it, bank on the new kicks being there when i got back, and workout tomorrow. i felt bad leaving cuz andy was the only other one there, but i think i made the right move. also, im caught up on all the episodes so i wont be up all night watching them.
thurs 12 solid night of sleep, new shoes, track workout. ran from my house to the track (4.5 mi), then did 4x200, 2x400, 4x200 (39,38,37,37,78,75,36,35,34,33). i felt better and better the further into it i went (thats what she said? probly not). started the run home with a 2 mile tempo, then did a 2.5 mi cooldown. not bad for the first time on the track since march. no bowling, naj hurt his achilles. hope its not serious.
sun 15 gave the calf a few days rest and it helped with the soreness. it didnt help with running fast. i ran the lil rhody runaround. i tried to race it but at 4 miles i was done. i switched into 'just enjoy being out there mode'. it worked. i wasnt fustrated about how i ran. that made it so i could enjoy seeing all of my friends get their best times. 

11 5 to 11 11

mon 13 calf sore, felt good other than that. i could say that about every run in the last 6 weeks. its not that bad, i guess. or maybe im just getting used to it.
tues 17 ran hard up beech hill (1.85 miles uphill, 13:53), hit the trails at the top, then ran hard back down (10:20). 3 mile cooldown, 10 total. then i busted out the headlamp and ran 7 on the trails with some friends from work.
thurs bowling i had an average night and naj had a great night. the lane was slippery, the worst ever by a lot. i just couldnt get used to it. it didnt affect naj that much. the scores will confirm that. me (169,190,164,169,202) naj (187,191,212,195,183). my lead took a serious hit. good thing that the first week we said that total pins (not win/loss) will decide the winner, or id be totally screwed. either way, i have to do better next week.
fri 13 did 3 sets of the 6 min-5-4-3-2-1 with 1 min rest in between. i usually do 2 sets but i felt good.
sat sap lines 13 with ferencs dogs and the neighbors dog. went the opposite direction, which meant going up the switchbacks. it was the first time i made it to the top without walking or stopping. i had ferencs gps watch so i was constanly looking at the elevation changes. it was cool. the 2 big climbs are both about a mile long and over 700 feet of gain. maybe that doesnt look that bad, but it seems twice as hard as that when youre out there doing it.

10 29 to 11 4

mon 7 with sontag and rocko. we got out of the woods just in time. the wind started picking up the last 2 miles and there were branches coming down and trees creaking everywhere. all we wanted to do was get out of there but rocko wouldnt stop chasing deer and turkeys. eventually he stopped being naughty and we got it done. i was tired from yesterday but it was still a good run. no school today or tomorrow. chromium flows like wine.
tues 0 hadnt taken a day off in a while. did 100 pushups and 100 dips.
weds 15 ate a ton of oreos and cupcakes at school. had a wicked stomach ache all afternoon. it took forever to go away so i had to run in the dark. still got a good run in. i did 2 sets of pickups (6 min, 5,4,3,2,1) with a minute jog in between each one. i was looking to run fast but in control. i was able to do that while getting faster each time. no clue what the pace was, but i dont care. the effort was good.
thurs 0 calf was wicked sore, but at least it didnt affect my bowling. i had my most consistent night ever and made about 90% of my spares (181,193,186,181,191). the only problem was that naj had his best night ever (182,210,202,192,156). its a good thing i had a solid night, or else id have lost way more than 10 pins.
fri 9 ran home from school cuz my car is dead in the school parking lot. we had an xc meet so i didnt get to start running until 545. it was almost dark and really hard to see the trail. good thing i knew where i was going.
sat 15 sap lines 13 with hammett and ferencs wolves. had a great run, got my best time by 4 min (127). it was the first time i finished it without being reduced to walking. i felt really good, so we cranked the last mile in 603. hammett showed no signs of fatigue, even tho he already ran 9 in the morning. i added on 2 miles after. good hangout after. on the drive home i was convinced to run lil rhody runaround. until then, i had no desire to do it but he presented a rock solid argument that i couldnt beat. it doesnt matter if ill never run 47 min again. what matters ill be there with a ton of people that i care about. disgustingly mushy (let me take a second to vomit), but he is right. i need to be there.
sun 5 calf was really sore. other than that, i felt ok.

10 22 to 10 28

mon 13 kind of a strange run with two tempos almost an hour apart. at practice i ran the steep hill  to glenbrook in 849 (1.15 miles, 15% avg grade for 0.8 miles, yes i checked it on map my run). considering the climb, i was pleased with that time. then i ran around the pond and took a few minutes to talk with the kids. it was cool to see how well they handled the big climbs. as they came around the pond, i got behind a tree and tried to scare them with a sasquatch noise but they knew it was me. then we headed back. i ran down at a quick but comfortable pace (540 ish, thanks gravity). after practice i ran with no specific plan for about 6 or 7 miles and ended up at the top of beech hill. i decided i still felt good and that i would run fast down it. 1027 for 1.85 miles (538 pace, thank you again gravity). too bad it was all downhill. it was fun tho. then i ran an easy mile back home.
tues 8 sore and tired, no surprise there. didnt take advil, had to put on the heavy duty calf sleeve.
weds 10 did 4x800 at practice on the xc course (255,250,251,247). considering all the sharp turns and the grass, im fine with these times. then i switched to shorter stuff. mike r met me at the field. our plan was to do 8x200 to help him get ready for basketball. i figured his speed would make it tough for me. we did an easy mile and then we got into it. we ran the first 7 side by side until he lit me up on the last one (34,34,32,34,33,34,32,31). i was surprised with these times. i guess speed comes back quick when you stop doing 4 hour runs. big time bonk on the cooldown. solid day.
7 with sontag and rocko. kept it easy. i needed that. bowling was good overall, but i was inconsistent (234, 149, 179, 182, 236). two great games, but that 149 is killing me. i blew lots of easy spares again, but i got 4 strikes in a row two times. naj had a good 3rd game (195) and it looked like he had the momentum back. then he got a lot of bad breaks the last 2 games and i was able to pull away.
fri 3 i was gonna take a 0 but the weather was too awesome.
sat 9 on the derryfield park xc course. watched the high school division races. that course is tough.
sun 17 (12 miles hard effort in 118) felt really good today. 67 miles this week.

straight ballin

this was way too awesome of a night to bury the bowling report in the middle of my boring run log. both of us got our best for 5 games and for 3 games in a row. naj got his best game ever. most importantly i made up 66 pins and now im only down 15. the scores: me 213, 203, 184, 223, 179  (1002 total). naj 191, 148, 149, 234 (career high), 214 (936). going into the last frame of the night i was only at 149. i needed a 177 to get 1000. that meant at least a double strike and an 8. i got a turkey. clutch. i still missed too many easy spares but i made more than last week. i decided i didnt want the shoes i had ordered so they gave me my money back in a gift card. great decision.

10 15 to 10 21

mon/tues ran a few miles at practice. really sore. felt totally wiped, probly from the hard run saturday and the stomach bug.
weds 8 felt back to normal
thurs 13 i wanted to do a workout or a tempo but my hamstring kept cramping so i backed off and just enjoyed the trails. if it feels ok tomorrow ill try to do something fast. if not, no big deal ill shut it down and get more easy miles.
sun 5 hamstring is fine, calf is not great

10 8 to 10 14

mon 10 tough day. 2 miles hard effort on the xc course 1252. its hilly and loaded with roots and rocks. on a track it would probably have been 1130 to 1145. did about 5 min recovery and then did a mile on the course at the same pace 626, but i was tired and the effort was harder. then i went up to the railbed behind the school and did a mile at tempo pace, a mile easy, then finished with 2 more tempo miles.
tues xc meet
weds 11 wanted to do more but had to cut it short so i could get to the store in time to finally get a phone.
thurs xc meet. bowling was good, but i couldve done better. im still sucking at picking up spares. i had one game where i didnt have to do too much of that because i got a lot of strikes. i had a couple of turkeys and at least one other strike and ended up with a 235 that game. my other games arent worth mentioning, but that one great game was enough to get back 41 pins. now im only down 81. najem had 2 in the 180's and a 190 so he didnt make it easy. i really need to figure out this problem with making spares. unrelated topic- i got a new phone but its not working. i have to decide whether im gonna run or go to the store to get it fixed. i didnt run today so i already know what its gonna be.
fri 12 had time after to go the store and get my phone fixed. all set now. i went 3 weeks without a phone. i think some people thought i was dead.
sat 13 we won a wiffle ball tournament. i was throwing some serious heat. then i ran vistas for the first time in at least a year. i ended up with one of my best times. i climbed terribly up the ridge but i was fast everywhere else. i had a few emergency bathroom stops and was quickly out of tp. i had to use moss, which ended up being highly effective. i got back to gregs and went straight to the bathroom. that was the first of about ten more times in there over the next few hours. i felt terrible. i was finally able to make it home around 10. i had a few more unfortunate trips to the bathroom before i could finally shower and go to bed. ugh.
sun body is destroyed. sore everywhere.

10 1 to 10 7

tues 6 probably couldnt have run without advil and compression sleeve. the good news is that it didnt get worse during the run, and it feels ok now. i cant get too excited yet, though. if i wake up and it feels good then ill know i can start getting after it again.
weds 7 calf felt about the same as yesterday, so it was good enough. a lot of long, steep climbs that really irritated it. the flats and downs were fine. probly gonna need advil for a while. ive taken more of it in the last two days than i did all summer but whatever. i dont care. it makes it so i can run.
thurs 8 in the dark. calf ok. bowling was good. i got 5 strikes in a row, rolled a 211, and started to climb out of the hole. going in i was down by 212. now its down to 122. my other games werent very good. i probably needed to make up more ground since naj had a hard time getting used to his new shoes. ill most likely have the same problem next week when my shoes come in. hopefully i wont give back what i made up tonight.
fri 13 ran the railbed 9.5 really hard (60:28). even with two weeks of 20 miles and an injury, i was almost 3 minutes faster than when i did the same run 3 weeks ago. i probably would have been faster if i had run smarter. i was out way too fast the first 2 miles. this turned the last 2 miles into a big time struggle. i was on fumes at that point and had a hard time running in a straight line. i totally staggered to the finish. this was not even close to my best time for this run, but considering the last few weeks and all the long runs with no workouts, im happy with the time and the effort.
sun 7 felt ok after feeling really sore yesterday.

9 24 to 9 30

mon xc meet
tues worked on the xc course. this time i washed off my legs before i got sweaty from running. last time i worked on the course, i ran first and ended up with the worst poison ivy of my life. i did 12 in 1:20 (tempo 10 in 65) calf really sore after, kept me from finishing off the run the way i usually do. still a solid time considering i havent worked out in like 6 months. id like to do the ksc invite but it depends on how loose the calf is on saturday.
weds 3 calf is killing. limp jogged it. hurt every step even though i had a heavy duty velcro compression sleeve. it feels like theres a knife sticking into it when i land and push off. foam rolling is even more painful than that, and its way too tight to stretch. also, still no phone. i think im gonna have to break down and buy a new one. id consider activating the i phone matty p gave me but i dont want to pay a huge monthly bill, especially since right now it doesnt cost anything to use it as an i pod.
thurs 3 maybe slightly better than yesterday, probably because of the advil. only lost at bowling by 21. i was down by 67 after starting off with scores in the 120s. before i started, i decided to stick with curving it no matter what but i was sucking so bad i was about to switch to throwing a straight ball. then i got a strike and everything changed. i checked the speed and saw i had thrown it faster, so i decided id try to do that every time. it worked. i got 4 strikes in a row in each of the next 2 games (187, 191). i still suck at picking up spares, but theres a lot to feel good about.
fri 3 calf is still bad. im starting to get sore in other places, probably from limping. i think ill give it a few days off so i dont get injured somewhere else too. i dont want to take time off but im not making the olympics so whatever. ill try advil next week and see what i can do.

9 17 to 9 23

mon took the day off from work. walked a couple miles. probably couldve run, but no need to hurry a recovery week.
tues 2 miles at practice. felt fine, not too sore, just tired.
weds 3 at practice, felt good. 2 more when i got home.
thurs 6 calf really sore at first but loosened up after a couple miles. got killed at bowling, again.
fri xc meet, also lost my phone. not good.
sat wood stacking world record, hermathon, adult conversation
sun 7 in 48 min. beech hill and concord rd. felt great so i ran fast. the 2 mile climb went by fast and easy. i forgot how good it feels to run on fresh legs. that wont last long though. next week its time to start gettin after it again.

9 10 to 9 16

took a really easy week. all short runs 3 to 5 miles. a couple days off.
thursday bowling was not a good night for me. neither of us were tearing it up, and i was just little bit worse than naj thru 4 games. then we played the 5th one and i was a lot worse than naj. he got hot and rolled a 224 to put him ahead on the night by 119 pins and 104 overall. ugh! i need to figure out how to get more consistent hitting the pocket and stop missing easy spares.
sunday was the pisgah 50k. i went into it with the best training ive ever had, but still i did not have the speed that i had a few years ago. i expected to run about 4:45, way slower than my best time of 4:22. all i wanted to do was run steady the whole way and then finish strong, instead of falling apart like last time. i started off very slow, forcing myself to keep it under control. i felt good for the first 8 or 9 miles, climbing well with minimal effort on dogwood and up the steep road to the reservoir. for some reason, my hamstring tried to cramp up. the thought of running over 3 more hours with a leg cramp didnt seem enjoyable, or likely. it went away quickly. sweet. at about 1:20 i took a gel and headed up chestnut. i was still feeling pretty good on reservoir all the way to the start of the ridge. i had been fighting the urge to stop and piss for at least a half hour, but i reached the point where i couldnt hold it anymore. i didnt want to stop because i felt good, so i tried to let it out while running. not smart. i tripped on something and went down. as soon as i stopped rolling, my hamstring cramped again. i quickly straightened my leg and got it to loosen up. i got up, finished my piss (standing still) and pushed on. the good news was that somehow i didnt wet myself when i fell, but the bad was that i tweaked my hip flexors when i went down. it took a few minutes until i felt loose again. i felt tired for first time, so i took another gel. the caffeine kicked in and felt i strong again. i passed two people going up the ridge and two more on the way down. i hit kilburn at 3 hours, and felt like i could hold my pace all way to the finish. i got a little hungry and had a slight bonking feeling at about 3:20, so i ate a clif bar and i was fine again. i drank some gatorade at the final aid station and climbed up to parking lot still feeling good. i took a gel and got up davis no problem and still had energy to manage the technical descent without issues. i took my last gel right before the gate at about 30 miles. i was shocked to hear footsteps behind me. this guy (not al t) was coming up fast. i had to do something. i sped up a lot and battled him. we passed hammetts house and i got a huge shot of adrenaline from everyone out in the road screaming at me to go. i was running outside myself, and had no clue if i could hold it to the finish. we hit the hill and the other guy surged. i wasnt willing to give in and stayed even with him. i got about halfway up and the adrenaline was gone. i went from 6 minute pace to about 10. once i got to the top i was able to hammer again but i couldnt reel the guy in. if i hadnt stopped early in the race to tighten my shoes, i wouldve beaten him. no big deal tho. i ran as well as i could, finished in 4:35. way faster than i thought. solid hermathon after. greg got his course record back, jen and jonny pr'd, glenn ran great, and james kicked ass in the 50k on his 50th birthday. awesome day all around. wow that was a lot of typing. no way i am checking for mistakes. church.

9 3 to 9 9

tues 13
weds 12 ordered new kinvaras. need them bad. feet and joints starting to get sore.
thurs 14 (10 miles hard effort) and bowling vs najem. i went into it down 96 pins after the first week. i was thinking if i got back 4 pins each week i would be back in it by springtime. i was far more fortunate than that. i had a good night and naj didnt. he didnt get many breaks. he rolled better than what his scores show. results: scores- me 175,162,202,171,196. naj 165,150,148,182,150. total pins- me 906, naj 795. best 3 in a row- me 569, naj 480. wins- me 4, naj 1. averages- me 181.2 naj 159.0 dickout gutterballs- none. i made up 111 pins, and after two weeks im up 15. i couldve done better though. i missed a lot of easy spares and struggled to hit the pocket at times. hopefully i can fix that next week.
sat 21 in a downpour. a lot of fun. only 8 days to go until the 50k. this was my last run of any significant distance, and it was easy. finished fast the last two miles and felt great. i think its a good sign that im ready. in shitty news, my car wont start and i have poison ivy everywhere from the knees down. the silver lining: at least its not everywhere from the waist down.
sun 10 poison ivy is spreading, but at least its only made it halfway up my quads.
total- 70

8 27 to 9 2

mon easy 5, wings, chromium
tues 34 in pisgah 4:47 super humid but still a lot of fun. saw a black bear 2 hours into it. i was kind of slogging along and not feeling great, but seeing that bear gave me the shot of adrenaline i needed to get my pace back to where it was supposed to be. greg met me out there at the 3 hour mark with snacks and water, then ran kilburn with me. helped a ton. im definitely not as fast as last time i did the 50k, but at least im better prepared. last time i had one long run of 3:43. this time i have a lot more (3:25, 3:39, 4:01, 4:47) so i should be able avoid dying a horrible death with 5 miles left. i was so worked after, to the point where i could only get one chromium replacement beverage down. tomorrow could be one of those mornings where im afraid to get out of bed cuz i dont want to find out how sore i am. but itll be well worth it.
weds 3 did the cooldown with the weds workout crew. felt really good
thurs am 7, pm 8 still feeling good. najem kicked my ass at bowling. we decided to keep track of all the games every week. results: me- 169,178,148,178,135. naj- 153,213,158,221,159. total pins: me- 808, naj 904. best 3 consecutive game total: me- 504, naj- 592. games won: me- 1, naj- 4. averages: me- 161.6, naj 180.8 dickout gutterballs: 1 each. not the way i wanted to start off. it would be easy to blame my poor showing on high levels of chromium, but ive had good nights under the same conditions, so its no excuse. he had a great night and i didnt. i guess the good news i cant really do much worse, and it was still fun despite getting my ass handed to me.
fri am 8, pm 8
sat 10 watched the ksc alumni race, had lot of fun hanging out after.
sun 18
total miles- 101. my 2nd highest ever. total august miles- 354. my highest month ever. the hay is in the barn. now that the 50k is only two weeks away, i can start backing off on the miles and go into the race with rested legs.

8 20 to 8 26

mon 0  the weekend festivities have taken their toll on me. i couldnt do anything today.
tues 10 felt better, except for some achilles bursitis. its been a while since this was a problem. ill have all day to rest it since ill be sitting in a car for a 5 hour trip back to rhody tomorrow.
weds 14 when i started, i could tell i would soon be in bathroom emergency mode. i realized i had no tp. this is a rare mistake for me. only fyffe brings more tp than i do. i started to look for ferns along the sides of the trail. i was moving kinda fast and not really watching where i was going. i jammed my toe on a root and went down hard. i got right up and kept running. i was covered in dirt. soon i had more problems. i had to start looking for ferns again. i stubbed the same toe again. that one took a few minutes to run off. this was becoming a really shitty run. the bursitis was worse than yesterday and continued to get worse over the first 3 miles. usually this is a sign that ill be walking back to the car. for the first time ever, it gradually went away. i could hardly feel it by the end. that was all i needed to turn it into a good run.
thurs finished painting, drove back to nh. hinsdale fun run 9 miles total. no problems with bursitis. cool.
fri am 6 in putney, pm 7 grafton pond
sat 17 putney mountain

8 13 to 8 19

mon 10
tues am 10, pm 4
weds pm 5, late pm 11 with big dave. fun run.
thurs took a zero after seeing i had run 89 in the last 7. instead i worked at my grandparents house. i scraped the peeling shingles, pulled out the rotten ones and painted. spent a lot of time up on a ladder. i was up at the peak of the second story and kind of zoning out on my work when the neighbors pulled into the driveway and beeped. this totally freaked me out and i almost fell. kind of scary. my landing options were either rocks or a picket fence. good thing i didnt fall. other than that, i really enjoyed the work. i was using oil paint and didnt have much paint thinner left after cleaning the brushes. this meant i wasnt able to wash all of it off me, so now im kind of green. maybe i look like a smaller version of the hulk. probably not, though. tomorrow im gonna try for over 4 hours again, then its off to pennsylvania for my cousins graduation party. if theres one thing my family does well, its maintain their chromium levels. should be fun. i havent found any good places to run down there yet, but maybe this time i will.
fri 26 really had a hard time on this one. i was feeling tired way too early and fell off the pace a ton, so i pulled the plug. i came up 6 miles and about 45 min short of what i was looking for. i guess if thats a bad day, im doing ok.
sat 10 found my way out of the neighborhood and away from the highway and found some decent places to run. a lot of farms, rolling hills. not much traffic. way better than i was expecting. had no soreness and hardly and any fatigue from yesterday. nice. hot tub. chromium.
sun 11 went out to the farms and backroads again. hot tub. chromium.
87 miles total. good stuff.

8 6 to 8 12

mon tired, not sore, biked 12 miles while ferenc and naj did a workout. wings.
tues 12 total. pm 8 took rocko for a run, which is always fun. unbelievable how athletic that dog is. felt good, i guess going slow on long runs really works as far as quick recovery goes. late pm 4.
weds 13 total. 530 am 6 miles. after 3 nights of awesome sleep, of course i didnt get any last night, so i went for a run. attempted to sleep after from 8 am to about 1 or 2 in the aft. didnt happen. kept getting phone calls. up at 1130. watched olympics, ate lunch. slept again from 330 to 530. pm 7 took rocko out for a few.
thurs 14 total. early pm 6. late pm 8 hinsdale fun run, tired
fri 7
sat 14
sun 14 total. am 7, pm 7 felt good so i ran faster on the climbs. world record for above the shoulders spider webs. all over the face and in my mouth countless times. they were kind of sticky. if you started to go to a bad place in your mind, its ok. dont fight it. just let it happen. if youre as big of a fan as i am of saying 'thats whats she said', i just made your day. side note- i think splitting up the miles this week helped with recovery from the 4 hour run, as well as keeping the pace under control. 74 miles. cool.

7 30 to 8 5

mon 14 i was going for 4 hours but was still feeling really tired from the okemo race. i had nothing on the climbs so i bagged it just short of 2 hours. i dont want to take a day or two off but its the smart thing to do.
thurs 13 hinsdale fun run. still not feeling good, but managed a good time in the mile (543) even though the course was really slow with very thick grass. i had no energy going into the 2.3 so i just ran it instead of racing.
fri am 5 with glenn and jimmy. i was tired and glenn was on the verge of puking the whole time, so we limp jogged. i still had fun. pm 5
sat 4 feeling better
sun 30 (4:01:30) really needed to get this done to feel like ill be ready for the 50k. felt better the second half of the run. kept the pace easy so it wouldnt take all week to get recovered.

7 23 to 7 29

mon 13 in saxtons river, tough run, crushed 25 wings after. washed it down with some chromium.
weds 14 w/8 100m strides, still feel tired from mondays run
thurs 13 hinsdale fun run. went into it really tired, but ended up doing ok.
fri 15 miles total. couldnt get to sleep the whole night, ended up running 10 miles at 530 am. it was really cool running over the dam in the fog and rain. slept from 8am to noon. still tired. pm 5.
sat 12 okemo mountain 10 miler. this was as tough as anything ive ever done. it was over 3 miles up to the top, about half way down the other side, then back the same way to the finish. doing the clearing twice was easier even though it was two hours longer. im expecting to be super tired and really sore tomorrow.
sun easy 4 both piriformis were sore, probably from pounding the pavement down the steep sections. ill estimate it at 15% grade. felt better as the run went on. surprisingly, i didnt feel tired, so that was cool. i wouldve kept going but im gonna try to get four hours tomorrow so i wanted to make sure ill be rested. solid week, 71 miles.

7 16 to 7 22

mon 5 felt surprisingly good
tues 7
weds am 5, pm 7
thurs am 3, pm 9 hinsdale fun run, best one this year. over a minute faster than two weeks ago for the 2.3 mile.
fri 11 grafton pond and ski trails. really tired today.
sat took a well deserved 0 after 82 miles in the last 7 days
sun 13 felt good

7 9 to 7 15

mon hiked mt monadnock with greg, glenn, and slim. then we got burgers, nachos, and chromium replacement. then we played home run derby. great day.
tues 17 with ferenc, found some new trails, felt way better than i expected.
weds 12 total 9 with ferenc, 3 with the weds workout crew. didnt feel tired from yesterdays run, which is a good sign. mc glenn came over to chill. chromium. great day. probly gonna be tired at the fun run tomorrow. no prob.
thurs 8 glenns fun run, 30 sec faster than last week for the 2.3 mi
sat 7
sun 28 did the clearing twice with a small add-on in robin hood park. settled into an easy pace and was able to keep it going the whole time. the climbs were tougher the second time, but not unbearable. it was humid, but it wasnt that hot, only about 80. had aid stations set up ahead of time, which helped a lot. really hungry after, so i gut gorged. dominos chicken, jalapeno and pineapple sandwich right after. chili nachos for dinner. chromium. finally satisfied my hunger. another great day. summer is the best.
72 on 5 days. me llamo mike.

7 2 to 7 8

tues 10 at ryan park with jonny, fun run
weds 7 great day of wiffle ball and chromium.
thurs gonna try a mac the knight tribute post. here we go. 755am- snooze. 805am- snooze. 815am- snooze. i wanted to get up at 8 to watch the tour de france, but i couldnt will myself to get up. no big deal tho. i love summer. 830am- pete thomas called to say he dropped off my security deposit. i did will myself to get up for that. 450 bucks. cha ching! headed to the bank to deposit the check and some cash that i made painting last week. went to shaws to get supplies to make chinchilla. tortillas, chicken, mango salsa, peppers, onions, corn, 4 kinds of beans, franks red hot buffalo, ranch. also picked up coffee and half & half. only cost 30 bucks. bam! home at 10am for coffee and to watch the finish of stage 5. it was a good one. there was a big crash with only about a min left, but still most of the peloton survived. they caught the leaders about ten seconds from the finish line and passed them like they were standing still. exciting. then i chilled in my room and played some madden. then i made lunch. chinchilla burrito. so good. pooped (thank you coffee). brett came back from his run, then plankey and chance came over. watched them play call of duty. brett showed us his air rifle. it had a sweet scope on it. we went in the backyard to shoot it. we dont have a big yard so im not sure if it was the best idea with the houses so close. i guess it didnt matter since we were on target with all of our shots. the tin cans and jug of water didnt stand a chance. if i had been out hunting, and the cans were deer...eh im full of shit. i couldnt shoot a deer. theyre too effing cute. after shooting, they left to go run. i played some more madden. 545pm left for glenns hinsdale fun run. thomas went with me. 3 mile warmup. 1 mile hard effort on grass (5:46). 1 mile easy. tried to race the 2.3 mile but it didnt happen. the best i could do was almost tempo pace (about 6:45). cooled down for 20 min. 10 miles on the day. the mile time was faster than i ran last year. the 2.3 wasnt even close. no worries. i did the best i could do. went with glenn and gina to get pizza and chromium replacement. thomas had the best beer he ever tasted, probly cuz he had been starving for the last 3 hours. home at 945. watched tv for a few hours. checked out the blogosphere. read about goupil getting a girls digits. will have to get the whole story from him tomorrow. bed at 130am. got the most i could out of the day. damn it took forever to type all of that. how does macknight do it every day?
fri 8 stonewall farm trails
sat 10 unexpected 25 min climb on this one. didnt reach the top. will have to go back sometime to finish that one.
sun 16 slow and easy
61 miles total

6 25 to 7 1

mon 0 went to foxwoods, didnt win, had many chromium replacers
tues 10 good run, all single track
weds 10 same as yesterday
thurs 12 ran with matty p. worked my ass off.
fri 5
sat 6
sun 23 great to get back to the longer runs. went slow, so it was really easy. 3 hrs of single track. cant beat that. definitely getting used to the heat. it was humid when i started and close to 90 when i finished, but i never felt hot.
66 miles this week. still feel like i wont get back what little speed i had, but at least the gas tank is on its way back.

6 18 to 6 24

mon 0 foot hurt, bad night sleep, zombie at work, 600 bucks to fix my car. happy birthday to me. at least i got to meet up to eat pigeon wings with hammett, ferenc, najem, and larry.
tues 5 took advil, foot was fine.
weds 10 skipped the workout cuz it was 100 degrees out. ran at night with the ksc guys, 6 of us total. i suggested hitting the trails with some headlamps, but only one of them wanted to do that, so instead we headed up main st. one of the ksc guys who was in front ran through straight thru some high school kids that were hogging the sidewalk. i probly wouldnt have done that, but i still felt they deserved the collision. little did we know that this would turn out to be a bad move. at first they reacted as expected, shouting out highly original (sarcasm) profanity peppered with homophobia. they also chased us, which was a concern for me cuz im not in great shape right now. i surprised myself with how fast i was able to turn it over, and after a minute or two the chase was over (or so we thought). i made myself laugh for a second during the chase as i pointed out to one of the punks that he too was running. as we got further up washington st, some of us were thinking we should get off the main roads in case they got their cars and started looking for us. not sure why but we stayed on the main drag. i guess we figured that they were losers and therefore didnt have a car. after about a mile, we finally turned onto a side street, but we did it about ten seconds too late. they had found us. as soon as we turned, a car and truck were right on top of us. they came within inches of running over one of the ksc guys. the bed of the truck was full of redneck high schoolers, at least 6 of them, maybe 8. it was hard to tell in the dark. they jumped out yelling, 'dont fuck with keene kids!' all of them had bats and one had hedge clippers. we had to react quickly. four of us ran through a parking lot and behind a building, and the chase began again. i quickly thought that i didnt want to go that way because i wasnt sure if it was a dead end or not. i decided to run in the opposite direction that their truck was pointed, that way they would have to turn around, which would buy us some time. hedge clippers and one other kid chased us back to washington st then they gave up, probly cuz we dropped a 10.5 sec 100. we took off behind the rec center, and got across elm st and court st as fast as we could. then we went across west st at starbucks, behind walmart, and cut thru the campus. we sprinted across main st then took more side roads back to the house. the other guys had a tougher time than we did. the parking lot behind the building was a dead end so they had to haul ass into the woods, getting torn up by prickers. they lucked out when they ended up in the yard of someone they knew. the people let them in and the police were called. once they got there, they gave the guys a ride back to the house. we got there 20 min after them. once we had calmed down a bit, i convinced three of them to finish the run with me. i wanted to get ten miles in, and i was only at 40 min. we did not go to main st. the rest of the run was still stressful, because every set of headlights we saw made us think those losers had found us again. luckily, we didnt see them. i really hope i never have to deal with anything like this again. im definitely sticking to the trails for a while. i guess the good thing about this run is that i found out im in better shape than i thought.
thurs 7 parked at goose pond, really sore and tired.
fri 5 goose again, felt shitty. the heat is killing my mileage this week.
sat tempo 7
sun 16 was going for 18-20, but i just didnt have it today

6 11 to 6 17

mon 13
tues 5 legs fried, but thats expected the day after running in saxtons river.
weds 9 no workout, still feeling mondays run
fri 10 ended up running the second half as a tempo, mostly because of some annoying flies. only had to drop it down to 640 pace to get away from them. if i was out in pisgah, i wouldve been a feast for them. they can do 540 pace all day long. thats good epo.
sat 6 all single track at stonewall farm. it was cool.
sun 16 felt ok except for a strange sharp pain where my toes attach to my foot. it was bad from 7 to 10 miles in, but it went away just enough to get through the run. maybe it wont be there tomorrow.
59 miles this week

6 4 to 6 10

tues 11
weds 5
thurs 7
fri 3
sat 8 w/3 mi tempo 19 min

5 28 to 6 3

mon. planned day off tues unplanned day off. i cant stand these days. but it was possibly the worst thunder and lightning storm i had ever seen, and there was also a tornado warning in effect, so i decided not to risk death. weds am 5 i dont really get what is so good about early morning running. theres not enough time to fuel or hydrate, so its just a bonkfest. then i just felt hungry all day, and i ate a ton. just could not stop eating. i finally felt digested around 530, so i headed out for ten miles. i felt really good, so i went with it. really had to focus to keep it together the last ten minutes. finished in 67 min. this was the first time in the new training cycle that i felt like i had made noticeable progress. then it was out to cobble to meet friends and watch the celts blow another big early lead. bummer. good day of running tho. thurs 6 fri 5 track meet sat 5 sun 14 did the pack monadnock race. i was expecting a lot of climbing. i got what i expected.

5 21 to 5 27

37 miles (10,5,7,4,11) the 11 miles was my longest run in about 6 weeks, and it was easy. i still feel like i could finish a 3 hour run no prob, but im sticking to the plan. ill get there soon anyway.

last 30 days

4 20 to 4 30 - took mattys advice and didnt run
5 1 to 5 6 - 3 days, 10 miles (3,4,3)
5 7 to 5 13 - 5 days, 25 miles (5,4,5,7,4)
5 14 to 5 20 - 5 days, 33 miles (5,7,7,7,7)

4 16 to 4 22

mon 8 the time off helped. i felt good.
tues 8 didnt feel as good as yesterday
weds 8 feeling terrible again
fri 10 legs ache and were sluggish

sometimes its hard to see or admit whats wrong until someone points it out to you, which then confirms what you suspected. last summer, i was struggling on easy runs, so greg said i had to take some time off because i was overtrained. he was right. when i checked the logs, i saw i had gone way up in mileage way too fast. the past few weeks it was happening again. i was out of breath and my heart was pounding and i felt taxed at normally very easy paces. this time, it was matty p who pointed out what shouldve been obvious to me. as one of my countless die-hard blog followers, he had looked at my training and saw that i didnt allow myself any recovery after the 50k. i thought about how i had run 14 and 18 milers only 4 and 5 days after the race, so he was right. i had gotten caught up in what other people were doing (george and ferenc didnt need any time off, so i figured i didnt either) and tried to do it too. big problem. this time, ill take mattys advice to allow my body at least a week to get itself recovered, pick a goal race a few months down the line, and come up with a plan to gradually build up the mileage. if the plan works, ill hammer taints at the pisgah 50k.

4 9 to 4 15

took almost the whole week off. it just felt like the right thing to do. running is supposed to be fun, and if i feel terrible when i should feel good, it takes the fun away. taking time time off really helped a lot last summer. it recharged my mind and legs, so it should help this time too. ill be ready to get back to it tomorrow.

4 2 to 4 8

issues. another bursitis flare up, this time in the other achilles. made it 6 miles, then my ankle started to feel like it was being surgically removed with a butter knife. not good. i tried to work through it for a few minutes, but there was no way. in the past, this usually takes about 4 or 5 days to go away. the only big problem is that im registered for a trail race in 3 days. i guess ill just shut it down til then and see if i can get through the race.
sat the good news is i ran for 3 hours and the bursitis wasnt that bad. the bad news is the race didnt go that great. i was only (sarcasm) about 25 min slower than i expected. i didnt feel fit at all. it was like i took 3 months off, not 3 days. the whole time it felt like i was in the 3rd hour of the 50k. just really tired out there. im over it tho. the most important thing is that the injury didnt get worse, so it was a good day.
sun 12 had to run alot faster than i wanted to but i probably made hoyt run slower than he wanted, so i guess it evened out. bursitis was ok. advil rules.

3 26 to 4 1

mon 11+ in 1:17 felt good and was moving at a decent pace for most of the run
tues 10+ easy pace, really sore in my bones and joints, time for some new kicks
weds 10 found some shoes with a few miles left in them and felt better. at least my legs anyway. had some major bathroom issues while trying to workout. i wanted to do at least 6x800 but i had to run to the woods multiple times so i only got 4 done by the time everyone was ready to cooldown. 248,243,240,240. not bad considering what i was up against. i would've liked to do more but oh well. when i got home i wasnt really tired so i got in a solid upper body workout. i usually dont like that stuff but this time i didnt mind it. maybe if i can get into a routine itll make my back pain go away. its been tough to sleep most nights the last month or so because of how tight it always is.
thurs 12 felt ok, almost felt good, but theres these things called hills, so other than that i felt fine. we went bowling after and replaced chromium and crushed a pizza. i bowled really bad but it was still a lot of fun.
sat 13 fast friends 4.5 mi road race. this race is accurately named. all of my friends ran fast, and i did not. unlike past disappointments, im fine with it. the good news is that i ran as hard as i could. i battled with larry for over 3 miles. we changed leads 3 times in the last mile(by leads, i mean 12th and 13). i managed to hold him off, but not by much. so even though I was over a minute slower (28:24) than my best time on that course (26:59), im ok with it. hanging out at andys house after was a lot of fun.
sun 22 easy miles, felt really good today. i wanted to run more but i couldnt feel my fingers cuz it rained the whole time and my gloves were soaked, so i went home. i couldve easily gone for another hour. being able to do an easy 22 makes me feel a lot better about being slow. for those of you who are lazy at math, 79 miles for the week.

3 19 to 3 25

mon 7 i wasnt sore at all, but holy $&@! was i tired. i headed out to the trails where no one would see how slow i was going. i tried to focus on enjoying being out in the woods alone. it helped a little. tomorrow i should feel better. hopefully ill feel good enough to workout weds. finding out which track to go to could be an issue since my phone still has no service.
tues 4 didnt feel any better so i decided to bag and let my body get the most recovery possible so i could give myself a chance at workout that would might be of some value.
weds 9 managed a decent workout despite still feeling like a bag of mashed up asshole. did 4x800 expecting a big time struggle to hit 6 min pace. by the end of it i felt ok, which the times clearly indicate (smart person word). 251,247,243,236. not bad. ill take it.
thurs 18 athens lookout w hammett ferenc and wolves. tough run- duh. theres no such thing as an easy run in saxtons river.
sat 12 took it easy, legs felt a bit tired but not bad. not sure what im doin tomorrow, all i know is itll be a hard effort.
sun i spoke too soon. after the worst night of sleep of my life tossing and turning for about 6 hours and sleeping for maybe 2, i spent most of the day with my eyes nearly closed. that included the time i was attempting to run. i ran fast but felt like i was sleeping the whole time. it was weird. i did 5 in 30 min and decided that it was enough. after that i went back dragging myself around the house the rest of the day. super disappointing. oh well. i smell.

3 12 to 3 18

mon 13 with ferenc, i felt the worst ive felt since the day after the 50k. maybe i did too much friday and saturday. at least it was a great day out, or at least we expected it to be. it was 68 degrees when we drove to the parking spot, but somehow the temp during the run was only about 45, and we were cold. hunger was also an issue but we took care of that by crushing 55 wings between the two of us. i also replaced my chromium in a big way.
weds 14 tempo 1:29 felt good today, except for when i had to stop to piss out my ass. ran out of tp and had to use moss and grass. yuck. good thing i was on the railbed instead of at the track. also, came up one line short of getting 600k. i gambled by going for a tetris on level 19 and it didnt happen.
thurs 9 as expected, i was sore, tired, and slow. still not sure if im gonna do the new bedford half. i know ill feel fine by sunday, and i think i can run a decent time, maybe under 1:20. im just not sure if i want to spend most of the day in the car. i guess ill decide tomorrow. side note- if anyone has been trying to get a hold of me, im not ignoring you. my phone has had no service for about 24 hours and i have no idea why. this also might be a factor in whether or not i do the race. if i cant get a hold of anyone, ill have to go solo. i dont mind driving, itll just be boring not going with anyone. damn technology.
fri 9 felt way better than yesterday
sun 27 just felt like running for a long time. i felt really good today. i did the first 13 on the trails, then stopped at home to get some water. it was kinda hot out. then ran on the railbed with the idea that id do 10 more. ended up doing 14 more in 1:33. i feel pleased.

3 5 to 3 11

tues 8 went really slow due to sore quads and bad blisters on my toes
weds 6 even more sore, alot of raw skin from where the blisters ripped open. i shut it down early due to not enjoying what i was doing.
thurs got acupuncture again, hopefully i wont need it for another 3 years
fri 14 this was a really good run. I didnt have any soreness and I was able to run a lot faster than expected.
sat 18 with sontag and rocko. i felt really good again. everything about this run was great. i felt strong on the climbs. i think its safe to say im recovered from the 50k. it happened way faster than i thought it would, so thats cool.
sun 7 i was tired

2 27 to 3 4

mon 11 felt good, picked it up on the railbed the last few miles.
tues got acupuncture, felt better after
weds 13 with james. the snow made it hard to see the icy spots on the trails, but still a great run. really hoping for a snow day tomorrow.
thurs 13 got the day off. sweet.
fri 7
sat 3
sun 31 a huge group of us went down to long island for a 50k. i was hoping to run it in 3:36 (6:59 pace). i was under 7 min pace for 23 miles, then my legs just stopped working. i staggered through the last 10k and finshed in 3:47 (720 pace). i feel fine with how i did even though i fell apart and died a horrible death. these were my 5k splits 2208,2201,2135,2135,2130,2133,2155,2333,2545,2613. if that was painful to read, just imagine how it felt. the last 2 laps hurt worse than anything ive ever done. i guess i wasnt surprised though, since i wasnt anywhere near ready for the distance (decided to do it a month ahead of time). i think with the right training i can go back next year and run the whole thing under 7 min pace and cut at least 10 min off my time. the trip was a lot fun (highlights- fyffes red bull road rage, wolverine, we won an argument with a richard of a race official, seeing hammett almost get hit by a car during the race then pounding on their hood and swearing) but now its great be out of the backseat of a car.
total miles for the week 78

2 20 to 2 26

tues 8 in grafton with ferenc and hammett. good run, still tired from sunday. more importantly, check the tetris scores.
weds 6 still way too tired from sundays run.
thurs 10 this was a fun run, took it easy and felt ok
took two days off to give the kneecap problem a rest. made an appt to get acupuncture on it. that should help. it worked last time.
sun 14 in 1:36 I tried to alternate switching between 10k and 50k pace after each mile. i did it for 10 miles and i was just a few sec off, but not bad. knee was ok, energy level felt good.

2 13 to 2 19

mon 20 achilles sore the whole time, but it never got really bad. other than that it was a good run. if i had to go another 5 miles, i could have no prob.
weds 6 couldnt workout. achilles was all bad. that 50k in a few weeks might not be happening.
sat 7 everything seems fine
sun 25 in 2:54 this was a great run. there's no way i would've run this fast alone but ferenc and fyffe helped pull me along. achilles was there the whole time but still the best it's been all week. now i feel like ill be ok for the 50k, but I wont know for sure until i get up tomorrow.

2 6 to 2 12

mon felt terrible all day at work. got home and went to bed til the the next morning
tues 12 feel way better
weds 10 bagged the workout after a mile and some 400s. dont know why but i couldnt get moving at all.
thurs 7 same problem. i had planned on trying to get a tempo in because i didnt do that much yesterday, but again the legs were saying 'screw you buddy, we dont wanna do this'.
fri tempo 14 in 1:33. probably not the best thing to do two days before a race, but I decided i didn't care. i felt bad all week and today I felt good, so i went with it. kept it under control tho, so i might end up feeling decent sunday.
sun 12 burlingame 15k trail race 62:52. i was definitely feeling flat from fridays semi-workout, but i put a solid effort in. the course was awesome, almost all single track.

1 30 to 2 5

mon 10 achilles pain was bad, have to be careful with this.
weds achilles was ok, got thru the workout but its sore a few hours later. i don't think its that bad tho. the workout was good. 3x800, 3x400, all 400 rest. 235 235 236 73 74 70. slightly better than I was expecting. 10 miles total.
thurs 10 took it easy, achilles ok, just tired from the workout.
sat 11 hard effort up beech hill (13:30) and back down (10:03). the hill is almost 2 miles long so i was pleased with the effort.
sun 12 felt good ran faster than i usually do on an easy day.

1 23 to 1 29

mon 10 felt terrible, but it was my own fault. too much post run fun sunday and the day off work equals headache til 4 pm.
tues 12
weds workout 8x400, 4x200, full rest 78,77,78,75,76,74,72,72,34,34,33,32 ran kind of a lot the last few days and had tired legs during the warmup, so i wasnt expecting much. after the first one i started to feel like I could i get on it and finish in the low 70's. i guess i did it. feel pretty good about it. 11 miles.
sat 10k trail race in rhody. didnt go too great. i felt good for the first 2 miles then i went off course for a few seconds. i came to a dead stop to try to figure out where to go, and as i was backtracking i saw 4 guys pass me and totally pull away. that defeated me. i just couldnt get the legs going again. i ran the next 3 miles without breathing heavy and feeling totally frustrated. at the 5 mile mark i decided to stop being a pussy and i ran strong the rest of the way. at least i won some beer. muddy and jonny had great races. 16 miles total.
sun 12 felt some achilles pain, tendintis, not bursitis.

1 16 to 1 22

mon 16 in the snow. finally not sore from basketball. saw a huge owl. fun run.
tues 6
weds 12 not that pleased with the workout but still got in almost 4 miles of speed (I use that term loosely, cuz I wasn't going very fast). i did 5x400 at 3k pace 100 rest 82 81 80 81 78, 600 rest, mile at 10k pace 537, 600 rest, 5x300 at mile pace 100 rest 57 58 58 58 56, 600 rest, 1200 at 5k pace 418 (10 sec slower than goal), then I was done. i still had an 800 and 5x200 but the calf pain that was bugging me the whole time got really bad, so bagged it. rule 17 don't be a hero. shutting down was smart cuz I didn't make the injury worse, and I doubt id have run well considering how slow I was on the 1200. ill try to end this on a positive note- I was pleased with how just a 100 rest was enough to get me recovered on the shorter stuff.
thurs 12 had to go slow until the tight calf loosened up. i wanted to add on some more miles but I was only a mile from home when it got better and I was wicked hungry. so I went home and ate dinner. if it's not sore tomorrow ill know I made the right call.
sat 13 went slow, a lot of ice on the trails and not quite enough snow to keep from slipping. still fun. only about 15 degrees but i never got cold so that was good.
sun 18 w hammett fyffe and ferenc. got killed on the big climb but did good everywhere else. managed 620 last mile. good week. 77 miles

1 9 to 1 15

mon 14 found some nasty hills on the trails near my house. fun.
tues 10
thurs 14 2x(3k-2k-1k) at half marathon pace, 10 mile race pace, and 10k pace, 2 min rest, 4 min set rest. ran on the railbed instead of the track. we got a few inches of snow so there was no point in trying to hit the right times on the track. this was more of an effort based workout. the snow only slowed me down a little. solid effort.
fri/sat stayed overnight at school to chaperone the 8th graders. played hoops til 4am. 7 hours total. probably not a good idea. im gonna be sore.
sun entire body is hurting. im sore everywhere. its hard just walking around the house. it was worth it tho. i had fun ballin with the kids. some of them are really good.

tetris update- 541,719 !!!

not now chief, im in the f***ing zone!

1 2 12 to 1 8 12

mon 18 total. am 10, 62 min. pm 8 easy
weds 11 workout 5x400 81 100 rest, 1600 538, 5x300 58 100 rest. i still has a 1200, 5x200 and an 800 to do but everyone was already done and waiting for me, so decided to end it so i could cool down and go to dinner with them. i would have liked to go faster but i thought my workout was going to be longer. i was just starting to get in the zone but no prob tho, still a 5k worth of speed.
thurs 14 easy. took a chance on getting lost in the dark on an unfamiliar stretch of trails (forgot headlamp). it was almost 415 and i probly should have turned around 15 min earlier but i really wanted to see if  the trail i was on would connect to the railbed. i banked on it and got lucky. at about 430 i popped out on the railbed and then it was all good. it got dark a few min after that but the snow seemed to make it easier to see. we only got about an inch, which is all ill ever want.
fri 13 night run grafton power lines
sun 14 in 1:32, middle 10 in 62
70 on 5 days. me llamo mike!