Week in Review

96 miles
25k long run in 1:46
5 doubles
4 runs with Jon G.
4 airports (BOS, ATL, BNA, PHL)
1 AFD (oops)

Despite my most valiant effort, I couldn't quite eek out triple digits this week. Actually, that's not true; I could've doubled back for a four-mile slog after my long run on Sunday, but there would be absolutely no point or purpose other than to pad the total. I was actually proud of myself for exhibiting that much self-restraint (aided by a full belly and light buzz after my boss's birthday BBQ on Sunday afternoon, but still).

That said, overall it was a solid week of training, buoyed by runs with some of my favorite people (Wil in Atlanta, occasional guest blogger Jon in Nashville) on some familiar stomping grounds like the Chattahoochee River and the Shelby Bottoms greenway. On Thursday night I was all set for a fun cross-country style race at Percy Warner Park in Nashville with Jon (newly transplanted to the area--as in, he just moved there Monday) but, alas, the typically mercurial summer weather intervened in the form of thunderstorms and torrential downpours, so it was not meant to be. Instead, we did 8x20 second strides on Friday morning and I felt quite accomplished.

Back at home on Saturday morning, I slept in delightfully late only to realize I had managed to miss the entirety of the World Championships marathon (as if I didn't already feel lazy enough). To my surprise, one of my new Italian acquaintances from my Sardinia trip took the silver medal! I "raced" against Valeria at the Chia Laguna Half-Marathon (I use that loosely, seeing as she finished over a mile ahead of me and probably did not walk four times) and I spent a bit of time with her and her family at the resort throughout the trip. She's a nice woman with an incredible story, and it was cool to see that she courageously led the entire race and pushed the pace despite the conditions, prevailing over all but one competitor for a silver medal. If that wasn't enough inspiration for my long run the next day, I don't know what is!

While there are probably no medals of any color in my immediate future, I'm happy to report that I felt stronger and fitter this week than I have any time in recent months. Slowly but surely, my fitness is coming along and I'm making progress toward a great fall season!

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Recovery Wog

40 mins.
5 miles
15 mins. core/abs

I woke up way earlier than I would've liked to get this run taken care of before commencing the longest day ever. I ended up heading out to the same greenway I visited last time I was in town. My legs are quite sore from basically three days of hard running (two of those three on trails) and my foot is still bothering me, so I was content to take things very easy today.

The nice part about the greenway is that, in addition to being almost pancake flat, there's a consistent dirt/gravel trail worn away besides the pavement. I was able to stick to that that for the majority of the run. The not so nice part was that I got rained on starting from about halfway through. Let me tell you, rain in 40 degree weather does not feel very fantastic. I was eager to finish up and get back to the luxurious Extended Stay Deluxe or whatever it's called.

Unrelated: if loving the new Beyonce song is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

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Percy Warner Park

74 mins.
10+ miles

I woke up relatively early to meet Ryan, a guy who works at Fleet Feet Nashville, out at Percy Warner Park for a trail run. A quick check of weather.com before getting dressed told me that it was a warm 27 degrees outside. 27 degrees in November is no joke. Vest, check. Gloves, check.


View of Belle Meade Boulevard from the top of the front steps at Percy Warner

At any rate, the sun was already shining brightly by the time we parked at 7:30 on Belle Meade Boulevard, which worked wonders for keeping the temperature tolerable. Either that, or I was working so hard the entire time that I didn't have a moment to think about being cold. I mean literally from the outset I felt like I was putting forth a pretty serious effort. It wasn't that we were breaking any speed records, but the trails are quite rolling and thickly carpeted with leaves, which meant I was struggling for traction while trying to avoid any hidden rocks or roots the entire time. The rare moments when I did have a chance to look around were definitely rewarded by the occasional deer sighting and the striking foliage.


Autumn colors on a winding road in Percy Warner Park

My hip flexors and calves were extremely fatigued by the end of the run, and we won't even discuss my foot. Let's just say I've switched from vegetables to a ten-pound bag of ice.

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Stones River Greenway Long Run

1 hour 50 mins.
~15 miles

I woke up this morning in Knoxville, Tennessee. Good times. After fulfilling my various work duties I got in the car to drive toward Nashville, my home away from home for the next few nights. I texted my friend Taylor, who lives in the Nashville 'burb of Murfreesboro, to see what she was up to for the day. Much to my surprise, she was on board with doing a long run with me, so I headed straight over to her house at the end of my three-hour drive and prepared for our outing.

Taylor planned a scenic route for us that started at the Middle Tennessee State University track. I'd never heard of the school before my first visit to Murfreesboro in July, and was surprised to learn that it actually has almost 25,000 students and is the largest university in Tennessee. You learn something new every day. Anyhow, we started from the track and ran a few miles on the roads/sidewalks through the town square before jumping on the Stones River Greenway. We ran out for 3-4 miles on the greenway and then took a spin around the Stones River National Battlefield. Apparently the battlefield was the site of a pivotal conflict during the Civil War. Today, it was the site of a pivotal moment in our run: the moment when we both realized we were deeply, ravenously hungry. My only sustenance on the day was a bagel (admittedly with peanut butter) that I'd eaten about six hours earlier, while Taylor had only eaten cereal or oatmeal or something. We spent almost the entire rest of the run discussing (read: fantasizing about) what we might want to consume as soon as physically possible. This included but was not limited to soup, egg nog, sandwiches, hot chocolate, pizza, sushi and pancakes.

One thing I noticed, both on the drive over and on the run, is that it looks much more like winter here than it does in Atlanta. Most of the leaves have already fallen to the ground and those that haven't are faded to brown. Today's cold temperatures (45 degrees at the start of our run and steadily falling throughout the afternoon) plus the overcast sky (were it cold enough I would've expected it to start snowing at any moment) definitely made it feel as though the seasons had already changed. I suppose it is almost Thanksgiving, but I'm reluctant to see autumn's departure.

We reached the stoplight near the track at 1:43 and Taylor decided to walk it in. I opted to jog back to the car and then anally looped the parking lot for a few minutes to make it an even 1:50. I had planned to do 16 but didn't want to make her wait around in the cold for another 5-10 minutes. Plus, my foot was bothering me quite a bit toward the end of the run, and that was enough to convince me to wrap things up a few minutes early. We hopped in the car and headed to Jason's Deli to enjoy a meal of food. All in all, it was a successful run that passed ten times more quickly thanks to the company and great conversation.

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8k Tempo Attempt #1

67 mins
9 miles

According to my coach, the plan for today was "Sunday: Kick JoKin's ass." Which translates to, "Make Jordan sacrifice his own workout to pace you through 8k at a speed he could run backwards." Lucky for me, Jordan was willing to do so, and I was perfectly amenable to having him set the pace.

After picking Jordan up and going out for a late dinner Saturday night, we were understandably slow to get going on Sunday morning. By the time we got down to the Shelby Bottoms greenway around 9am, it was well over 85 degrees and unbearably humid. Didn't look promising for my workout. We warmed up and decided to push through one mile and then Jordan would make the call. I hit the first mile in 6:10, then split half of the second mile in 3:10. That's when we decided to scrap it. To continue to push in that weather would've resulted in my passing out and Jordan having to piggy-back me to the car, which none of us (least of all Jordan) wanted. So we decided to continue at any easy pace and run the workout early on Monday at the river back in Atlanta.

Even after finishing up an "easy" run, I still felt near death. Or at least heat stroke. The weather conditions were the worst in recent memory, and I was thankful I didn't push through the workout after all.

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The More the Merrier

AM: 61 mins
8 miles
PM: 40 mins
5+ miles

Today I had the pleasure of enjoying not one, but two runs with other people. I've grown so accustomed to running alone that I'd almost forgotten how much I enjoy having company. This morning I ran with Drew and Ryan, two guys from Fleet Feet Nashville, along Belle Meade Boulevard near Percy Warner Park. We did two four-mile circuits out and back on the gently rolling (but much flatter than the park) streets. The temperature was tolerable, as we started well before 7am, but the humidity was pretty unbearable by the end.

In the evening I ran with Taylor, a cool chick from Fleet Feet Murfreesboro, after an event I worked at their store. We ran an easy out and back on a local greenway and had a thoroughly enjoyable conversation. She ran xc at Vanderbilt and was also a concert violinist there, and we seem to share quite a few similar interests.

Since Jordan is flying in tonight and staying for a lengthy visit, I'm looking forward to a week that involves fewer miles and more flapjacks than those of recent memory. My legs feel decently recovered from this week's early workouts, so as of now I'm saying the 8k race simulation is a go for the morning. Might as well get it out of the way and enjoy the rest of the week.

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Percy Warner Park

AM: 52 mins
7 miles
PM: 35 mins
4.5 miles

After arriving in Nashville around 11:30 last night and getting up at 6 for my run, I was feeling a bit sluggish. That feeling got fun-forced out of me once I embarked on the extremely hilly trails in Percy Warner Park. The trails are beautiful and entirely shaded, and it was refreshing to finish a run without dripping sweat everywhere, but the rolling hills proved quite challenging for an "easy" run. I would've enjoyed going farther, but I had to actually work this morning, so I turned around at 27 minutes and closed in 25. I plan to find a greenway near my hotel for my evening run, as I could use something flatter to help speed my recovery from this week's early workouts.


One of the trails in Percy Warner Park

Thanks to directions from a guy at Fleet Feet, I located a greenway in Brentwood that was nice and flat for my evening run. Some cyclists and runners had worn away a dirt trail next to the paved path, so I stuck to that for most of the run. My legs don't feel terribly sore anymore, just heavy. I'm fine as long as I keep moving, but the second I stop running I can't imagine ever starting again. I may come back to the greenway for my morning run tomorrow, in order to spend more time on the flatter surfaces, but I also got an invite to join a Fleet Feet group run at Percy Warner. Will my desire to interact with other human beings take precedence over my weary legs? Stay tuned to find out. I'll make a game time decision in the morning.

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