Super Distance Summit Run

60 mins. (~8 miles)

This weekend I had the privilege of attending the Super Distance Summit at Queens put on by Coach Simmons. This is the first year that I've been present, and it was definitely an edifying way to spend the weekend. Guest speakers included Greg McMillan, the legendary coach Joe Vigil, biomechanist Jay Dicharry, Coach Simmons, high school powerhouse Fayatteville-Manlius coach Bill Arris, and finally Renato Canova, arguably one of the best coaches alive in the sport today. It was a stacked lineup, and it did not disappoint. I could spend this section recapping the Summit, but instead I will cheat and link to a great summary already written up in Mark Hadley's blog. I will add that it was pretty cool to see quite a few of other Charlotte-area running enthusiasts and coaches, as well as a few friends from out of town.

It was with one of those friends, Leo Kormanik, that Jordan and I enjoyed an easy jaunt during the lunch break on Sunday. Leo is married to my friend Jennie from Atlanta and will also be racing at Houston in a few weeks, so most of the run was spent discussing, well, running. The sky was brilliantly blue and clear, and the cold air quickly grew comfortable as the minutes ticked by. It was a beautiful day to go for a recovery run around the Booty Loop and Freedom Park, and though we'd heard that inclement weather was looming on the horizon it was hard to imagine at the time. Instead we were content to amble along enjoying the day and the camaraderie before heading back to the Summit.

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Quick Update

Friday, 8/27
AM: 8.5 miles
PM: 15 mins. + strides (2 miles)

Thursday, 8/26
AM: 89 mins. (12 miles)
15 mins. pool jog
15 mins. core/stretching

This post is just a quick catch up before I delve into the weekend's drama. And by "drama," I, of course, mean injury. I mean, come on? Do you know me at all? If so then you realize it's virtually impossible for me to go an entire year without getting injured. In frustratingly predictable fashion, 2010 is turning out to be no exception.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. On these easy and relaxed Thursday and Friday runs I still had no idea what the next sequence of events would portend. Stay tuned for all the sordid details.

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Jogger Wars, Part Deux

Tuesday, 8/24
AM: 11 miles

Monday, 8/23
AM: 10 miles
PM: Greenapple

Both of these runs were solo jaunts along the familiar Freedom Park/Myers Park/Booty Loop roads. Tuesday I did venture out on a bit of an exploratory route that found me taking the newly completed bike path all the way past Super Target, then heading back toward Queens on some pleasantly shaded side streets. I also ran into Coach Simmons trotting up the median on Queens Road so we jogged along together for a few minutes and caught up on life, running and his search for an assistant coach to fill Jenna's shoes.

The only other thing of note is the jogger war I was forced into on Monday. I've mentioned this before, but apparently I haven't been clear enough to some people (i.e., the toolbag who wouldn't leave me alone on Monday): Stop. Following. Me. More specifically, either run at an appropriate distance behind me or man up and pass. Either of these courses of action would be completely acceptable. What is not acceptable is when you speed up in an attempt to catch me, then sit on my shoulder for three miles of what was supposed to be my easy, relaxing recovery run. Despite what you might think, the sounds of your labored breathing and heavy footfalls are not exactly music to my ears. By the time I reached the intersection of Providence and Providence I'd had enough. I knew I could either come to an abrupt stop so he would be forced to pass or throw in a surge to shake him off my shoulder. In weighing those two options I thought not about what would give me more satisfaction, but rather what would shame him the most. Naturally, I opted for the surge. For a few seconds I heard him scrambling behind me in an attempt to respond and then he faded into oblivion. Serves him right.

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Sleepyhead

AM: 74 mins. (10 miles)

Let me preface this entry by saying I am not opposed to getting up early. As the past few months have indicated, rising before the sun and hitting the pavement by 6am is becoming routine. So when Jordan said he planned to get up and meet Paul et al. at the Providence Day track for an early workout, I thought it sounded like a great opportunity for me to join them and then head down to the trail.

Then Jordan set his alarm. For 4am. And just like that, I was out.

Instead, I slept until the indulgent hour of 7am and ran 10 miles solo around Myers Park. After that I headed to work for 10 hours to prepare for tomorrow's first annual Kickin' Grass Cross Country Challenge and Cookout Classic. That's right, RFYL is putting on a pre-season xc meet and I'm in charge. Pretty scary, on several fronts. It looks like we have 18 teams who will to bring a total of 700 kids, to whom we plan to feed hot dogs and sell spikes and otherwise entertain. At this point it is equally likely to be awesome or disastrous, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

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Socializing

Saturday, 8/14
AM: 1 hour 26 mins. (11.5-12 miles)

Friday, 8/13
AM: 63 mins. (8 miles)

Normally I wouldn't take the time to go to McAlpine two days in a row (and, in fact, after tomorrow's long run it will be three in a row), but I've had a bit of a niggle in my right foot the past few days and I want to keep confined to soft surfaces as much as possible. I don't think it's anything serious, either tendinitis or perhaps some irritation from slogging out Tuesday's 800s on the trail, but regardless I want to nip it in the bud. In any event, both of these runs were made enjoyable by the company; Friday it was Jenna and Patricia, a Queens runner, and Saturday it was Paul, Spada, Justin and Jason.

Speaking of Jenna, the time has come to pass along her exciting/disappointing news: she has accepted a position as the assistant track and field coach at High Point University. It's exciting because she will be moving up to a D1 program and will have the opportunity for hands-on coaching with the women's team, but it's disappointing because she is one of my favorite peeps in Charlotte and I will miss our runs and chats and lounge sessions on the couch. Fortunately High Point is less than 90 minutes away so I hope that means we will still see each other frequently.

As a sendoff of sorts, Jenna joined about 75 of her closest running friends at the CRC social on Saturday night at Thomas Street Tavern. Fun times were had by all (maybe a little too much fun for some folks to handle) and it was great to see what people look like when they're not sweaty and swathed in spandex. (Unless that happened later in the night. I left pretty early.)


L to R: Alice, me, Caitlin, Jenna
Also, a special shout-out to Alice who joined the sub-18 club at this
morning's Rock 'n Run 5k!

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The Scientific Method

AM: 64 mins. (8.5 miles)
PM: 30 mins. (3.5 miles)

After yesterday's 800 session I was in the mood for a super slow medium loop today. Luckily Jenna, Caitlin, Danielle and our male bodyguard Jordan were happy to comply. In the evening I headed over to the Queens sports complex on Tyvola to help Coach Simmons out with a body temperature study he's doing. I don't want to reveal all his secrets, but basically he is exploring the cooling effects of a substance similar to dry ice, specifically when being held in hand. For my part I had to jog around the soccer turf for 30 minutes holding what looked like small hairspray cans and stopping every 10 minutes to have my temperature taken (in the ear, thankfully). The turf was so lush and pristine that I almost felt guilty wearing shoes, so after the first break I chucked them to the side and reveled in the feel of the soft surface on my bare feet for the remainder of the run.

I returned home to find Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, aka Jordan and his boss Paul, drinking beers and "working" in the living room. Paul is in town traveling with Jordan for a few days and we've really enjoyed his company. For his final night we walked over to Duckworth's for a few pints (them) and sweet potato fries (me). It was a great way to cap off the evening and Paul's visit to the Queen City.

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Accidental Long Run

AM: 90 mins.
12 miles

Well, that got out of hand. What started out as an intended 9- or 10-mile loop gradually morphed into an outing just 10 minutes shy of yesterday's long run. It started when I ran into Jay en route to meeting Caitlin in Freedom Park, where we found that she had brought Matt and John along for the ride. Apparently we'd just missed Matt face planting on Morehead, which was unfortunate (that we missed it, not that he fell). So, as a larger-than-expected group, we embarked along the familiar loop of booty.

About 45 minutes into the run, instead of turning left to head back toward the park, Caitlin continued straight with her domestiques. Since I'd decided to run close to 10 miles I thought I should tag along for a little bit. However, I got a tad carried away and since these weren't my normal streets I wasn't aware of how far I'd gone. By the time I turned around, I was north of the Target shopping center. Considering I live south of Park Road shopping center, this presented a bit of a problem. Not a problem, really, just a boring 30-minute run back home. The upside is that any brief thoughts of doubling in the evening were tossed aside summarily and without guilt.

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No Boys Allowed

Friday, 8/6
AM: 8.5 miles
PM: 20 mins. (2.5 miles)

Thursday, 8/5
AM: 80 mins. (10 miles)

Caitlin and I and special guest Danielle enjoyed a very early, very slow run on Thursday morning. It was for girls only so we talked a lot about feminine topics such as boys, clothes, hair and makeup. Also if this run was a step over 10 miles I'd be surprised, but I couldn't have been more pleased to keep the pace relaxed.

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Early Week Runs

Tuesday, 8/3
AM: 66 mins. (9 miles)
15 mins. core

Monday, 8/2
AM: 10.5 miles
PM: 4 miles

Apologies to all my loyal readers (i.e., my dad) for falling behind this week in blogging. I've recently started doing marketing full time at Run For Your Life so I've been working what most people would consider to be normal hours. In addition to running and trying to finish up this summer class my time has been pretty well occupied! (Sorry, Dad, I know that's no excuse. You raised me better than this.)

So, as far as I can remember as I'm typing this six days later, these runs were unremarkable. I do remember that Tuesday morning was with Jenna, who is freshly returned from her summer in Arizona and Hawaii. She hasn't been running much the past few weeks and was looking for a pretty easy pace, but the conversation and the lower than usual temps helped pass the time quickly.

A few other items of note: 1) I'm famous. 2) I found out on Tuesday that I got accepted by the NC division of USATF to represent their "Athlete Development Program" at the US 10 Mile Championships on October 3rd. I'm pretty excited because they're paying for almost all of my travel and lodging expenses as well as my race entry. I'm even more excited because this will be the same day as the Twin Cities Marathon that Caitlin and Megan Hovis are running, so I'll be there to cheer them on after my race! (And, of course, join them for the post-race celebration festivities.) On that note, it's time to seriously start getting in shape. I have no interest in embarrassing myself in the elite section of the race in t-minus eight weeks.

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Easy Recovery

AM: 66 mins. (9 miles)

After yesterday's effort, it's no surprise that Caitlin and I were feeling absolutely terrible on this morning's run. Fortunately Jordan had no intentions of pushing the pace and everyone finished in one piece. That's about all you can hope for on a day like today.

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It's a Small World After All

AM: 75 mins. (10 miles)

Today's run covered familiar territory, but it was made significantly more interesting by the presence of a new face. Scott Schilter, the national sales manager for Nuun, is in town traveling with Jordan for a few days. I picked Scott up from the airport yesterday evening and within the span of a few minutes we discovered that we knew about two dozen of the same people, as he previously worked for both Brooks and Adidas. (Those people include, but are not limited to, my buddy Rousey whom we just saw in San Diego, my former hiring manager at Brooks, the owner of RunTex in Austin, and about a dozen more current or former Brooks employees.) In fact, after further conversation we realized we'd met each other once before, and actually sat beside each other at the Gate River Run afterparty in early 2009. In case I haven't mentioned it before, the running world is absolutely tiny (or, one could argue, incestuous). At any rate, the two of us hit it off instantly and I could tell it was going to be fun having him around for a few days. How can you not like someone who gamely agrees to wake up early and go for a run despite sleeping poorly and feeling jet-lagged from west coast time?

Fortunately for me, the pace was kept quite easy and conversational. I'm feeling a bit knackered after yesterday's runs and need to chill out this morning, especially since Caitlin and I bumped our Friday morning tempo run(s) to tomorrow instead. After some time on the feet through Freedom Park and the Booty Loop, we called it a morning and headed home to shower and start the day.

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Freedom Park Meetup

AM: 80 mins. (10.5 miles)

Well, I definitely learned my lesson yesterday. When the alarm went off this morning I didn't even think twice about sleeping in. Instead, I nudged Jordan a few times to ensure that both of us were awake, then got up and put on my costume. In addition to beating the heat, the main incentive for the early run time was a scheduled meetup with Caitlin in Freedom Park. We left our respective abodes at 6:15 and met a few miles into our runs before joining up for the rest of a medium loop. The pace was quite slow--I was going to use "relaxed" or some other euphemism, but no, it was most definitely just slow--as all of us struggled to shake off a weekend of hard running. Luckily for me and Caitlin, Jordan was feeling the worst of all, which meant he was content to meander about at girl pace for the duration. Once back at the park, we decided to add on by escorting Caitlin back in the direction of her house. We parted ways on Morehead and then Jordan and I slogged out the remaining miles home. I can't say this was one of my better runs, but the company and cooler temperatures might necessitate this becoming a Monday morning routine.

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Reacclimation

Friday, 7/23
AM: 8.5 miles

Thursday, 7/22
AM: 6 miles
15 mins. core
PM: 4 miles

Can I go back to San Diego now?? Seriously, for the past week I've been jogging 7-minute pace on my easy runs without even batting an eye, but upon returning back to this sauna called Charlotte I can barely maintain 7:30 pace on my morning runs without feeling utterly wiped out. This doesn't bode well for the 4 Miler on Saturday or for the pleasantness of my mood, but unfortunately there's not much to be done about it now. Everyone's dealing with the same conditions, and all of us are hoping that this will make us tougher and stronger come autumn. (The alternative, that the weather is doing nothing but zapping our energy reserves and breaking us down beyond repair, is too depressing to consider.) I'd hoped to set a fast pace at the race but am now adjusting my goal to survival. Set the bar low, clear it every time.

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So Long, Farewell

AM: 57 mins. (8 miles)
PM: Travel

Wow. Where did the time go? As is usually the case, our vacation--and our final vacation run--passed way too quickly. This morning Jordan and I rose early to put in one final loop around Balboa Park and up Oompa Loompa before departing eastward. I can't say I'm looking forward to the heat and humidity that await me, but at least I can confidently assert that I made the most of the advantageous training conditions while I was here.


Prado fountain at sunrise

Until next time, San Diego, thanks for the memories.

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Easy Oompa Loompa Loop

AM: 55 mins. (7.5 miles)
PM: 33 mins. (4+ miles)

Nothing but easy Balboa Park running on tap today. This morning Jordan and I did an abbreviated version of the loop I ran solo on Friday, including the always humbling shuffle up Upas (aka Oompa Loompa). We enjoyed a few more easy miles on the grass in Balboa Park in the evening before heading off to dinner with my college friend Amy.


Balboa Park bell tower at dusk

I'm not sure what tomorrow holds, but I know I'd like to get in some semblance of a workout in preparation for Saturday's Run For Your Life 4 Miler. We'll see what Coach Jordan can think up between now and then.

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Harbor Run

AM: 65 mins. (9.3 miles)


Post-run apple fritter worthy of our good buddy Scotty D

My partner in crime joined us late last night, and I was excited for the two of us to have a chance to catch up on the week's happenings while on our run this morning. For the second day in a row we had absolutely gorgeous weather--blue skies, warm sunshine and low humidity--and it was truly a joy just to be outside soaking it all in. Instead of returning directly to the park, I proposed a route that would take us down to the harbor and along the water before bringing us back up through the historic Gaslamp district and, finally, to the park's familiar setting. We did a similar run last time we were here and thoroughly enjoyed it despite the fact that it consisted solely of pavement. The miles along the water flew by as we were engrossed in conversation, and before I knew it we were back at the edge of the park and headed homeward. The pace felt relaxed and easy, and for the entire run I thought we were moving at a fairly pedestrian speed. Imagine my surprise, then, when I heard Jordan's watch beep at 63 minutes. I asked him if we'd just passed the 8-mile mark--that's how leisurely the pace felt to me--but he laughed and said that we were actually at 9. Who knew?!


Entrance to the Gaslamp District


Taking in the scene at the pride parade in Hillcrest

Jordan opted to double in the evening, but I was content to settle in for a delicious nap and a few minutes of reading. Afterward the four of us headed out to a dinner of tapas and tasty sangria at Tapas Picasso around the corner. It was the perfect end to vacation day #2.


Father and son

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Must. Remain. Calm.

AM: 58 mins. (8 miles)
15 mins. core
PM: A little piece of hell

To start our respective days o'travel off right, John and I met at Boyce to run a few easy miles on soft surfaces. He's headed to the beach with his parents and I'm off to Cali, and both of us know we'll be running on pavement quite a bit in the coming days. Though driving to McAlpine isn't as convenient as hopping on the bike path from my front door, sometimes it's worth the effort.

The afternoon of travel started off auspiciously enough. Denise came through huge time with a ride to the airport, which meant I was there with plenty of time to check in, go through security, make my requisite trip to Jamba Juice and get to the gate before my 5:27 flight...or so I thought. As soon as I stepped through the sliding glass doors into the lobby of Charlotte-Douglas, I knew things would not go as planned. What greeted my disbelieving eyes was a veritable sea of people, stretched from one side of the airport to the other in a series of lines that snaked around each other like a slow-motion Pac Man game. After checking my bag I had no choice but to queue up with the masses and hope that I would somehow be able to make it to my gate in time. Jamba Juice was out the window. I had 52 minutes.

Those 52 minutes came and went as I inched forward a few steps at at time, commiserating with a few of my fellow travelers about the sorry state of affairs. Apparently one of the security checkpoint gates was closed for remodeling, but I had no idea that a seemingly small inconvenience would wreak such havoc. At one point I witnessed two grown businessmen almost come to blows because one of them tried to cut the line; the worst part is, at that point I would've welcomed the fistfight simply for the entertainment value. Instead, I made it through security at 5:50--a full 80 minutes after I'd entered the line--and took off on a mad dash through the terminal in hopes that somehow my plane was still on the ground. It wasn't. Instead I was greeted by a surprisingly helpful United gate agent who insisted that he would try to reschedule me "on any flight, on any seat, on any airline" that would get me to my destination. He did not disappoint, promptly scheduling me on a US Airways flight--direct!--that would leave in 30 minutes. I was ecstatic at the prospect of flying direct, and even more ecstatic about the opportunity to get Jamba Juice before my flight. Things were looking up.

That is, until I reached my new gate and approached the gate agent for my seat assignment. "Sorry, honey," she said in a tone that didn't convey much regret, "but this flight is oversold. I have no idea why he sent you over here." Must. Remain. Calm. "Do you want to sit tight for a few minutes and see if you can go standby?" At that point I didn't see much alternative, particularly since the next flight out wasn't until the following morning, so I stood there in a state of sullen, silent discontent while my Chunky Strawberry Topper slowly melted. I was so close, yet so far away. At that point I wasn't even ashamed to wish the same fate that had befallen me in the security line on someone from this flight in hopes that I'd be able to snag a seat. Miraculously, that's exactly what happened, and before I knew it I was reclining comfortably in an exit row with six feet of legroom and only one seat neighbor. Things were...looking up? I was hesitant to relax but after a few minutes knew that all was, indeed, right with the world. I managed to finish my book on the flight and we arrived 45 minutes early--a full 4 hours earlier than I would have if I'd caught my original flight. Who would've imagined that missing my flight would've resulted in this best case scenario? And now, friends, my vacation can officially begin.

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Easy Tuesday

AM: 77 mins. (10.5 miles)

In what is turning into a Tuesday routine, I rose early-ish to put in a slow, relaxed LFPL by myself. Jordan and John are working out at PDS before Jordan heads to Cali for his Chrome sales meeting, and I can't double tonight because of class. Ten miles is a bit ambitious for a solo run, but once I zoned out and lost myself in thought the time passed quickly. On tap for tomorrow is another now-habitual early morning workout with Caitlin and the CRC crew.

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The Air We Drink

AM: 61 mins. (8.5 miles)
PM: 5 miles

Within the first few steps out the door this morning, I could tell this one wasn't going to be a record beater. Either I was going to commit to sub-60 from the outset or I wasn't, and today I most emphatically wasn't. Instead, Jordan and I kept the pace relaxed and conversational the entire time, trying to stay afloat in the sweltering humidity. I mean literally the air has so much moisture that you can almost swallow it. I find this utterly disgusting and yet another reason why I'm excited to head to a drier climate later this week.

The evening run was no less humid due to a Noah's Ark-style deluge that broke from the clouds earlier this afternoon. It rained hard enough to cause major flooding in many areas of town, the most predictable of which being McAlpine. Knowing all that in advance, it's unsurprising that when Jordan, Caitlin, John, Jay and I tried to run to Freedom Park via the low water crossing near the hospital, we found it to be completely under water. The only way we were going to get from point A to point B by way of that viaduct was in a canoe or kayak of some sort. Instead, we took the long way to the park entrance before John and I split off from the group to head back early. Also, I don't want to embarrass him in this public forum by detailing the manner in which he tripped and fell face-first and skidded across the grass right in front of his apartment, but, well, he tripped and fell face-first and skidded across the grass right in front of his apartment. It was awesome.

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Early Medium Loop

AM: 8.5 miles

Jordan and I woke up pretty early to put in an easy medium loop before a day's work. Before bed last night I'd made tentative plans with Caitlin to meet up on the bike path in Freedom Park, but for whatever reason that encounter never took place. Either way it kept me committed to getting out the door when I said I was going to, so as far as I'm concerned she held up her end of the bargain!

In the evening I had fleeting thoughts of doubling but quickly displaced them with a two hour nap. That might hinder my standard 10pm bedtime, but it sure felt nice. Big tempo with the CRC crew in the morning.

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