No Creative Title, I Just Doubled

AM: 53 mins.
7 miles
PM: 4 miles

I woke up feeling pretty stiff and sore after my track workout yesterday. My foot was a bit tender as well, so I opted to jog down to the AO to put in some time on the softer surface. There was some serious commotion going on nearby, and I counted at least a dozen fire/ambulance/emergency vehicles that sped by with their sirens blaring. I sort of forgot about it until later tonight when I stumbled upon this NY Times article that explained the situation. Sounds pretty intense.

Not much else to report about today's runs so I'll leave it there. I've got some serious laundry and packing and errands to accomplish before leaving for my two-week Christmas vacation so I better get on that.

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Charlotte Track Workout

20:15 w/u (3 miles)
Strides, Drills
Target: 3x1200 @5k pace; each lap cut down 87, 85, 83
Actual: (84, 86, 85); (84, 85, 87); (86, 86, 83); (87, 85, 84?)
10 min. c/d (1+ miles)
Total: 7.5 miles

Today was the first of what will undoubtedly be many track workouts with Coach G-Unit. I made a relatively last-minute decision to drive up to Charlotte yesterday so I could spend today checking out apartments and taking a spin around the campus. It also fit my schedule nicely to incorporate this week's track workout, so we decided to get it out of the way this morning before tackling the real tasks of the day. One of the team's 800 guys was also in town and needed to do his own workout (8x200, I think) so we all headed over to the track together. Also, it bears mentioning at this point that we didn't work out at the actual Queens University track. Instead we drove a few miles across town to another college track. Why, you ask? Well apparently when Queens was building their super-duper new athletic complex recently, someone--and I'm not kidding with this--decided to PAVE the track with asphalt. Yes, asphalt. As in, "I'll take 'surfaces you pave a road with' for $300, Alex." I mean, can you imagine the levels of incompetent decision making that had to take place in order for this to actually happen?

But I digress. Anyhow, since I had no idea where I was, I tagged along for the three-mile warmup with Devon. And ran my 5k PR. Okay not really, but 20:15 is considerably faster than I would normally run a 3-mile warmup on my own. After we made it back to the track, I did a few strides and Coach G-Unit showed me some form drills to start incorporating into my daily routine. I dilly-dallied around and stalled for as long as I could before actually beginning the workout.

Overall, I thought this was a positive first effort. I couldn't really get the hang of the pacing and my splits went from faster to slower more often than they did the opposite, but I was pleased that the cumulative time for each interval was basically where it should be. Having someone there to watch me and call out my splits felt a bit odd, as I've been removed from this atmosphere since high school, but I'm excited that after just one session I've come away with some specific things to work on and areas to improve. I came away from this workout more eager than ever to start the track season next month.

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Breakfast Run With the Girls

70 mins.
9-10 miles

This morning I had a run planned with Ashley and Jennie. We really just wanted to hit up the Flying Biscuit and figured we better burn a few calories first. Because I knew I wouldn't be doubling, I opted to jog over to Ashley's from my place so I could get in a few extra miles. I arrived just as the watch hit 15 minutes and then stretched on the curb until Jennie arrived.

A word about the weather today: it's disgusting. Like warm, muggy, drizzly, gross. It doesn't feel remotely like Christmas and I'm not happy about it at all. That said, the run was still enjoyable thanks to the company. Ashley and Jennie are pretty excited about me going back to school and running track this spring (although sad to see me leave). Both of them ran collegiately--Ashley was a 5k/10k girl at Georgia State and Jennie ran the 1500 at the University of Akron--and they're already making plans to come to one of my meets and paint my name on their stomachs or something.

Anyhow, the run passed quickly. I parted ways with them in the middle of Little Five Points and finished at my house just at 70 minutes. After that it was time to meet the girls at Flying Biscuit and really get the morning started.

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If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say...

AM: 6 miles
PM: 4 miles

Running by myself is boring.

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Katy Trail Recovery Run

~61 mins.
8-8.5 miles

By Monday morning, the contingent of Team JJJSM+A and our fans had dwindled to myself, Jordan and Scotty. We indulged in sleeping as late as we wanted and then lounged around the room drinking coffee for a few hours before heading out the door. We were in for a shock when we finally got around to checking the weather, as temperatures had dropped over 50 degrees since the previous day. After a Sunday that was warm, muggy and windy, we faced a Monday that was 20 degrees, damp and equally windy. Basically it's the kind of cold that chills you to the bone. Needless to say, we bundled up pretty extensively before heading outside. We passed a guy who was walking to the hotel, presumably from the parking lot across the street, who gave us a look that was one part sympathy, one part disbelief and one part scorn and said, "I'm taking the day off."

But we forged ahead. Since we were just a few blocks away from American Airlines Center and one endpoint of the Katy Trail, we opted for a basic out and back route from there. To our pleasant surprise, the trail was largely protected from the wind, and we never really battled it in either direction. None of us were feeling quite as banged up as we expected (although this will probably set in later), and the easy pace was quite enjoyable. We rounded out the morning with a leisurely brunch at Cafe Brazil and prepared to go our separate ways.


View of the AA Center from the terminus of the Katy Trail, presumably
on a warmer day

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Week in Review

62-63 miles
5 awesome relay team members
1 bottle of Jordan wine
8 people crammed into a 4-seater
1 giant bag of peanut butter M&Ms

This was undoubtedly the most enjoyable week of running that I've had in quite some time. I'm sure part of it has to do with my legs and feet (and body in general) finally feeling better and back to normal, but mostly it's because I got to spend so much time with friends. Even though the weather at WRM absolutely sucked and even though I was in the hurt tank for much of my race portion, I had an absolute blast out there.

Also, I feel like it's appropriate at this juncture to formally announce my plans for the spring. Many of you who read my blog are already aware, but I wanted to let everyone know that I am quitting my job and going back to school full time in January. Specifically, I'm going to be spending quite a bit of quality time with Coach G-Unit, as I will be running track and cross-country for him at Queens University in Charlotte. Since I didn't run in undergrad, I have plenty of eligibility left to use while studying to earn an MA in Strategic Communication. I am excited, nervous and overwhelmed right now but can't wait to get started. My last official day with Brooks is December 23rd, and at that point I will officially be unemployed and a starving college student. Feel free to send any donations my way in the meantime.

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Dallas White Rock Marathon

Team OK Runner Elite and Aja, aka Team JJJSM+A

~1.5 mile w/u
~5 miles @ 30:33 (approximate)
~1 mile running to/from car to pick up Scotty D and Jordan
~7 miles pacing Ms. Aja De
Total: 14-15 miles

Wow. What a day. I could probably write my longest blog entry to date on today's relay and all the surrounding events, but instead I will be somewhat lazy and link you to Jordan and Jilane's comprehensive descriptions. I suggest you check them out for photos, videos and some stellar race commentary from their perspectives.

As for my part, I will share a bit about my leg of the race. First of all, as the other blogs have indicated, the weather conditions were quite less than ideal for a marathon today. Or for my hair. Or really for anything. 60-70 degree temps, winds gusting upwards of 35 mph, and disgusting humidity do not make for optimal race times. (In the end, the winning marathon times were ~8-10 minutes slower than they have been in previous years, which gives you an idea of what we were dealing with). For myself and Scotty D in particular the conditions were rough, as both of us ran on the exposed sections around the lake for our race legs. I had hoped to run close to six minute pace for my leg, but all thoughts of time flew out the window (no pun intended) with the wind. Instead I just wanted to maintain our position and put forth a solid effort.

So, at mile 10 Jilane handed off the baton (read: slap bracelet) to me and I tossed her the car keys. She would later bring the car, which I parked at my exchange zone, to pick me up after I finished. Jordan and I ran together for the majority of my leg, as he was in the midst of his 20-mile effort at this point. I felt pretty strong on the first three miles, but when we turned into the wind it was all over. Jordan did his best to block the gusts for me, but in the immortal words of Doug Starr, "he's a little dude and that's why I feel comfortable around him." His 140-pound frame could only do so much, and I still felt like I was running through quicksand. That said, I was in control enough to ask him to pick up the pace a few times in the last mile, and I tried to finish strong with the handoff to Scotty at mile 15. While I didn't pass anyone, no one passed me, so I suppose I consider my effort a small victory.

After Jilane and I met the boys at mile 20 (again, read Jordan's blog for more commentary about this leg of the race), we started on our second mission for the morning: helping pace our beloved Aja on the remainder of her marathon debut. Her goal was to run 3:40 and qualify for Boston, but it was clear when we all met up at 19 that she would be able to run much faster if she kept her composure. We gradually tightened the pace down from 7:50 to 7:20s and then clocked off the final two miles sub-7. I have never seen someone so happy, confident and comfortable in the latter stages of a marathon--much less a debut marathon--as Aja was, and Jilane and I were pumped to help her shatter her previous race expectations. At 3:23 and change, Aja easily slid under the Boston qualifying time and looked strong doing it.


Aja looking fresh as a daisy at mile 25

When the dust settled (again, no pun intended but geez these are softballs), Team OK Runner Elite ended up in first place in the co-ed open division and third place in the overall relay, behind two all-male teams. Our time of 2:30 wasn't quite as quick as we'd hoped, but given the weather it would've been unrealistic to expect better. Overall I couldn't be prouder of our team and of Aja, and can't wait to come back in 2009 to defend our title AND lower our race time.

This entry is already longer than I'd planned, but I would be remiss if I didn't close without a few highlights of the day:

1. Scotty D. answering a knock on our hotel room door at 2:30am to find two assumed call girls who had mistakenly come to the wrong room.
2. Jilane, Aja and I rolling up on some guy wearing a Texas Longhorns jersey at mile 25 of the marathon. Aja was wearing an OU jersey. All three of us gave him the upside down horns and a hearty "Boomer Sooner!" as we left him in the dust.
3. The homeless man with the five-year-old Greyhound bus ticket approaching us in the parking lot asking for "money for food." Jordan made me give him one of my Clif bars, which he apparently did not recognize or trust. We went back to the car a few hours later and found the uneaten, unopened bar resting on our windshield.
4. Dropping Jilane off for her 5pm flight at DFW, only to discover moments after we left that she was actually flying out of Love Field. Subsequently taking a tour of Dallas airports.

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