Morning Run with the Heps Champion

58 mins.~8 milesAfter the aforementioned late night with Ozzie and the high mileage of last week, I was perfectly content to wog one easy run today. He only wanted to run 4-6 since he would be running with a high school team in the afternoon, so I took him on the Candler Park loop. Dropped him off at the house at five miles and then finished it off with another ~20 minutes through the Highlands. It was considerably warmer and more humid this morning than it was last week (which could also have something to do with the fact that we didn't get out...

Read More

I Blame Ozzie

AM: 74 mins.10 milesPM: 30 mins.4 milesI met Meredith and Jim for an early run at the river. Meredith was starting her new job today (!!) and wanted to make sure she had plenty of time to get ready, so it was still quite dark when I reached the Cochran Shoals parking lot. As a result, we did a full flat loop before venturing up into the more technical trails, but once we got up there I realized how much I'd missed them the past few weeks. The run...

Read More

Week in Review

100 miles2 nights in the Courtyard Marriott1 bag of Sour Patch Kids105 minutes waiting in line for gasTo echo what Jilane said in her weekly summary, Team MJ is in a very good place right now. Jilane dominated her "race simulation" (going so far as to win the actual race), and I logged my first EVER 100-mile week. It was somewhat accidental, as I ended up doing last week's long run on Monday and therefore logged two 18-milers, but nonetheless I'll take it. Throw in a solid workout on Wednesday and a lackluster workout on Saturday, and you have...

Read More

Birmingham Long Run

2 hours 13 mins.18 milesWhile Jilane was off winning her 20-mile road race, I enjoyed a surprisingly, well, enjoyable 18-miler in Birmingham. Tracy Poole, a friend and longtime Trak Shak employee, offered to join me for the first 10-12, and I was immensely grateful for his company. He's pushing 50 but still keeps a respectable clip on his runs, so our 7:20ish pace through the hilly streets of Homewood and Mountain Brook felt about right. Something...

Read More

Shades Creek Revisited

24 min. w/u (3 miles)Target: 4 mile tempo @6:303x1200 starting @5:55 pace, faster every 90 secs.Actual: 6:36, 6:23, 6:23, 6:20; 4:30, 4:3022 min. c/d (3 miles)Total: 12 milesThis workout was pretty much a train wreck. I consciously tried to go out conservatively in the first mile and as a result ran it way too slowly. The rest of the tempo felt much harder than it should have at the pace I was holding. As for the 1200s, they just didn't really happen. I didn't have intermediate markers between the miles, so I decided I would just run for 4:30 and...

Read More

525,600 Minutes

AM: 60 mins.8 milesPM: 30 mins.4 milesFirst things first: MCM is ONE MONTH from today. Let's all pause for a moment and allow that to sink in.I awoke early before my trip to Birmingham and did an easy run to and from Piedmont Park, including 3-4 laps around the AO. There was some sort of adult kickball tournament gearing up on the fields inside the Oval, so that provided me with some unexpected bonus entertainment (side note: who plays kickball at 7am? Shouldn't these people be taking their kids to school or getting ready for work or even sleeping??...

Read More

Massage Thursday

AM: 77 mins.10+ milesPM: 29 mins.~4 milesThis morning was the coolest of the week, which excites me greatly. I was borderline giddy at the outset because my hands were actually cold for the first ten minutes. I took it pretty easy on the continuously rolling route to and from Lullwater Park, and felt decent for about 60 minutes. After that I was ready to wrap things up.After my evening run I skipped the shower and went for a sports massage at Massage Envy. This is my third time to utilize this location and my second time to be worked on by Robb,...

Read More

Early Morning on the AO

AM: 23 min. w/u (3 miles)Target: 5xmile w/3:00 rest faster than Sept. 2Revised Target: 5xmile w/3:00 rest @6:00Actual: 6:04, 5:54, 5:55, 5:54, 5:5620 min. c/d (2.5 miles)Total: 12 milesPM: 30 min. walkI had to get this one done early, so dawn was barely breaking as I strapped on the T5's and started my jog down to the AO. The morning was cool, and I warmed up in long sleeves for the second time in a week. As I hit the Oval at the end of my warmup, I decided to launch into the first interval literally without breaking stride. Apparently this confused...

Read More

Running Out of Gas. No, Literally.

AM: 74 mins.10 milesPM: 30 mins.4 milesMy two runs today were fairly unremarkable. The legs felt decent after my long effort yesterday, but definitely tired toward the end of my morning jaunt. The morning was crisp, cool and sunny--maybe, just maybe fall has arrived (knock on wood, cross your fingers, etc. etc.).In the afternoon I had the pleasure of picking up my newly-logoed Brooks mobile, which now might be fairly deemed the Holy-Crap-Brian-Sell-Is-On-Fire...

Read More

Norman Long Run

2 hours 10 mins.18 milesAfter postponing my long run from Sunday, I woke up Monday morning prepared to face the inevitable. Fortunately, I would not be running by myself the entire time, as Jordan and his friend Scott were going to accompany me for part of it. We left Campus Lodge just after 8am to meet Scott along Brooks St. near campus and proceeded to meander through the streets of Norman. The morning was hazy and quite damp, which meant the humidity...

Read More

Week in Review

~87-88 miles2 trips to Chik-Fil-A3 days at OK Runner0 minivansIt's funny how your perspective changes. A few months ago I would've been shocked and awed at putting in this much mileage, but as I'm typing this I'm more apt to view this as a "down" week. Had I attempted the requisite long run on Sunday I would've been in the ballpark of 95 miles, which for me might be a bit much, so I'm okay with taking a bit of down time. Plus, as I mentioned previously, the combination of two solid workouts plus a hard steady run meant I had quality that made up...

Read More

Second Laziest Sunday Ever

65 mins.9 milesWell, the good news is today was not as completely worthless as the last Sunday I was in Norman. The bad news is, it gave the title a run for its money. While I had 18 on tap today, by 3pm it was pretty clear that just wasn't going to happen. Jordan and I settled for our standard 9-mile loop instead and I vowed to complete the long run on Monday. While this schedule revision wasn't exactly intentional, I think it might actually be for the better since I already did two long-ish workouts and another hard run this week. At least, that's...

Read More

Brookhaven Double

AM: 40 mins.5 milesPM: 43 mins.6 milesAfter a pretty real evening on Friday, I awoke groggy and completely uninterested in running. Nonetheless, I knew I needed to slog out at least a few miles in the morning so off I went. I left Jordan passed out mumbling something about running in the evening and headed out the door. Did a painfully slow out-and-back down Brooks and Jenkins that barely qualified as five miles.In the evening, after hanging out at OK Runner all day, Jordan and I set off on another easy run from Brookhaven. We essentially retraced...

Read More

OU Track Workout (Was My Bitch)

15 min. w/u (2 miles)Target: 6x1.5 miles @6:25 pace w/4:00 restRevised Target: 6x1.5 miles @6:15-6:20 pace w/4:00 restActual: 9:24 (6:17 through the mile), 9:28 (6:17), 9:24 (6:17), 9:18 (6:10), 9:19 (6:11); 9:13 (6:09)12 min. c/d (1.5 miles)Total: 14 milesYesterday afternoon Jeff emailed Jilane and me to congratulate us on being ahead of schedule in terms of fitness. Our reward was having the privilege of working out harder than originally planned today. Yay for us. That said, I was looking forward to the workout primarily because Jordan was going...

Read More

Chik-Fil-A: Dinner of Champions

72-73 mins.~10 milesWhile part of me wishes I had another glorious travel story to recount, the rest of me is happy to inform you that my trip to OKC was without incident. In fact, this was the smoothest travel experience of recent memory (which probably doesn't bode well for the trip home, but I'll cross that tarmac when I come to it). Nonetheless, by the end of the day I was tired and hungry and not thrilled about going for a run. Fortunately I...

Read More

It's All Happening

AM: 47 mins.6+ milesPM: 58 mins.8.5 milesWell. Guess who slept right through her alarm and woke up an hour late? >>>this guy<<< So, my planned "10/4" structure to today's runs morphed in more like a "6/8," due to my need to get out the door and on with my life at a respectable hour this morning.For whatever reason, I started off the evening run strong and then just decided to hammer. I haven't felt that fast on an "easy" run in...well...

Read More

At Least There Were No Cops

20 min. w/u (2.5 miles)Target: 2x4 miles @6:40 pace w/800m jogActual: 3 miles @6:36, 6:35, 6:34; 5 miles @6:40, 6:35, 6:37, 6:36, 6:3020 min. c/d (2.5 miles)Total: ~13.5 milesToday was the first day I can remember when the air felt--dare I say it--cool upon opening the door. 64 degrees to be exact, according to weather.com. So, while the humidity was still quite high, thankfully the weather was not a factor in today's workout.Overall, I would describe the effort as decent though unremarkable. The first interval felt incredibly easy, almost like...

Read More

Another Week? Seriously?

AM: 74 mins.10 milesPM: 30 mins.4+ milesAfter another long week and my longest run to date yesterday, I was expecting my legs to feel pretty stiff and heavy on my morning run. Lucky me, they did not disappoint. I wogged around the Freedom Trail, then ventured down to Piedmont Park and did a few loops before heading home. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a terrible run, but I certainly didn't feel fresh.In contrast, I did my evening loop two full minutes faster than usual because I felt frisky, then proceeded to add on the two minutes because I'm obsessive-compulsive....

Read More

Week in Review

91-92 miles1 lost toenail1 jar of picklesAnother week of 90+ miles and I'm happy to report that I'm still in one piece. I had a solid workout on Tuesday, a horrible workout Friday and a long run that was somewhere in between, so overall I'd deem this a respectable week. September is now halfway over, and I'm going to try to hold on for a few more weeks before going on vacay and starting my taper. I'm headed to Oklahoma for a long weekend starting on Thursday, and my primary goal is to actually run while there and not allow Jordan to be as bad of...

Read More

Sunday Funday

2 hours 27 mins.20 milesFor the second weekend in a row, I was fortunate to have Ezra's company on my long run. Opting for a course that was considerably flatter than last week (although admittedly more boring), we decided to meet at the river. Our plan was to run on the dirt loop to Columns, run down Columns to Johnson Ferry (where I usually turn around), then cross the road and run through a short wooded trail on the back side of Johnson Ferry,...

Read More

Taking it Easy

AM: 5kPM: 66 mins.9 milesThis morning I hosted a "rep and run" at Phidippides, one of the specialty shops in Atlanta. Basically that entailed me showing up for their group run, giving away fabulous prizes and occasionally talking about shoes. Not a bad gig, and I'm able to buy people's friendship and affection. Since I sponsored the run it was only fitting for me to run with their group, which meant enduring the slowest 5k of my entire life. I didn't even time it but it couldn't have been any faster than 28-29 minutes. Despite how painfully slow...

Read More

Lucky 13

Target: 7 miles @7 min. pace, 7 miles @ 6:30-6:40Actual: ~13.5 miles95 mins.I headed out to the river for today's run, mostly because I wanted to do the majority of it on Columns Drive. I figured I could warm up on the jog from the parking lot to Columns (1.5 miles), then do two out-and-backs on the road (10 miles), then just add on via the dirt loop. If nothing else, the run would be mostly flat and I would have several opportunities to stop for water.To put it simply, this run sucked. I may have mentioned this before, but my legs are tired. "Dead"...

Read More

Insert Creative Title Here

AM: 60 mins.8 milesPM: 30 mins.4 milesThis morning's run was made quite enjoyable by the presence of Jim and Meredith and Ashley, the Adidas tech rep who apparently lives in Inman Park. They all met at my house and we did another "city" run, meandering through the Highlands neighborhood down to Piedmont Park, taking a few laps around the AO and other areas of the park, then meandering back home. Other than the sweltering humidity it was a wonderful,...

Read More

Are We There Yet?

AM: 60 mins.8 milesPM: YogurberryNot much to say here, except that Jeff and I did our Wednesday loop a full two minutes slower than usual. He's pretty sore from doing the Blue Ridge Relay last weekend, and my legs are just tired from...li...

Read More

Breaking the Law, Living on the Edge

25 min. w/u (3+ miles)Target: 25x400m @85 secs. w/60 sec. restActual: 86, 85, ~7 min. jog, 86, 84, 83, 85, 84, 85, 85, 85, 84, 86, 85, 85, 83, 83, 84, 84, 83, 84, 85, 8518 min. c/d (2+ miles)Total: 12 milesI mean, why must everything be difficult? All I wanted to do was go to the track, run a few laps, mind my own business, and get on with my life. Things started to go awry early on when I discovered that every gate I'd ever used to enter the Grady track was padlocked. Being the resourceful gal that I am, I did find one entrance that opened onto...

Read More

Starting it all Over Again

AM: 77 mins.10+ milesPM: 30 mins.4 milesThe way I felt on my runs today was largely dictated by their respective weather conditions. This morning I awoke from a beautiful 9-hour sleep and was in no hurry to start the run before 9 am or so. Unfortunately, around 8:30 it dawned on me that I had a conference call at 9:30 and another at 10, which meant I wouldn't be able to start until much later than I'd planned. Very poor strategery on my part. As a result, I didn't get out the door until after 11, and it was quite warm and humid outside. I ran the...

Read More

Week in Review

90 miles1 Clif Shot1 bottle of wineIf I had to sum up this week in one word, it would be "exhausting." 90 miles plus two workouts and a long run is, for me, uncharted territory. Without a doubt, Jilane's 5xmile was the highlight of Team MJ's week. I had a few decent workouts but nothing outstanding, and the long run today was simply brutal. That said, despite my overall weariness I'm feeling nothing outside of the usual aches and pains and (knock on wood) don't foresee any injuries cropping up on the horizon. If I can just keep putting one foot...

Read More

Near Death Experience

129 mins.~16.5-17 milesOkay, I'm just going to put this out there up front: this was the hardest run I've done in this training cycle. Period. I'm sure it's a combination of finishing off my highest mileage week yet, plus having done two relatively hard and lengthy workouts, plus not being able to start the run until mid-day. For whatever reasons, I have honestly never been more relieved to finish a run than I was at the end of this effort.Also,...

Read More

Just Another Day

AM: 59 mins.~8 milesPM: 30 mins.4 milesI'm tir...

Read More

Good Times at the River

16 min. w/u (2 miles)Target: 3 mile, 2 mile, 3 mile, 2 mile @6:30-6:40 pace w/800m jog restActual: 19:47 (6:41, 6:34, 6:32); 13:11 (6:36, 6:35); 19:43 (6:34, 6:40, 6:29); 13:11 (6:37, 6:34)12 min. c/d (1.5 miles)Total: 15 milesWell. This certainly didn't end up feeling as easy as I thought it would. The first interval was quite comfortable but things got ugly in a hurry. The second three-mile interval (and particularly the second mile of this interval) was one of the low points of my entire life. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but it was certainly...

Read More

Tour Guide for the Day

AM: 60 mins.8 milesPM: 30 min. walkStorefronts along McLendon Ave. in Candler ParkI had a great run this morning with Jim and Meredith, who ventured down to my neck of the woods for a change. They recently relocated to Atlanta from Florida and have never been to my 'hood before, so I was excited to show them the wonderfulness that is Highlands/Inman Park/Candler Park. Our jaunt was equal parts bike path and residential streets, and they seemed to...

Read More

Pumpkin Spice Latte

AM: 58 mins.8 milesPM: 30 mins.4 milesStandard Wednesday recovery run at the river with Jeff. We kept a decent pace in the trails, and I felt like I was working the entire time. I can tell that the temperatures are consistently cooler in the morning, but the humidity has still been oppressive. I've said this a million times, but I can't wait until autumn arrives for good.On that note, the first harbinger of season's change is the introduction of...

Read More

Trial of Miles, Miles of Trials

AM: 20 min. w/u (2.5 miles)Target: 5x1 mile w/3:00 rest @6:10 (hammer the second half of the 4th one)Actual: 6:10, 6:08, 6:08, 6:03, 6:0520 min. c/d (2.5 miles)Total: ~11 milesPM: 30 min. walkAfter feeling so bleh yesterday, I wasn't too optimistic about today's workout. The pace didn't sound too difficult, but I expected the fourth and fifth intervals to be pretty tough. Also, while temperatures were in the low 70s, the humidity was ~83% at the...

Read More

Labor Day Double

AM: 74 mins.10 milesPM: 30 mins.4 milesCourtesy of Hurricane Gustav, today's run was simultaneously humid and overcast and windy. In fact, this is probably the first day since I returned to the ATL that I could truly classify as "windy," which wasn't necessarily a bad thing considering the humidity. Weather conditions aside, I felt pretty crappy on this run. My legs just felt dead and heavy the entire time. Not a promising way to start the week. My spirits were finally buoyed about 45 minutes in by a 70-year-old man who praised me with "Looking...

Read More