Morning Run with the Heps Champion

58 mins.
~8 miles

After 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 the door until at least 10am) and my legs felt pretty lifeless. Hopefully our subsequent brunch at Highland Bakery and afternoon of sitting around wasting time on the internet will facilitate my recovery for tomorrow's workout.

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I Blame Ozzie

AM: 74 mins.
10 miles
PM: 30 mins.
4 miles

I 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 went by almost too quickly and my legs felt bouncy despite last week's high mileage, which was a pleasant surprise.

Around 3pm I got a call from Jordan, who let me know that Ozzie Myers was going to be rolling through Atlanta in his Nike van this evening. I gave him a buzz and offered him my luxurious futon as sleeping accomodations, which he gratefully accepted. I also discovered he'd never been to the dirty south before, so I was excited to show him all the places where the cool kids hang out. I was also hoping to convince him to pace my planned workout for Tuesday (perhaps charging that as my fee for the accomodations?) and was pretty much just all-around thrilled to have someone to hang out with. Especially someone who drives a vehicle even more ostentatious than mine. (Jordan: "Who's driving to dinner? Ritz or Sell?")



To sum up the evening, we had a grand time. So grand that I'm typing this at 9:30am on Tuesday having just woken up and already decided to push the workout to tomorrow. If and when Ozzie ever stirs from the futon I will drag him out for at least ten miles and call it a day.

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Week in Review

100 miles
2 nights in the Courtyard Marriott
1 bag of Sour Patch Kids
105 minutes waiting in line for gas

To 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 pretty much all that one could expect at this stage in the training cycle.

Going forward, there are still two weeks of significant training yet to complete, which I'm facing with a mixture of determination and downright exhaustion. I would be lying if I said I wasn't proud of notching 100 miles this week, but I'd also be lying to say I'm not absolutely drained. The prospect of completing my own race simulation this weekend doesn't exactly thrill me, but I'll have Jordan along for the ride, which should make things more pleasant. I also hope to get back to some softer surfaces this week in hopes of preserving the legs. At this point I need to do anything I can to keep myself healthy and injury-free going into the home stretch.

I leave for DC in exactly three weeks. That's 21 days until Team MJ is reunited and all is right with the world.

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Birmingham Long Run

2 hours 13 mins.
18 miles

While 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 I'd almost forgotten about Tracy is that he knows everyone, literally EVERYONE, who runs in the greater Birmingham area. We started our jaunt with ~3 miles on the Shades Creek Greenway, and it is no exaggeration to say that we passed at least 25 people and every single one of them greeted him by name. He's kind of a big deal around here.


Congrats, Jordan and Jilane. I'm happy for you both.

Anyway, this morning was a bit warmer and more humid than others this week, but overall it wasn't too bad. I felt kind of sluggish for the first hour, but by the time we looped back to his truck at 90 minutes I was feeling pretty chipper. I took a Clif Shot and some water while he toweled off and stretched, then I bid him adieu for my final six miles out and back on the greenway (yes, it's boring, but I was in the mood for something flat and shaded). While I never picked up the pace significantly, I felt strong and light on my feet throughout the remainder of the run, which was a refreshing reversal from yesterday. Not to mention that only having to run ~45 minutes by myself was absolutely wonderful. Props to Tracy for hanging in there for the majority of this outing.

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Shades Creek Revisited

24 min. w/u (3 miles)
Target: 4 mile tempo @6:30
3x1200 starting @5:55 pace, faster every 90 secs.
Actual: 6:36, 6:23, 6:23, 6:20; 4:30, 4:30
22 min. c/d (3 miles)
Total: 12 miles

This 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 increase the pace every 90 seconds. While technically I did accomplish this goal, there's no way that 4:30 was 1200 meters at the pace I was running. I stopped the third 1200 after about 20 seconds when it was clear I was embarrassing myself and extended the cool down jog instead.

I'm tired. I'm hungry all the time. And I'm losing $5 to Jordan on the OU vs. TCU game. Not the best day overall.

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525,600 Minutes

AM: 60 mins.
8 miles
PM: 30 mins.
4 miles

First 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?? But I digress).

In the evening I did an easy out and back along the Shades Creek Greenway in Birmingham, which is conveniently located directly across the street from my hotel. I turned around at the mile marker where I started my workout the last time I was in Birmingham and marveled at how long ago that seems. That led to thoughts of other times I've run on this greenway, all of which were when I worked for Mizuno several years ago, and then my mind wandered to the general idea of the passage of time. How some things change and some stay the same. How I change yet stay the same. Without realizing it, I found myself humming one of my favorite songs from my favorite musical. So, rather than expounding upon this topic further, I'll leave you with the opening stanza of "Seasons of Love." Oh and Jordan, stop rolling your eyes; you're lucky you made it this far without me bringing up the greatness that is "Rent."

525,600 minutes
525,000 moments so dear
525,600 minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
525,600 minutes
How do you measure a year in the life?
--"Seasons of Love"

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Massage Thursday

AM: 77 mins.
10+ miles
PM: 29 mins.
~4 miles

This 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, and I gotta say the dude is not afraid to bring the hurt. There were a few times I really had to remind myself that this was for my own good. Overall, though, it was pretty relaxing and should keep me loosened up for a while. Tomorrow I'm headed to Birmingham for work and am hoping to recruit a few peeps to keep me company on my weekend runs.

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