Chris - 6.45

49:53 - 7:44 pace

I felt so good going out on this run, only to have it turn to crap due to stomach issues. After a guy yelled "Ahhhhh!" at me out of his car window as he turned a corner (and I went "Ahhhh, that was crayzee!!" back to him) I stopped about halfway through, and then had to stop at another port-o-john with about a mile to go. So I'm glad to just be home now, haha.

Steve - 8

70:23 (8:48)

We had a celebration at my company for some new release we just did today. I can't reveal the details due to the risk of termination or something like that. So from 3-5 the company paid for drinks and food at a nearby establishment. I imbibed 3 blue moons and a vodka red bull. Good times. Anyway, my plan that day was to run about 7-8 miles. So once I got to Griffith Park, I was not feeling like running. Fortunately I was meeting a friend so I had no choice. He was probably pissed that I got there like 45 minutes late cuz the traffic was terrible. Felt like a complete ass but traffic is traffic. Anyway, I slogged through the run even though my stomach felt like garbage. We ran in the complete dark but were both equipped with trusty headlamps.

Luke - 9.2

9.2mi, 68:34 (7:27)

1.5-mile loop of Pre's Trail loop in 11:22 and 11:17, 1 mile barefoot on the grass.

Luke - 8.75

8.75mi, 68:14 (7:47)

Fox Hollow with Zack. My breathing was pretty labored to start out, after my dirty dozen this morning, so I just wanted to hit the hill fairly well. I made it my goal to get to the top in front of Zack...I managed 8:17 up, and he was about ten seconds back...if he'd PRed up it he probably would have beaten me. It was pretty dark by the time we got to the top so we descended cautiously slow, 8:31. Once on Rexius we picked it up and going fast actually made me feel better, so we both ended up killing it for a mile and a half on the bark there. About 6:15 pace overall; last few quarters were I think 92, 91, 88, 87. At twenty miles into the day I am pretty happy with that. Got home and immediately opened a beer, and now that I've showered it's about time for DoughCo. Last night at work I hatched the plan for today of 12 miles / sleep / 8.75 miles / DoughCo, and that plan is coming to fruition nicely. Great day.

Steve - 6.35

Flyers track workout. My usual routine of tempo run on the track. Tempo went decently. I was going to do a 3 mile tempo but felt good after 3 miles so I threw in another half. A few minutes later my friend asked if I wanted to do a 1600 in 6:30 and I obliged of course. I am feeling moderately strong for my half marion in a few weeks.

1.1 mi wup 10:55
3.5 mi tempo in 24:25 (7:03, 7:06, 6:52, 3:24)
6:26 1600
.75 mi 7:09 cd

Luke - 12

12mi, 1:46:32 (8:52)

Ran home from work the hilly way. Always a tough run, but it was especially hard today. Managed to push it under 8-minute pace the last 3.25 miles, but only just. Still, always feels great to do this run. Or at least, to have done it.

Alison - 3.1

I did the 5K program on the treadmill. I've been doing lots of strength training at the gym, eating well, and intense cardio so I've been wondering what my present 5K time would be. It was a not-to-shabby 26:57. I am so glad it was beneath 27min because that was my goal (to be under) and it would have depressed me to have been over.

Fight the power.

Chris - 3.47

26:23 - 7:36

Went to go get my haircut right after work, and then did this short route to help get in some good mileage this week. Went out a little easy, then pushed myself some coming back. I think I need to eat a more substantial snack after lunch though, because I still felt weak energy wise even though my legs felt fine.

splits: 13:21 - 13:01

Luke - 7.8

7.8mi, 56:54 (7:17)

1.6-mile loop in 11:51, 1.4-mile loop in 9:54. Was going to do some barefoot grass running but both of the fields on the route were occupied.

Steve - 7

60:10 (8:44)

There is a huge heat wave in L.A. and probably other places too. It reached 110 today. I think it might be a record high for this time of year. I ran at Griffith Park at about 7pm after the sun had set and it felt like it was noon. So hot and dry. I'm worried there are going to be a lot of fires if the winds pick up. Out in 31:00 and back 29:10. Both my feet have been hurting lately. Gonna up calcium intake and do the foot stretches Luke told me about to see if that helps

James - 0

And it will be nothing for a while, as last Wednesday I cracked my pinkie toe on a doorframe in our flat. Ow! Crutches suck, not to mention arsing around with your health system.

Alison rest assured is still kicking ass at the gym.

I read an uplifting article a few days ago in Utne Reader called "On Being Fat and Running". A guy basically said he runs rather than goes to do gym workouts because he needs that sort of "heart-rattling-in-your-ribcage" intensity to get healthier, and he wants to do it in front of the world. Sadly it doesn't appear to be anywhere online, but it was nice.

Chris - 3.47

26:43 - 7:41 pace

Hot out today. I waited too late to go run, and didn't have lunch before I did. Bad idea!

Luke - 11

10.75mi, 85:39 (7:58)

Took a hilly course over to Spring Blvd, took Ridgeline back to Fox Hollow and came down. 7:30 pace on the flat portions of the run.

Luke - 7.5

7.5mi, 59:21 (7:54)

Rexius, plus a mile loop in 7:32.

Steve - 5

45:00

I was up in the Bay Area this weekend visiting my brother and parents. Went for a run with my brother and Dad. I was running ahead of them and after a while I looked back and I couldn't see them. So I started running back and I could see they had turned around and were running back. As I got closer I saw my Dad wasn't swinging his right arm. When I caught up, I found out he had taken a nasty spill and had a huge gash under his eye and cuts all over his body. He fell hard on the shoulder too and he could barely move it. My Mom happened to drive along cuz she was going to meet us at the park we were running to and we took him to the hospital shortly thereafter. He had to get 11 stitches on the cut under his eye and his shoulder were severely bruised and not separated or dislocated. Anyway, he's doing OK now.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 9/19-9/25

Luke - 34.25 (5)

Chris - 21.94 (4)

Steve - 21.1 (3)

Zack - 18.65 (2)

James - 15 (1)

Chris - 7.35

63:13 - 8:36 pace

I did an out & back down the main road that goes through Beaverton and into Tigard. I had planned to do 8 miles, but my stomach and legs didn't really let me. I ended up ducking into a Godfathers Pizza place to use their bathroom, and then finished my run. I'm proud I even tried to attempt this - I knew I wouldn't have it today.

Time to clean up, go to Fry's to get a bigger HD for my PS3 and a new game! Then getting all that set up before the Ducks play ASU!

GO DUCKS!

Luke - 9.5

The Best Dam 10k, 34:13, 5th place.

Nice course along the Clackamas River. The start was downhill, which was a good way to get into a fast pace right from the gun. There were 3 guys from the Bowerman Athletic Club who looked quite fast and a decent sized group of other good runners, and a lot of fast masters. I started out in about tenth place but was in eighth I think by the first mile, which I passed in 5:33. I passed one or two guys in the second mile, and came through at 5:03, so I figured the mile marker was off. Over the next couple miles I concentrated on passing one guy, then another. Third mile was 5:27 and fourth was 5:25, which seem right. In the fifth mile there was the only real hill in the race, which takes you from the road next to the river up to the highway. It was definitely tough, and my fifth mile was 5:38. I did some quick math and figured I only needed to run 5:45 pace to break 34, which had been my goal. There was a Bowerman AC guy in front of me that I'd been trying to catch since about mile 4, and at the 5-mile mark he stopped and walked for about ten seconds, so I thought I'd be able to catch him, but when he started running again he took off from me pretty well. The last mile was downhill but I was too dead to really take advantage of it. My sixth mile split was 5:49, which was definitely wrong, and my last .2 was 1:14, so I ended up at 34:13, a PR but not sub-34 as I'd hoped. After the race Zack and I talked to a guy who said the second mile was ~20 seconds short and the sixth mile was ~20 seconds long, which sounded about right. Kind of annoying they were like that, but it wouldn't have really changed anything.

The results aren't up yet but I'm pretty sure I got 5th behind the three Bowerman AC guys and one guy that had a RunPortland jersey on who also looked semi-pro.

Afterwards got Mexican food and then drank beer all day and watched the really long Oregon game.

Luke - 6.5

6.5mi, 47:13 (7:15)

Felt okay.

The engine in the taxi I usually drive blew up the other night, so I won't be working Saturday, so I decided to join Zack in Estacada for the Best Dam 10k. My low mileage this week should work out well for a PR.

Luke - 5.25

5.25mi, 38:14 (7:16)

Mile loops of 7:44, 7:24, 6:58, and 6:17. Picked it up to try and finish before the lights turned off...fell short by 15-20 seconds.

Chris - 5.04

38:41 - 7:40 pace

Ran a little longer route today in lieu of not running yesterday because I was too tired and had to go in early to work today. Plan is to run 8 on Saturday to get to over 20 for the week, and then play 18 on Sunday afternoon.

Luke - 8.75

8.75mi, 65:30 (7:29)

Fox Hollow with Zack. 8:13 up, 7:31 down in the almost-dark; 6:00 pace on the way back. A lot of bounce in my step...there'd better be, with as low of mileage as I've been doing the past few days. Next few days should be much better since it's my weekend.

Also five minutes into the run there was an insanely hot girl wearing UOXC clothes on Amazon. It was ridiculous how good-looking she was. I will attempt to marry her within the month. Updates forthcoming.

Steve - 5.85

Tempo run on the track. I didn't feel like running at all today but after an emergency trip to the bathroom following my warmup, I was re-energized. My first 800 of the tempo was slow as as hell (4:14 or so), but I wanted to gradually work my way into it. Felt pretty good in the end. Half marathon is slightly less than 4 weeks away..


1.1 mi wup 12:14
4 mile tempo in 29:08 (7:55, 7:11, 7:01, 7:01)
.75 mi 8:18 cd

Steve - 7

68

Run at Griffith Park. Distance and time approximate.

Chris - 6.45

49:49 - 7:43 pace

Had a really stressful day at work today, and was really looking forward to coming home and getting out for a longish run. Didn't feel like running super hard today, so just ran a solid pace, and pushed it a tad. Felt pretty strong overall.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 28:09 (6:37)

Mile loops of 7:21, 6:28, and 5:25. Got a late start again so I just did a short acceleration.

Zack - 7.75

7.25 mi Amazon 55:23 (7:38) EZ pace, felt great with a slow progression: 7:51, 7:47, 7:44, 7:42, 7:38, 7:32. 6 strides on the practice soccer field next to S. Eugene HS. Ready to race a 10km this weekend, the Best Dam 10km race in Estacada, OR. http://www.orrc.net/races/bestdam/bestdam.htm

James - 15

That's just an estimate of several runs from the last few weeks.

Sorry about the total post. But I've been finding it very hard to measure my runs in any way whatsoever, and that's because Alison and I have joined a gym called YouFit. They are cheap, seem good quality, and have an environmental agenda!

It's taking me a while to get used to running on a treadmill, as I don't like not being able to alter my speed without thinking about it and pressing a button. What do you guys think of them? I'd like to blame my runs being harder solely on this change of venue, but it's probably me too. Anyway, they are getting longer, I ran for 30 minutes at 5 mph (I think? Not kmph) on Saturday. Alison has also been running, but been more adventurous than me in using other equipment.

Perhaps I can keep you updated on what rubbish I'm watching while running (a horrifying new experience that has included True Lies).

So even if we are not here very often, know we are running.

Steve - 8.25

71:30 (8:40)

I bought a headlamp this weekend and this was my first trial run. I got the Petzl Tikka 2 for $29.99. There are 3 settings. Bright, Economy, and Flashing. I usually used Bright when it was completely dark. Economy you need to have some other light I think but you could get by with it if you really want to save the battery life(3 AAAs). I was running over some pretty dark terrain and the light helped a lot. I didn't twist my ankle once. That happened to me a fair amount last year running in this area. I found the best way to set it up is with a hat worn backwards and the headlamp on top. That way I can adjust it to point about 3-4 feet in front of me. Wearing only the headlamp kind of gives me a headache, but it probably just takes getting used to. It's a given that with any headlamp you look like a complete dork in residential areas. I got it mostly for running at Griffith Park where most people don't run during night. Plus I don't give a damn what anyone thinks.

As far the actual run goes, I was on some deepish sand for awhile and that slowed my overall pace.

Chris - 3.1

19:20 - 6:14 pace

Since this was an event for Race for the Cure, I had to leave my house at about 6:15am to drive to Washington Square and catch a bus that was bringing us downtown. To give some perspective as to why they set this up, there's about 40,000+ people who show up to participate in the various walks/runs, which include a timed and untimed 5k, along with a 5k walk and a mile walk.

I met Darren on a corner a couple blocks up from the waterfront to make it much easier to find each other. I had got a bit of my own warm-up in accidentally when I realized that I had forgotten if Taylor St (where I met Darren) was north or south of Morrison Ave. So of course I ended up guessing wrong and running 4 or 5 blocks in the wrong direction. Turned out to be a good thing, since once I met up with him and we jogged down to the waterfront, we realized just how many people were in the way of doing any actual good warming up. He wasn't feeling to great about his chances as it was, since he hadn't been training a lot and he had gone to an Oktoberfest event the night before. So we just found a good spot to stretch and I did a couple strides. We had about 5 minutes left and jogged up to the start. They had one side of the street blocked off by barriers so we had to run around that and then get in between the ribbons with everyone. After I realized just how far back I was and that there was no way I was going to be able to sidle up much farther, I ducked out and went around up to the front, about 5 people back.

The race was a chip-timed, sanctioned USATF event. I got off to my customary fast start with everyone else, and soon settled in to a moderately quick pace behind a group of guys that all had the same t-shirt on. Said "Bosom Buddies" or something. I've learned that this early in the race I really can't gauge who is going to help pull me along/stay in contact with, but even so I tried to guess and kept my eye on this blue shirt guy and a cute short girl that was next to him. Passed the first mile marker at 5:07 and didn't even hit my split because I knew that marker was bullshit. Shortly after that I started to feel the strain and tried to focus on taking quick steps and keeping up with the running buddies. They started to thin out pretty soon after that. So I gave up on them and picked someone else. The hardest part of the route is probably the long, straight finish. It definitely helped to go by Darren after the turnaround and give each other high fives. That gave my legs a big energy boost for a good 10-20 yards. Since this was such a huge event, there were also volunteer groups along the route that were cheering for everyone, which was pretty neat. Passed the 2nd mile mark at 11:53, so that would've been 6:47 for the second mile - and there's no way I slowed down THAT much after the first quick mile. Also per usual, the last mile or so a couple people started to slowly pass me, so I tried my best to pick up my legs a tad more to try and ride their heels. I didn't want to expend the rest of my energy too early though, so I let them go. As we came into the last .5 I started catching up to a couple people that were dying off, and since the finish was along a straight I could see the 3rd mile marker and time my final burst well. I started to really pick up my legs about 50 yards before the marker, and passed a couple people. Then the last .1 I gave everything I had left in the tank, even managed to get up on my toes going into the chute and caught another 3 or 4 people. I had completely forgotten to hit my watch at the 3rd mile marker, so after I hit it at the finish I showed 7:26 for the last 1.1 for a total of 19:19.99! I didn't even look at the official clock as I came into the finish, partly because I knew that was the gun time and partly because my eyes were covered in a haze from trying to kill myself at the end and catch as many people as I could.

I tried to not fall over/pass out as I bent over to unstrap the velcro thing that the timing chip was attached to, and then walked to the end of the line of people to catch my breath and wait for Darren. We high fived as he came to the end of the chute and then went off the find some snacks and water. Since I was mildly curious to see if I had somehow nabbed 2nd in my age group to get an award, I tried asking the people that were holding 'Race Info' signs if they knew where times were going to be posted, but none of them knew anything. One lady's first answer was, "Oh they'll be posted online". Thaaanks lady. We wandered around for a bit longer, then he walked home and I got on my bus to go back to Washington Square. I felt kinda back since I was pretty sweaty and smelly, and everyone else on the bus were normal people that had just come to do the one mile walk with their kids or something. Considering my goal was the break 20, the day was definitely a success!

47th out of 1019, 5th in my age group

Link for the results page

Zack - 10.9

10.9 miles 79:23 (7:17)
Wanted to do a solid long run. Rested enough to maintain 7:10-7:20/mi the first 7-8 miles without too much trouble and from here was hoping to dip under 7 and extend to at least 12 mi but I started to feel very bad. I think it was a product of being sick..enjoyed the route down various sections of the bike path. I ended the run and walked the last 0.5 mi when I started to feel really dizzy and completely exhausted. This was one of those tougher than anticapted days but still solid mileage despite the problems. Route mapped at: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4054137

Weekly Mileage Totals, 9/12-9/18

Luke - 64 (9)

Zack - 42.5 (6)

Steve - 23.9 (4)

Chris - 16.53 (3)

Luke - 5

5mi, 38:09 (7:37)

Two 1000-meter Amazon loops, two 1-mile Amazon loops, and two laps on the track. Didn't really feel like running, woke up late, and was watching the Oregon game, so I left pretty late, without much time to run before work.

Steve - 7

58:12 (8:18)

Cruising the trail in Manhattan Beach. Final mile in 7:30 after mostly 8:30ish miles.

Zack - 5.5

46:41 (8:29)
Very sore, non-responsive legs as I headed up Emerald Street, across the fairways at Laurelwood Golf Course, and up to the very start of Relentless Hills. I would have continued but I was dead and just made my way home.

Luke - 6.5

2x4x400m, 200/600r: 74, 75, 72, 70 / 71, 70, 70, 66.

Good workout except for the first two, on which I felt good but wasn't fast. Made the rest of them hurt a little and everything was hunky dory. Don't know what my 400 PR is so maybe 66.15 is it now. Zack's last one was definitely a PR for him, 71.1 I think.

Chris - 5.04

37:50 - 7:30 pace

GREAT run in the rain! A full minute faster than when I did this route on Monday. Bring on that Race for the Cure 5k....

Zack - 6.5

45:30 (7:00)
400s on the track w/ Luke. Warm up 21 min, splits (8:00, 7:46) 8 x 400 on a humid, rainy evening w <1:30 rest intervals.

Enjoyed running hard: 78.1, 77.2, 75.6, 75.4, 75.7, 74.8, 74.7, 71.3!! (PR, haha).

One of my goals in the months to come (or however long it takes) is to run <5:00 for a mile. Still a ways to go but this was a nice start.

Luke - 6.25

6.25mi, 49:55 (7:59)

Mile loops of 8:06, 8:09, 8:11, 8:09, and 7:50, with Zack. Neither of us felt great so we just took it easy as a recovery day between Fox Hollow Wednesday and Intervals Friday. Exactly a minute slower per mile than this morning's run.

Luke - 5.5

5.5mi, 38:29 (6:59)

1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 9:53. Pushed it slightly to get under 7-minute pace.

Zack - 6.25

49:55 (7:59)
Mile loops of 8:06, 8:09, 8:11, 8:09, and 7:50 Amazon. Felt awful but a nice recovery pace.

Steve - 6.35

Ran a 3 mile tempo on the track with the Flyers. I've got a half marathon in 30 days so it's time to get in shape. I'm way behind where I want to be, but just gonna move forward. The 3 mile tempo went decently. I wanted to run around 6:52 mile pace (sub 1:30 half marathon pace) and did that for the final two miles. First mile was a bit slow. I finished up with a nice long cooldown barefoot. Gonna buy a headlamp at REI this weekend so I can start busting nighttime runs in GP.

1.46 mi wup in14:28
3 mile tempo in 20:57 (7:11. 6:52, 6:54)
1.89 mi barefoot 17:00 cd

Luke - 8.75

8.75mi, 69:34 (7:57)

Fox Hollow with Zack. Wanted to hit the hill hard, and I must say I did. Flew up the first half and held on the second half for a new PR of 7:06. I don't think I will be able to break 7 any time this year...it'll take a good chunk of training to get in that kind of shape.

7:35 down the hill, and then the rest of the way back was a struggle. It was bad enough just from having used all my energy on the hill, but then my stomach started acting up and it got real bad. Had to walk for a few 100m stretches, but made it home under 8-minute pace anyway.

Chris - 6.45

49:25 - 7:39 pace

Same EXACT pace as the last 2 Wednesdays when I did this route. I guess that's good and bad. Hopefully I can speed up a bit for the race. I'm looking to break 20 - or else I'm really not going to be happy...

Zack - 8.75

68:53 (7:52)
Fox Hollow #26, felt pretty tired/awful most of the day. This run helped immensely, Luke took off and I maintained a steady pace for the first half-mile on the climb, managed to pick it up midway through but ended up too wrecked to PR. Up in 8:22, down in an easy 7:35 and continued just an easy aerobic effort back home.

Steve - 6.15

58:29 (9:31)

Two loops around Silver Lake Res plus a few extra miles to get there and back. Felt decent on this run, although my calf was really tight from doing eccentric calf raises the last few days.

Luke - 6

6mi, 41:58 (6:59)

1.6-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 10:31. Pushed just enough to get under 7-minute pace.

Luke - 4.9

4.9mi, 37:24 (7:37)

Mile loops of 7:49, 7:31, and 6:59. Tacked on an extra .65mi at the beginning to get my weekly mileage back to a quarter-mile multiple after yesterday's extra 1.6. The OCD of a runner.

Chris - 5.04

38:50 - 7:42 pace

Started out pretty strong, then ran way too fast down this slight decline and never fully recovered. Managed to finish fairly strong though.

Luke - 10.35

10.35mi, 81:41 (7:53)

Fox Hollow plus an extra 1.6-mile trail loop. 8:44 up, 7:40 down. Felt a ton better than yesterday, but still pretty weak, with no spring in my step. Tomorrow I'm going to try to do a couple shorter runs so I don't feel so stale.

Zack - 9

70:04 (7:47)
Getting darker earlier! I decided to go up Fox Hollow (#25) with minimal light (as in just moonlight). It was nice being in solitude and just sort of having to feel out the familiar trail beneath me, however I did stumble a few times when the grade ramps up by some of the switchbacks. Deciding it would be near suicide to come back down, I took Fox Hollow road. This proved to be equally as dark but provided predictable footing as I descended. I actually almost ran into the side of a deer coming down, scared me pretty good.

Steve - 4.4

38:07 (8:40)

Took 3 days after my mile time trial on Wednesday. I had some soreness in my left leg along my IT band. Worried me a bit because usually only the right side bothers me. I decided to take some time off and start doing some rehab stuff with my bands again.

Luke - 10.75

10.75mi, 94:16 (8:46)

Went up Fox Hollow and continued on the road. Had planned on going further, but up the hill I felt really weak, and a mile later I sat down on the barrier on the side of the road for a couple minutes before turning around and heading back. Up the hill took 10:13 and down it took 9:36 and I was dying. Coming home was around 9-10 minute pace, just feeling weak the whole time.

Zack - 6.5 (+27 on the bike)

6.5 miles 48:27 (7:27)

Rexius Trail in the late afternoon after having done 27 miles on the bike earlier in the day. Felt strong until the last mile or so. Splits on Rexius: 7:29, 7:32, 7:13, 3:38 (0.5 mi). Rode with a few other chemists and it was fairly low-key except for a massive hill in the middle. I certainly was at max heart rate for the 1.5 mi climb trying to get up. This reminded me of some triathlon training I was doing over the past few years.

Weekly Mileage, 9/5-9/11

Luke - 56 (7)

Zack - 35.05 (5)

Chris - 21.42 (4)

Steve - 16.55 (3)

Zack - 8

8 miles 59:29 (7:26)
With Luke, legs pretty tired but he kept pushing it just out of recovery pace so I ran slightly faster than I would have solo (which is cool). Both loops Pre's Trail in between Ohio State and Oregon victories.

35 mi in only 5 runs and a summit of the Mt. Thielsen volcano (9182' at the top of the spire) in the Southern OR Cascades this past Sunday. Hope to bump up the mileage a little next week.

Luke - 8

8mi, 59:39 (7:27)

1.6-mile loop in 12:15, 1.4-mile loop in 10:16. Ran while the Oregon-Tennessee game was being lightning-delayed and got back just when it was starting up again.

Chris - 4.32

33:59 - 7:51 pace

Ran easy-ish for awhile, especially up the 300 ft climb in the first 2 miles, then let the hills take me back. There was one part where it was a slight downgrade and my legs were flying so fast and long that I had trouble keeping my arms pumping fast enough, and made myself slow down a bit because I felt slightly out of control and didn't want to biff it on a rock or something. Twenty miles for the week! I don't think I'll get to a 40 mile week this year, but I'd really like to hit 30 again...

Also, 5k coming up next weekend on Sunday!

Luke - 4.75

4.75mi, 36:27 (7:40)

Ran over to work to pick up my bike since I'd left it there on Wednesday. Should be doing a second run this afternoon.

Zack - 6.25

6.25 miles 46:52
Track work, 2 loop warmup (7:52, 7:47). 4x800 (2:46, 2:44, 2:43, 2:38!) w/400 rest. Very solid considering I haven't ran anything fast other than a few tempos in the past month.

Chris - 6.45

52:50 - 8:11 pace

This time is sort of a guess, I forgot to hit my watch after I stopped to stretch at one point, so I had to guess how long I had ran until I noticed and started it again. Went slow on purpose, just wanted to get some nice easy runs in at the end of this week since I ran the first two pretty hard.

Luke - 6.75

5x800m, 400r: 2:36, 2:31, 2:29, 2:28, 2:31.

Didn't know how fast to do these since it had been a while since my last 800 workout, so I just went by feel on the first. After it I thought I might be able to cut down by 2 seconds each interval, but the last 200 of my second one was around 34-35 seconds so I ended up down at 2:31 and I just tried to be barely faster each one after that. On the last I was just dead and had just enough in me to pull out a 75 and a 76.

Overall, legs felt strong but not super fast, breathing was quite labored.

Zack - 7.8

Sept 9th: 7.8 miles 56:49 (7:17)
Both loops of Pre's Trail. Clouds, blue skies sneaking out underneath, a few drops of rain, everything else bright green. I was daydreaming most of the run. Legs felt sort of heavy but this run was easy enough.

Luke - 10.5

10.5mi, 86:09 (8:12)

Double-looped Relentless Hills. 24:06 for the first loop, 23:30 for the second. All right run except for a stomach issue the last couple miles.

Zack - 8.75

8.75 miles 68:09 (7:47)
Nice Fox Hollow Wednesday (#24 on the year) with Luke. Perfect running weather, wet ground, cloudy and 57F as it started to get dark. Cruised up the climb in 8:17 (2 sec off PR) right behind Luke and went downhill slower than the ascent (8:29)! Ran steady on Rexius, first mile in 7:27, and cranked it down to 3:35 next 1/2 mi followed by a last 1/4 mi of 84 sec!

Chris - 6.45

49:21 - 7:39 pace

Felt pretty good tonight. Took a pseudo break in the middle of the route to make friends with a port-o-potti. Bought yesterday and was humming tracks from Eminem's 'Recovery' album while I ran. Also, have any of you seen the Showtime show 'Dexter'? A friend from work loaned the first season to me and I'm almost done with it. I like it and will definitely be borrowing the second season from him when I'm done with this one.

Luke - 8.75

8.75mi, 68:17 (7:48)

Fox Hollow with Zack. A bit of an effort for both of us on the way out, and then 8:11 for me up the hill, trying to pull Zack along to a PR (I think he was a couple seconds short of it). It was dark by the time we started down the hill, so just a safe 8:31. 7:10 pace on the bark on the way back. Just under a quarter mile to go on Rexius Zack declared, "Just to fuck with you." and picked up the pace substantially. I smiled and started to go but found I was unable to breathe. Still managed to pass him and we both hit about 83 for that quarter. It was definitely weird to not be able to just pick it up; I was like "Why can't I breathe? This is odd." But I was glad he pushed me to it, made the run that much more fun. 20.75 quality miles on the day...only 26 so far this week, but I see no reason why I can't stay on 80mpw pace from here out.

I always think of the line from the old commercial..."I wanna run, I just wanna run!"

Steve - 3.55

Today was the 1 mile time trial with the Flyers. I wasn't feeling great coming into it, but decided to give it a shot. Did an easy 1:29 400 beforehand cuz our group usually does that before the time trial. My goal was to run about a 5:45 at 90-95 percentish effort. First 400 went through in about 85 and felt ok. Second 400 I accidentally slowed down and came through at 2:53 (88). I ran a tad slower on the 3rd lap and hit the 1200 mark in 4:22. Time didn't bother me much cuz I was more concerned about the effort. Running a second or two faster felt like I would have had to push. For the fourth lap, I picked it up a tad and felt pretty strong, finishing in 5:48(1:26). Not too bad considering I haven't been running much or fast the last 3 weeks. Afterward I walked a lap and stood around for a while because I felt really weak. I decided to just do an easy cooldown and call it a day.

1 mile wup in 9:00
1:29 400
1 Mile TT in 5:48
1.3 mi cd in 13:24

Luke - 12

12mi, 90:35 (7:32)

Ran home from work the long, hard, fun way. Felt quite good, especially around miles 7-9. 6:08 down the Fox Hollow hill...might have been sub-6 if I hadn't had to climb over a tree that had fallen down from the storms last night. I really like this route; it starts out with ~3.5 miles of mostly uphill on the road, then has rolling hills slightly descending the rest of the way. Starting this run just before 6am, after the twenty straight hours of rain had stopped, is near perfect.

Steve - 6

57:00 (9:30)

Run in the dark around Griffith Park. Probably not a great idea to run as late as we did. I might end up getting a headlamp so I can run safely at the park since it's getting darker earlier and earlier. Rounded the distance to 6 miles although it was probably a bit longer.

Zack - 4.25

4.25 miles 32:34 (7:39)
Amazon loops in 55F rain w/ fresh bark. 7:48, 7:47, 7:50.

Luke - 5.25

5.25mi, 35:35 (6:46)

Mile loops of 6:59, 6:50, 6:46, and 6:40. Super rainy out...guess summer's over in Eugene.

Chris - 4.2

30:04 - 7:09 pace

Little tempo run during lunch at work. Volunteered to work today, then have tomorrow off to make up for it. Weather was perfect, about 65*. Also I avoided getting stung on my uvula - can't complain! I really wanted to break 30 when I realized I had a chance to...I'll get it one of these days...

splits: 15:19 - 14:45

Steve - 7

56:12

Out in 29:30, back in 26:42 on MB trail. A bunch of low 8 minute miles sandwiched around a 9 minute mile warmup and 7 minute mile close.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 8/29-9/4

Luke - 59.75 (8)

Steve - 24.68 (5)
Chris - 16.37 (3)

Luke - 2.75

2.75mi, 21:30 (7:49)

Left to go for a 13.5-miler on Rexius...it was going all right and everything until A BEE FLEW INTO MY MOUTH AND STUNG MY UVULA. I stopped and asked a guy getting his mail if he had any ice, and he gave me a cupful but I don't think it did any good since the sting was too far back in the mouth to reach. Walked home in pain, spitting the entire time...took like an hour...came home and looked on the internet to see what advice they had, and was convinced going to the ER was probably a good idea. I didn't have any Benadryl and neither did my upstairs neighbor so there was the concern that it could swell up so much I couldn't breathe. The doctors gave me Benadryl first thing. A bit later I had to breathe a Lidocaine nebulizer that was supposed to numb the back of my mouth, but it didn't seem to do much. They gave me a steroid to reduce the swelling and a few Ibuprofen for the pain. Still hurts a ton to swallow, and there is a general ache in the area, but I should be fine and back to normal within a few days. It feels a lot like the tonsil problem I had a year and a half ago, but at least I know this is a one-time thing.

Chris - 6.45

52:42 - 8:10 pace

Watched the first 3 quarter of the Ducks absolutely DESTROYING New Mexico 72-0, then took a 2 1/2 hour nap before waking up slightly dizzy and delirious for some reason. Figured I should go do a long easy run to shake off some of the cobwebs in my head and get some miles in for the week. Time to go watch the rest of the OSU v. TCU game...

Steve - 5.24

47 (8:58)

Neighborhood run with two small dirt hill loops.

Luke - 6.25

6.25mi, 51:29 (8:14)

Mile loops of 8:34, 8:07, 8:06, 8:09, and 8:14. Just could not make my body go. Whatever, got the miles in.

Steve - 3.34

30:52 (9:15)

Got off early from work on Friday so I decided to get in short run at Griffith Park. I was going to do a flat run, but I found a path going up a hill and started running up it without really thinking about it. There are tons of trails like this at Griffith Park that I haven't explored yet. It was mostly uphill for about 2 miles and then pretty flat for the rest of the way. No clue about the distance so I'll say 3.34

Luke - 10.1

10.1mi, 76:58 (7:37)

1.6-mile loop in 12:33, 1.4-mile loop in 10:14, 17:12 barefoot on the grass. Made it 10.1 instead of the usual 10 so as to balance out that 2.9-miler the other morning.

Steve - 5.1

Track workout with the Flyers. I forgot my watch again somehow so the time and distance are not completely accurate. I did a warmup and then jogged some easy miles around the track in about 7:45-8:00 minute mile pace. I did manage to time the final mile, which was 7:20. The group was doing 400 repeats so I jumped in for 3 and ran them pretty easy in about 79 seconds each. I felt pretty good overall. This was the first time in 3 weeks I did anything remotely fast. Next week our group is doing a 1609m TT and I think I will run it. My goal is to run about 5:45 in a non-all-out effort. Still kind of have this lingering cough.

.75 mi wup
3 miles in approx. (23:20)
3x400 with 100 recovery (about 79 sec for each 400)
.6 mile cd

Luke - 8.75

8.75mi, 56:56 (6:30)

Fox Hollow, no Zack. Felt pretty good as I walked to the corner where I start my runs, so I decided to give it a good effort. Last time I tried to PR on this run I think I went out too fast, and ended up dying on the way back, so I tried to go out conservatively fast today. Just over 7-minute pace for the first mile and a half (10:39) and then tried to average around 1:40 quarters until the base of the hill. Managed 6:32 pace for that stretch without going into the well, so I figured breaking an hour was a definite possibility, although I knew I'd have to see how I felt after the hill. Hit the uphill hard, as usual, and figured I would be up in about 8:45...for some reason I was thinking my PR up the hill was 8:13, when in reality it is 7:13. So at the halfway point I was at 3:55 and was like "Damn, I'm gonna kill my old PR!" Managed 7:32 for a total of 30:27 for the first half of the run. I knew my split there the day I PRed was 30:30, so I was feeling good about the run (especially since I thought I'd PRed up the hill by 41 seconds). The downhill took 6:46, and then the hard part of the run started--trying to average better than 6-minute pace the entire way back. Started hitting right on 90-second quarters, and managed to pick it up to 88, 87, and 88 the last .75mi of Rexius. With a mile and a half to go I was just under 48:30, so I knew even at 6-minute pace I wouldn't get under 57 minutes, and I knew my PR was 56:xx. I hit an 83-second quarter on Amazon and am pretty sure my last mile was under 5:30, maybe even under 5:20, though I don't know where the exact mile marker is so I can't be sure. At any rate, 8:29 for the last 1.5 miles (that split was 8:41 on my PR of this run) and managed to break 57. Felt like I had just a little bit left at the end, so it may in fact be possible to break 56 someday.

Chris - 6.45

49:23 - 7:39 pace

Woo hoo! Almost twice the mileage as yesterday and just as fast! I feel like doing those intervals helped me make a breakthrough. Just hope I can keep it up. I signed up for another 5k on Sunday the 19th, for Race for the Cure. I got timed out during my initial registration and messed up going back through again, so as of now I'm signed up as "Chris Br". I need to call and have them change that in their system...

Luke - 2.9

2.9mi, 23:27 (8:05)

My bike has been wonky ever since the flat tire and it has been getting worse every time I ride. Something is out of alignment so the back wheel is being slowed down, so it's like having the brakes on while riding. By the time I got to work last night it was so bad I could barely pedal, so I threw my bike in the back of the taxi and drove it home. So at the end of my shift I was able to run home. Because I was tired, instead of going the long hard fun way home I just went straight home, which was even shorter than I thought.