James - 3.45

~36:00

Not a new distance record or a new speed record, but a new amount of total time run, I think! Or close. We got a pedometer and haven't figured out if it does time yet or not, but I used the clock to get a rough time.

I was running around the roads near our friend Local Luke's flat (and brother Mike), who Luke/Benito might remember from a 1 minute meeting they had in summer 2007. I was super all over the place and am glad it turned out to be this far and that I was able to measure it, especially drunk.

I got drunk after I ran, hahaha.

Steve - 2.15

20:14

My second run. Felt OK. I'm taking the pace slow to be safe. Foot feels OK but I can tell the calf is really tight and week. I'm just going to try running a few miles maybe 3 times a week and see how it goes.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 7/24-7/30

Luke - 58.5 (7)

Chris - 33.89 (5)

James - 5.7 (3)

Steve - 1 (1)

Luke - 7

Bowerman Athletic Club 5k, 15:43 (24th).

Splits of 4:58, 5:06, 5:12, and :26. Great course--a gradual loop with no turns, and then even the one turn at 500m to the finish was not sharp or anything. Plenty of competition--in the 100 seconds between me and Zack there were 50 other finishers.

During the awards they were giving away coupons for a free pair of Nike shoes...Matt Tegenkamp, Dathan Ritzenhein, Amy Yoder-Begley, and Dan Lincoln were calling out bib numbers, and people started holding theirs up to try and get them to call their number. I meekly held mine up a little and Teg spotted me and said my number! I trotted up to the stage and got the coupon and shook his hand, and told the four of them up there that they were awesome and that I am a fan. The coupon is to Road Runner Sports and is up to $120, so I figured I would get a pair of the Lunarspider that I want but which retails for $125, but I called the place and they didn't have any in-store, so I'm gonna wait until next time I go up to Portland and try to get them then.

Great weekend, I'm very happy to now be a 15:xx guy.

Chris - 13.08

109:03 - 8:20 pace

Late morning out & back run to get in more mileage before the week is over, and before I head over to Seaside. It was a pretty enjoyable run; I felt strong after a good nights sleep. It started to get hotter as the run went on - I made sure to get water at a fountain that I passed twice. I made sure to slather up with sunscreen before I left, but the route ended up being shaded enough that I was able to take off my tech tee for most of it. Luke and Zack - good luck today and have fun!

splits: 55:29 - 53:34

James - 1.1

12:20

"What?" We were very squeezed for time but I didn't want to break my new plan just yet. I ran back from the store and took a few detours when I could have gotten home in half the time.

We were going to see this folk-punk band Greenland Is Melting (eco reference!). It was a free warm-up for the Antiwarpt Festival tomorrow (yep, that's what it means!)

Chris - 5.04

43:07 - 8:33 pace

Took yesterday off because I was tired from lack of sleep and the two temp-ish runs I did on back to back days. It was about 82* out when I left the house for this one. I forgot how much I like running shirtless. Took it easy since I'm going to do a 12 or 13 miler tomorrow morning before I leave for the coast.

Luke - 4.4

4.4mi, 34:21 (7:48)

Easy run on Pre's Trail before leaving for Portland.

Luke - 10.35

10.35mi, 82:07 (7:56)

Fox Hollow plus the 1.6-mile loop at the top. Felt pretty good to start out, went 8:13 up and 7:07 down. The last couple miles were a bit slower. First 3+ miles were with Zack, who just did the Rexius 6.5. We are both racing on Saturday evening. The race is in Beaverton (just outside Portland)--Chris, I figured you wouldn't really be in 5k shape, but if you want to come watch, it's at the Nike campus. Beer and entertainment post-race. Some details here--if you check out last year's results, you'll see that I will have no shortage of competition.

James - 2.2

25:05

Very slow run, maybe due to bad sleep or too much recent pushing. Will having a low total this week (I only have 1 left if I stick to my two-days plan) allow me to bounce back up with the 4 runs next week? Or does that only work if you intend to take it easy and aren't just really knackered?

I ran out of the complex, all over the place of the complex next door, up the street and round the corner and back (or whatever nonsense I say because what do you guys know).

Steve - 1

My first run in about 11 weeks. Ran one mile around the track in about 9 minutes. Also started a new job today.

Chris - 4.2

29:55 - 7:07 pace

Finally broke 30 minutes on the classic 4.2 out and back during lunch at work! Jeeni ran with our coworker Matt because he was only running 3, and they left a little before me so I used that as motivation to try and catch them. My legs didn't have much spring in them after yesterdays longer run, but I was still able to leg it out at the end and break 30. Pretty happy about that.

Luke - 5.3

5.3mi, 43:41 (8:14)

Mile loops of 8:04, 8:03, and 8:23* on Amazon with Zack. The last one was a bit longer because we went over to the pull-up bar and I failed to do a pull-up but did 3 chin-ups (chin-ups are the easier ones, right?).

Luke - 10.3

10.3mi, 82:01 (7:57)

Fox Hollow plus the 1.6-mile loop at the top. I took the alternate route up Fox Hollow, which made it a hair shorter. Legs felt great but stomach was not cooperating, so a lot of fast sections and a lot of slow sections, for an overall average time. 6:55 down Fox Hollow (the normal way).

Chris - 8.1

59:26 - 7:20 pace

I didn't really set out to run this fast of a pace, but I was feeling pretty good and didn't feel like I was straining too much, so it was fun to run a little faster and enjoy being in good shape! It sounds like I'll be running in the Pints to Pasta 10k this year on September 11th (after H2C) with a coworkers or two and the gf and some of her friends. I had fun doing it a couple years ago when I ran in it solo, so it should be a good time! Hopefully I can absolutely shatter the PR I set a couple years ago...

James - 2.4

24:10

A pretty difficult run with a slow pace. Maybe it is the result of all my increased runs recently, so I am not too concerned. It was after 10pm and dark and I ran on the trail even though that's not allowed. Things are different and scary at night (especially a giant painting of a person looking at you that looks cool and fun in the daytime). I still returned home sweaty as hell.

Luke - 6.4

6.4mi, 48:19 (7:32)

1.6-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 12:14. Felt pretty good.

Chris - 3.47

27:47 - 8:00 pace

I did a shorter route today after work (and no long run this weekend) because playing basketball on Saturday made my shins pretty sore. I think the heat really got to me on this one. Ran a little too hard going out and my body just wasn't having it. My legs didn't have much energy. But the good news is it didn't seem to bother my shins too much if I ran on my midfoot, so I'm going to do a longer run tomorrow since I don't have anywhere to be in the evening.

Luke - 14.75

14.75mi, 1:53:59 (7:43)

Zack and I went out for a long run at the hottest part of the day, on the hottest day of the year so far. Not too bad--90º, but fairly dry and with a slight breeze. Zack carried a water bottle. We took Pre's Trail into Springfield and out to Dorris Ranch Park, where we did a 5k a while back. We were going to do a few miles in the park, but realized we were already about six miles in at that point and Zack had only wanted to do 10-12 miles in the first place. We stopped and each had a gel and went to the bathroom and finished off the last of the water in Zack's water bottle, then headed back the same route. A couple miles from home we stopped at a drinking fountain with nice cold water that was definitely needed by that point. Zack headed home and I did a couple of the 1.4-mile loops on Pre's Trail (10:37, 9:58) and then headed back. Had a big smoothie at home.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 7/17-7/23

Luke - 76.2 (8)

Chris - 18.92 (4)

James - 11.2 (4)

James - 3

29:23

Ran around the complex just over 5 times - at 1am! I had just spent the two hours between 10 and 12 doing dishes (and they're still not all done) and my feet hurt. But I wanted to get 4 runs for the week and by god get over 10 miles. I think I got over 11. Don't deprive me because it was technically Sunday, please Luke!

I think going every 2 days will be my new goal. Trying to recapture my old 3-days-a-week routine that I had in Manchester hasn't taken off at all (it worked then because of the job schedule I had) and this way, there will be 4 runs one week and 3 in the next. Two of my best English friends, Gary and Luke, recently told me they're in training for a 10K next May. Gary trained me when I first started running, and has since fallen out of practice due to the 9-to-5 slog. It's inspiring and exciting to be getting back on the horse at the same time! The horse that runs.

Luke - 7.7

7.7mi, 59:59 (7:47)

Same route as this morning. Felt a lot better, hence the 3+ minute difference in times.

Luke - 7.7

7.7mi, 63:11 (8:12)

Woke up and ran before doing anything else (it was almost 10 when I left though). 12:23 for the 1.5-mile loop of Pre's, and 11:22 for the 1.4-mile loop. Wasn't trying to go fast at all, just taking it real easy. Doubling tonight to get into the 70s for the week.

Chris - 4.17

34:32 - 8:16 pace

Did this run after work on the normal 4 mile loop around my house, and Jeeni rode my bicycle next to me. Side note; it's so awesome to have a gf that likes to be active and do stuff outside! I had fun and sped up a couple times when she started coasting ahead of me, but then slowed it down since I'm planning on doing a long run tomorrow. It may get pushed to Sunday though, because I'm playing basketball outside tomorrow early afternoon with some coworkers against some college interns we have. That should be fun! It's been like 2 months since I've touched a basketball, lol.

Luke - 13.6

13.6mi, 1:52:00 (8:14)

Ran to the top of the Butte. Zack came along for the first part and turned around for a classic Fox Hollow run, and I continued on up and even ran the last section that I usually hike. A lot of scrambling over rocks and stuff up there, and it's super-steep...it wasn't crazy hard while I was doing it but it definitely caught up to me on the way back. Some sections I was struggling and then others I'd feel good again. The second-to-last mile was probably the toughest.

8:41 up Fox Hollow, 8:12 down...Zack said he found a more accurate map and that this section is actually 1.12 miles...I always figured it was more than a mile.

James - 3.1

~19:30
6:36
------
~26:06

First gym run in a few weeks. I wanted to get back up to my glass ceiling of 5K, but it doesn't really count because I had to stop. Shoelace came undone (at 1.7, and I ran until 2.3, but it was becoming a matter of life and death). Somehow forgot the first time. After a 5 minute break I sprinted the last 0.8 for a satisfying ending.

Luke - 8

8mi, 59:40 (7:27)

Zack and I headed out randomly for ten minutes, then Zack led for a minute fast and four minutes easier, then I led for a minute fast and four minutes easier, etc. We did eight of the fast minutes, plus ten minute warmup and ten minute cooldown for a total of right about one hour. For the fartlek section, the leader could go whatever direction he wanted, so it was like Follow The Leader mixed with a fartlek. Fartlek The Leader. The route ended up having a few too many steepish uphills and downhills, so the fast sections were sometimes not so fast, but it was a lot of fun and we found some streets and trails that we had never been on before.

Chris - 3.3

30:15 - 9:10 pace

Ran during lunch at work with Jeeni and two other guys that are on my H2C team. Nice, easy pace. Good shakeout run after my quicker pace yesterday on the Magneto route.

James - 2.7

25:58

This nice park we go to sometimes with dogs and rabbits and ducks. It's 0.7 around so I did nearly 4 laps. While we were away we got these little water bottles in one of the places we stayed so I took them thinking they'd be easy to carry. Alison took a few today and as I ran around the park she walked, refilling them, so I could exchange empties for full when I passed her, like at a race! I managed it twice.

Chris - 6.45

49:56 - 7:44 pace

My energy was pretty good on this run, even though I was severely sleep deprived today. My left hip and knee acted up after about 30 mins though, so that was lame.

Luke - 11.2

11.2mi, 85:21 (7:37)

Did both sides of Pre's Trail twice, with a little added on to the last loop so I could go to the bathroom. I realized as my stomach was hurting that I'd gotten like 5 hours of sleep the last few nights, so duh! that's why my stomach had been hurting on runs. Gotta be better about that.

Luke - 7.2

7.2 mi, 57:35 (7:59)

Both sides of Pre's Trail with Zack and DT. On the way back my stomach was hurting so bad I had to stop, and the last mile+ was a mixture of running and walking. Luckily I will have health insurance starting August 1, so I am looking forward to seeing if a doctor can diagnose my insides.

Chris - 5

45:46 - 9:09 pace

Ran with Jeeni after work. She hasn't run much since the marathon, but she did an admirable job keeping up since I was wanting to push the pace a bit. My goal is to run >30 miles this week, then get around 40 next week, then do an interval workout either next week or the week after. The guys I work with are also planning to run 'the first annual gentleman's mile' - in which we would basically run a 4x400 relay, with me running the first and last laps for my team and someone on the other team doing the same thing. They are basically waiting for me to be fully recovered from the marathon, so that should happen in the next 2 or 3 weeks. Should be fun!

Luke - 7.8

7.8mi, 62:49 (8:03)

Zack had a couple friends in town, one (Porter) a Marine and the other (DT) a runner (he was in town last year a bit, ran a Beer Mile with us...has run 15:40 for 5k). The four of us drove up to the Willamette Street parking lot of Ridgeline and took the trail four miles out, to the top of Mt. Baldy, and then 3.8 miles back (a slightly shorter way on one section of the trail). On the way out I led, and didn't go too crazy fast since this was a pretty tough route and Porter had been running a lot more than he's used to (for the test he has to take there's a 3-Mile run, and a perfect score is anything below 18 minutes, so that's his goal). Everyone was breathing pretty heavily as we got to the turnaround--the last section is pretty steep (Chris, this was on your section of the Ridgeline Ramble, where you said you'd mountain biked before). After a few minutes' rest, Zack led us back down the hill. After crossing Fox Hollow Road there's a big uphill section with lots of switchbacks, and Zack was picking it up very gradually, very sneakily. I noticed right away. I asked something like, "So...are we racing back then?" and he just sorta laughed. Pretty soon he was keeping up a torrid pace, and around each switchback, where it's the steepest and a normal runner would be taking a few slower steps, Zack was surging mightily. DT was in second and I was in third, and Porter was breathing really heavily but hanging tough. I kept thinking of passing, but Zack was going just fast enough that I couldn't pass DT and him in one go. A bit after the trail turned into rolling hills instead of just uphill, Zack finally peeled off and let me and DT pass. I surged past DT shortly thereafter, when the trail was wide enough, and he stuck on me as we started flying through the trails. (Steve, this is the section you went fast on that time we went out there with that KB guy.) I was sprinting all out and DT was right behind me the whole time. I kept trying to run the legs off him, but I just couldn't shake him. We were going a suicidal pace, and around one blind corner we had to pretty much stop cold, as there was a giant bottom-of-a-tree-trunk that the trail went around sharply. Every once in a while I'd go from a sprint to a very fast run as my energy ran out, and I kept thinking that DT would pass me, but he was on the same sprint-rest schedule as me and just never had quite enough to go around me. I think if I hadn't passed him as soon as I did I would have been right behind him the whole time. I pulled away slightly right at the end, as I went just a little bit more recklessly down the steep gravelly hill.

Our time was 35:29 going out and 27:19 coming back (though the return journey was about a minute shorter due to taking the different trail on that one section). I cannot overstate how much fun it was going so fast for that last mile and a half or two miles. A good run to look back on when a day of training just feels rough and I'm wondering why I'm out there...it's so I can do runs like this.

James - 2.4

20:55

"I am trying to decide whether to run now even as thunder is deafening me."

Luke - 13

To the top of the butte. Stopped my watch near the top and hiked the last half-mile or so, and back. Didn't feel incredibly strong coming down but there were some faster parts. At the bottom of the hill I stopped and got water, and I checked the time and apparently forgot to put it back into Chrono mode before hitting start, so I didn't get an overall time. Probably just under an hour fifty, or just under 8:30 pace. This run can have a normal (7:40 +/-20 seconds) pace, but only if I'm feeling strong enough on the downhills to make up for the massive uphills...so 8:30 pace isn't terrible or anything. Oh 8:59 up Fox Hollow and 8:16 down.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 7/10-7/16

Luke - 60 (8)

Chris - 22.6 (5)

James - 2.7 (1)

James - 2.7

11:00
13:00

Dead watch, used phone stopwatch. As pulling phone out of pocket to stop at final moments, somehow reset it. So approximate times, bugger.

The gap in the middle was me going to get medicine (I didn't get it because I went to the wrong store, again bugger). I was stopped for about 25 minutes, which doesn't include the prescription waiting that I had planned for, but bathroom break etc. Also, walking across the street and parking lot. Wal-mart is so "sprawl-mart" that that apparently adds a shitload of time in.

When I planned this update during the run it seemed a lot more interesting.

I am trying to decide whether to run now even as thunder is deafening me.

Chris - 4.17

41:05 - 9:51 pace

Ran with Patrick this morning before work. He works @ Platt with me but had the day off. He's a pretty thick guy but has started to get into running recently. Considering all the little hills around my house I thought we did a great job keeping a steady pace. He was sucking air pretty good after a particularly long and steep hill, but seemed to recover okay once we got to the top and hit the flat. Afterwards we played Call of Duty until I had to get ready for work. Great way to start the day!

Luke - 6

6mi, 48:38 (8:06)

1.6-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 12:58. This run started out real slow and difficult, but I felt okay after a few miles.

Luke - 10.35

10.35mi, 87:39 (8:28)

Fox Hollow plus the 1.6-mile loop at the top. Once again I took splits but didn't look at them until after the run. Started the run right at 8am, just over seven hours after my run last night ended, so it was fairly slow, of course. 9:51 up Fox Hollow, 7:40 down. It was sprinkling off and on when I started, and a little over halfway through it started pouring, so that was fun. Pretty tough grinding out the last couple miles, but...you know. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

Luke - 10.5

10.5mi, 81:42 (7:46)

Almost didn't run today...I was tired when I got home from work and ended up taking a nap from 7:30-8:30, and when I woke up felt even more tired. Lazed around on the Internet for a few hours and wasn't feeling terribly tired, and ended up checking out a few of my old bookmarks, and ended up getting inspired by them. Headed to the track at 11:30pm to see what I'd end up doing, and lasted a lot longer than I expected. I took splits but didn't look at them the entire time, and only just now added them up to see how far I'd gone. The start line of the track is about 700m away, and I took a bathroom break for a total of 200m, so it ended up being a nice round number. I started out taking .25mi splits and then made them a bit longer since I knew my watch can only handle 30 laps. Every once in a while I'd do a fastish lap, just whenever I felt like it. Here are the splits in case you're interested (400m uos):

3:35 (700), 2:05, 2:05, 2:05, 2:04, 2:00, 83, 1:59, 1:59, 1:58, 1:59, 1:59, 1:58, 1:58, 82, 9:49 (2k), 3:53 (800), 62 (200), 3:57 (800), 5:56 (1200), 5:59 (1200), 5:56 (1200), 1:56, 1:53, 1:58, 1:51, 1:51, 81, 3:36 (700).

Chris - 3.47

27:36 - 7:57 pace

Got in a quick run after work before I went to meet my roomy and his fiance for a burger and beers. Legs felt like they had a little more energy, possibly because I wore my Free's and they're ridiculously light.

Luke - 1.5

Beer Mile, 7:57 (?)

Drove out to Lane Community College and headed down to the track about 15-20 minutes before the race was to start (9pm), but the people who were putting on the All-Comers meet didn't want us to use the track there so they had put up the locking barriers that some tracks have that close off lanes 1-4. So all the Beer Milers headed to the track at SEHS, which was great for me since that's the one that's about a block from my house. I drove home and put my beers, flats, and jersey in a backpack and walked to the track. There was a pretty good crowd out there. Unfortunately I only had a few minutes to warm up--I'd been hoping to get a couple miles in and go to the bathroom and stuff, but instead I had to hurry just to get my flats and jersey on before the start. The Race Director (the guy who invited everyone on Facebook) had everyone go to the start/finish line and he tried to answer questions as best he could with about 25-30 runners and as many or more spectators. I was back about 9-10m from the finish line, and when he asked if anyone had any last questions, I shot my hand up and then asked, "Yeah can we do a Beer Mile?" and he looked confused for a second, and I continued, "Instead of a Beer 1600-Meter?" and everyone was like "Oh man yeah!" and stuff and they all backed up to the actual start, where I was. Then he was answering a few more questions here and there and at one point was near the outside of the track and answered "No!" a little too loudly and those on the inner half of the track all opened their beers...the rest of us went "Whoa whoa whoa, what are you doing??" and we realized they'd thought he'd said "Go!" So I guess those people are all disqualified for opening their beer early...

Anyway, once everyone was actually ready, he actually said go, and we all started drinking. I finished my beer first and as I sprinted away I heard one of the spectators say that it was seven seconds, which seems about right, but very fast. Right away I felt terrible, whereas in previous Beer Miles I've felt not that bad. About 150m in I felt like throwing up, and at 200 I actually did a little bit, but in my mouth, and swallowed it. Sorry for the grossness; hopefully you weren't eating when you read that. Anyway I thought, okay, no penalty lap, I'm still okay. I think I got to the second beer first, but I felt godawful and took probably over 20 seconds to finish it. About 100m into the second lap I had to walk to keep from throwing up, and I heard a spectator on the other side of the track yell, "Leader walking!" Someone passed me soon after, and it took a lot of walking and slow running to get to the third beer intact. I think I was about 5 seconds into drinking when the leader finished his beer and took off, and it took another long while to finish the third one. About 60m into the third lap my stomach gave up and I threw up. There were a couple runners near me (I don't know if I'd lapped them or they were tied with me at the time...there were runners around the whole track pretty much at all times, it was pretty chaotic), and they saw me puke. I said to them, "Penalty lap..." and then as I started running I realized how insanely much better one feels after vomiting, and said, "...but it'll be fast!" and took off. The last 300m of my third lap was probably around 55. The fourth beer went down okay, probably 15-18 seconds, only really had to stop to take a breath once. Finished my fourth lap in second place, I think less than 100m behind the winner, and then ran my penalty lap fairly quickly too. I didn't have a watch on it (I was too busy drinking to hit my watch at the start) but I think I heard someone say 7:57 as I crossed. Somewhere around 8 minutes anyway. My worst Beer Mile performance ever, and I was pretty disappointed. My stomach was just not having it on this particular day...hopefully next time goes better.

The winner ran 6:15, so I pretty much had no chance of winning even if I'd felt good. Second place was Josh Gordon in 7:14 (his PR is 7:02) so I should have at least gotten second. Oh also the winner was 40th at the Western States 100-miler a couple weekends ago. Beast.

Chris - 6.45

55:42 - 8:38 pace

Another run after work. I was going to run yesterday but after I got back from the driving range I decided to take the night off and rest. Today my knee and hip both felt better. I'm consciously trying to make myself run a bit slower and not push too hard so my body can properly recover from the marathon.

Luke - 7.8

Both sides of Pre's Trail. Had a watch, but cleared it before writing my splits down.

Chris - 5.04

44:08 - 8:45 pace

Did this run by myself after work - Jeeni is in Eagle Crest and Colorado this week. The inside of my left knee that I hurt earlier this year playing basketball was re-aggravated during the marathon, and has been hurting when I walk. Luckily its not so bad that I can't run. About halfway through the loop my left hip started to get sore again - another "injury" sustained during the marathon. My hamstring was feeling better during this run though, so that's a plus! Time to go ice my knee and play some Call of Duty...

Luke - 10.35

Fox Hollow plus the 1.6-mile loop at the top. Mostly felt good.

I get to do a Beer Mile on Thursday! Josh Gordon Facebook-invited me and now I am very excited. There are 28 people RSVPed, and a bunch are fast people, so I should have some competition and everything. I don't really have much leg speed right now, but I have leg strength, and drinking speed, and intestinal fortitude, so I should do all right. PR is 6:46, so A goal is sub-6 (would be miraculous), B and C goals are a win and a PR, D goal is to have fun. Oh and Chris if you want to come down you're certainly invited...one of the guys who's coming did an Ironman or 100-miler or something like that a week ago, so your recent marathon is no excuse (having to work on Friday might be legit).

Luke - 4.25

Three one-mile loops on Amazon. I did a bunch of laundry so I didn't get out till late.

Chris - 3.47

29:08 - 8:23 pace

Just went on my first run since the marathon last week on July 4th. My left knee and hammy are kinda bothering me. It's warm and muggy out - I felt like I hadn't run in more like two weeks than just one. I'll try to post the recap of the marathon sometime this week. I ended up finishing in 4:05.

Luke - 9.25

Drove to a park near the East end of Pre's Trail and ran on the trails and the bike paths. Was going to do some barefoot running in the park at the end, but I was super dehydrated and my legs were pretty tired too so I just went home and made a smoothie. Still no watch, still weird.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 7/3-7/9

Luke - 45.5 (6)

James - 1 (1)

Luke - 10.35

Fox Hollow plus the 1.6-mile loop at the top. My watch died today, so I ran without one, which was very weird. I felt like a jogger. Should have a new one (the exact same $30 one I always get) by Wednesday, although they'll probably try to deliver it while I'm at work so I'll never actually be able to get it. Also bought a couple (1, 2) new pairs of shoes, and a cheap pair of shorts.

Luke - 6

6mi, 45:21 (7:33)

1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail, then a half-mile barefoot in the grass. I did this on the smaller grass field, which is usually super-nice grass, but today it felt like I was running on rocks (hence only doing a half-mile)...there were lacrosse goals set up, so I guess a lacrosse camp used the field, and used it up.

James - 1

Time: I don't know. But I can tell you it was one hour before Alison and I got married!

Beat that for dedication!

It wasn't cold feet, just nervousness.

It was exactly a mile around this park and all the time we were there we saw runners constantly. So I had to do it at some point. Here's the room we stayed in, with the park being just outside the window. We stayed in 3 other places during the week too.

Luke - 8.75

8.75mi, 70:24 (8:02)

Fox Hollow. I wouldn't say I'm in "bad" shape, since I have PRed a bunch this year and stuff, but after missing six days last week and a couple this week, this run felt like more of a struggle than any other run this year, I think. Times were not too bad, though, so my baseline fitness is still okay, and it shouldn't take much to get me back in great shape. 9:21 up, 6:52 down, 7:30-7:40 pace on Rexius on the way back.

The reason I missed Wednesday is that on Tuesday's barefoot grass running, I stepped on and was stung by a bee. It took a couple strides for me to figure out that it had happened, and when I checked it out the stinger was still in, but it wasn't too far in so I don't think I got quite as much poison as other times I've been stung. I took the stinger out and tried to squeeze out any poison I could...Wednesday my foot was a bit too swollen for me to run, but it was pretty okay by today.

Luke - 8.65

8.65mi, 66:08 (7:38)

1.6-mile loop in 12:15, 1.4-mile loop in 10:35, 7' barefoot in the grass.

Chris - 26.2

245:24 (4 hrs 5 mins) - 9:21 pace

Foot Traffic Flat marathon!

The race started at 6:30am, so Jeen's parents were nice enough to let us sleep at their house and then drive us to the race in the early morning. I brought over waffles to eat in the morning because that's what I always eat before races. We got to Sauvie's Island with plenty of time to warm up and stand in the impressively long line for the bathroom. Here's the course map. I wanted to warm up a bit more than Jeeni did, so I ran a little out and back on a dirt road next to a field of corn. My legs weren't feeling particularly springy, but I just figured it was the normal pre-race weird way that your legs feel. We met back up with her parents to give them our warm clothes and took some pictures before we made our way over to the starting line. Then we chatted a bit and exchanged good lucks and were off! My goal was to run 8 min pace or around there, so I got out ahead a bit and felt great to start off. It was really clustered running with everyone on just the one side of the little paved country road, since cars were still in the other lane arriving for the half marathon that started a bit later on. I tried to just concentrate on maintaining my pace and settling into a rhythm for the longest race I have ever done. I passed the first water station without feeling like I needed anything, but after that I got either water or electrolytes at every single station, especially as the day grew on and it got hotter and hotter. I was still feeling pretty good as I hit the turnaround point on the out & back. Two guys that work with Jeeni and I had driven to Sauvie's Island with their bikes and provided us both with moral support and extra water if needed; it was awesome that they came out to do that. That long stretch of road next to the river was in the sun, and on the way back to take the left turn around mile 16 my right shoe started to bother me and I had to stop to tie it tighter. I was sweating much more profusely, and by the time I hit the left turn my legs were starting to tighten up a bit and I was getting passed by people I passed earlier. In the next couple miles my quad started to hurt a bit so I decided to stop and stretch it a bit, but when I tried to throw my foot up into my hand my hamstring threatened to go into a huge painful cramp, but I luckily was able to get my foot down and stretch quickly before it got much worse. I knew at that point that the rest of the race would be a struggle, but I tried not to think about it and just put one foot in front of the other and grind it out. I got progressively slower and tighter, and by mile 20-21 I was so tight and in pain that I had to stop and walk for a bit, then run for awhile again. My parents were waiting around mile 19 to see me, that was really awesome to see them as I ran up. My dad actually had walked toward me about 50 yds and the photographers got a really cool picture of us running together. Those last 5-6 miles were the longest miles I have ever run in my entire life. My co-workers rode past me one last time and Jeff asked me what hurt, and I said "everything". They gave me some more water to drink and pour over my head, then headed toward the finish. Unfortunately they had to leave at a certain time so we didn't get to see them after we finished. The last 3 miles I was getting into some half-marathoners that were walking, which made me feel good because I was passing them even while I was walking too. The last mile and a half this lady kept passing me and then I'd pass her, and the last 100 yds I managed to pick it up just enough that I passed her for a final little victory before I crossed the finish line! I saw Jeeni's friends and family to the left of the finish chute as I went through, so I found some water and went over to say hi to them and wait for Jeeni to finish while I tried not to fall over. Jeeni's friend took a GREAT picture of us after the race (you'll have to log in to facebook to view it). She did the whole race without walking once, and only finished 8 minutes behind me! After she finished I went and found her to give her a congratulatory hug, then found my parents and stood around talking to everyone for awhile and made introductions while I tried to drink more water and not fall over while I untied my running shoes. Then we got in her parents truck to head to their house for 4th of July barbecue and celebrations of the like. Below are the splits I had on my watch. I missed some mile markers here and there but you should be able to make sense of it. Here's the race results too.

splits: 8:28, 8:21, 24:55, 7:49, 7:54, 8:05, 8:06, 8:20, 7:47, 8:14, 8:19, 8:36, 8:52, 8:46, 9:13, 8:41, 10:02, 10:32, 10:40, 23:22, 11:44, 14:20, 11:16, 2:47

Luke - 7.5

Butte to Butte 10k, 35:06 (16th place).

Tried to have fun and take it out super-hard for the first two miles again this year...wasn't even as fast as last year, I guess running once in a week is bad for you. Splits: 5:54 (mega uphill), 4:54 (mega downhill), 5:36 (first 1/4-mile is downhill), 5:54, 5:53, 5:46, 66. Sixth or seventh place at the bottom of the hill I think, then took it fairly easy for a bit, but tried to keep up some effort. A guy passed me at about halfway and I went with him, and ended up being about 5 feet in front of him for most of the race. Thought he'd pass me at the end but I was able to hang on and beat him by a few seconds.

Not doing so hot here makes me want to train a ton more..

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 33:41 (7:55)

Mile loops of 7:54, 7:42, and 7:32, with Zack. Felt nice.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 6/26-7/2

Luke - 4.5 (1)