Luke - 2011 Mileage Totals

In 2011 I ran 2783.4 miles.

I had 44 days off.

I did 356 runs.

I did 97 runs of 10 miles or further.

I ran 269 mile loops on the Amazon trail.

I summited the Fox Hollow trail 84 times.

I summited Spencer's Butte 46 times.

James - 2.8

24:45

Pretty fast go around the apartment complex that I wanted to do before starting the new year strong on Sunday. I plan for it to be my best running year ever.

It's been fun SomeRunning in 2011, guys!

I wonder if Luke will have some stats for us like he has done occasionally in the past.

Steve - 4.72

41:34 (8:45)

Ran around Santa Monica after work. I got to run on grass for once since it wasn't dark and therefore was safe to run on the median. First time in a while I didn't feel much pain in my bad foot. Hope it continues.

Luke - 3.75

3.75mi, 38:57 (10:23)

My mom and I drove up to Mt. Baldy and I ran and she walked, then we turned around and when I caught her I walked the rest of the way back with her. She turned around a bit late so my run was pretty short. The distance is an estimate; I had my GPS watch but the trail was between two mountains so it didn't really work. Saw some snow and a couple minutes later was in the sun where it was 80º. The last half-mile or so before I turned around was crazy steep; it was switchbacks but I still wasn't even able to run most of the time. A few of the switchbacks were gradual enough that I could run, but mostly it was just a power-hike. It would be nice to go back sometime and go all the way to the top (6.2 miles one way on the trail I was on), but there were some really good views even in the short distance I went.

Luke - 9.75

9.75mi, 74:14 (7:36)

Same run as two days before, but slightly slower, though still a pretty good effort. GPS info here.

James - 3.1

27:42

We were on our drive back to St. Petersburg and decided to stay in the same hotel again (same exact room again too, eerily). Before sleep I used the treadmill again and went up to a high speed. Not as fast as I would have liked but at least I pushed the top speed.

Luke - 9.75

9.75mi, 73:17 (7:30)

Out on a bike path 2.4 miles, then on a trail for 2 miles straight uphill, 1 mile of rolling hills, and 2 miles straight downhill, then back on the bike path again. Pushed a bit, and felt good enough the last couple miles to accelerate from 6:40 pace to 5:40 pace. GPS info here.

Steve - 3.44

30 (8:43)

Another run in cold in Colorado. I got pretty sick later in the day, maybe stomach flu. I thought it was altitude sickness but its probably something more serious.

James - 2.3

20:24

A Boxing Day run to psychologically make me feel better following Christmas eating and boozing.

Alisons grandparents got us both new running shoes for Christmas. They are Nikes and are nice colours. A few years ago I would have been really hung up on wearing such big bad shoes, but I guess with age the fatigue is setting in and I decided to just go with it. I need shoes that really last a while because the pair I bought earlier this year are already wearing out. I wore them on this run. I will make them last and maybe deface them as best I can.

Luke - 5.79

5.79mi, 44:54 (7:46)

Ran on the roads in Pomona to a softball field, did some barefoot on the grass, and then came back. GPS info here. If you zoom in on the softball field you can see the routes I did (three loops of following the infield curve, and three going around home plate).

Steve - 6.3

50 (7:58)

I'm in Colorado for a few days for Christmas. Ran with my brother at ~6000 feet altitude. We had a pretty small Christmas. Instead of giving meaningless crap to people, we did donations to worthwhile causes and some small presents. I did receive one running, moisture-wicking type shirt. It was like 30 degrees when we ran so it was a bit different from what I am used to do. With the cold and the altitude I was just glad to get a solid run in. I tried out my brother's old HR monitor but it didn't really work. It said my HR was 162 from the very start and kept cutting off. I wouldn't mind having a HR monitor but it seems like a pain to get them work right with getting the sensor wet and stuff.

Luke - 4.86

4.86mi, 40:19 (8:18)

Headed out to a regional park with my mom (she walked while I ran) for a short run on Christmas. Lots and lots of hills. GPS info here.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 12/18-12/24

Steve - 19.38 (3)

Luke - 15.85 (2)

James - 7.5 (3)

42.73 miles in 8 runs by 3 runners.

Steve - 7

60:34 (8:39)

Ran on the bark in Manhattan Beach. First mile was like 9:30 so that means I did the next 6 miles in 50 min. which is 8:20 pace. I did the final mile in about 7:30-40, can't remember exactly.

Reached turnaround for 3.5 miles at 31:17, so final 3.5 was 29:17. Almost hit 20 miles on 3 runs this week after nearly hitting 20 on 4 the previous week. I'm setting myself up to hit 20+ the next week on 4 runs.

James - 3.5

~32:00

Midday panhandle run. After being awake about 11 hours yesterday we are finally starting to feel normal again. That said, I still felt like I was trudging pretty pathetically during this run, so the distance upon measurement was a surprise. I guess even my trudging pace is improving, which is something to celebrate. Alisons grandparents apparently saw me from their car but I was so deep in exhaustion that I didn't see them.

Steve - 7

58:17 (8:19)

Ran with the Nike run club in Santa Monica. There was a decent turnout but I was the only person that signed up for the 7 mile run. They have 3,5 and 7 with a pace leader for each. The pace leader said we could run whatever I pace I wanted. We started out pretty easy and then ran a progressively faster pace for the remainder, enabled by the slight downhill finish. About half on dirt as usual for these club runs. This was my longest run in quite some time and both my feet are hurting the day after.

Oh now it's time for a call to action to our group at large. I have signed up for one of the fastest 5k road races in the country. It's the Carlsbad 5000 and it takes place on April 1. It's very deep and has lots of faster runners. I think in the 29 and under category last year 10 or so guys were under 15 minutes. There is also an elite division. Carlsbad is just outside San Diego, but it'd be cool if any of you guys could come out for it. Very fast course. It's also close to Legoland, which I plan to check out with the wife, who is also running. I mentioned to Luke already and he is a Maybe. I'm hoping perhaps Zack or Chris will be willing to come out for it, or heck maybe even James and Alison!

Luke - 2.25

2.25mi, 18:36 (8:16)

A mile on Amazon in 8:33, at 10pm. I have been stupid lazy this week...I need to write up a schedule, for motivation and so I'm not just training aimlessly.

James - 3.1

29:00

Looks like I was wrong about not having internet access -- Alison's grandparents just got a mega-fast computer.

After very little sleep over two nights we exercised in our hotels tiny "fitness center" this morning. I felt bad here but not awful. Then, on our way here, we visited tiny Lamont, FL, and took amusing photos (on Facebook now). In Tallahassee we went to a cool soda bar where they made fun drinks and candy canes, then ate at a vegan soul food restaurant. Yuuuum.

James - 0.9

~10:00

Couldn't really be arsed today. My shorts refused to stay up, I needed the toilet, hadn't eaten nearly anything all day and its hard to be motivated when you know you aren't going to do much the rest of the week. Just to top it off, moments before I stopped my shoelace came undone, sealing the runs fate. I would have come back from the pit stop and perhaps tried to attempt more, but Alison was ready to go and we were busy.

Needless to say, my wonderful mood manifested itself in blocking and overflowing the toilet in the mens bathroom. Felt bad having to tell them about that.

We're going to the panhandle tomorrow for a week, so runs and most certainly internet access will be limited.

Hope you all have a merry holiday!

Steve - 5.38

45:05 (8:23)

Ran with a club in Santa Monica again. The course is about half bike trail along the beach and half dirt trail. No one else fast was there so I led the smallish group. Hopefully more people show up next time but it's always nice to get free snacks after a run..

Luke - 13.6

13.6mi, 2:01:36 (8:56)

The Butte. I was pretty tired from yesterday's run so it was a bit of a struggle, but the second half felt all right. I was over ten minutes for the ascent of Fox Hollow for the first time in I don't know how long.

Splits: 13:03, 15:25, 10:01, 7:59, 8:52, 4:18, 3:57 (63:38), 4:25, 3:25, 7:17, 6:16, 8:31, 15:02, 12:58.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 12/11-12/17

Luke - 62.1 (6)

Steve - 19.18 (4)

James - 10 (3)

91.28 miles in 13 runs by 3 runners.

Steve - 5.1

42:07 (8:15)

Did this exact same run in 47:03 on Tuesday. I certainly made more of an effort to run harder this time, especially coming back home. I think it also helped to do it before dark. The sunset along the horizon was pretty cool when I got down to the beach.

Luke - 16.6

16.6mi, 2:06:37 (7:37)

Headed out to Mt. Pisgah for a 14.6-mile trail run. I had a comped entry from coming in first at the last trail run I did, a couple weeks ago. Didn't really warm up, just a 100m jog to the bathroom and a few start-line leg movements to keep warm. Started out real easy; there was a group of two at the front, then me, then another group of two behind me. The terrain was sometimes okay, sometimes a bit slick with leaves, and sometimes really muddy. I talked with the guys behind me a couple times, then settled in behind the leaders for a little while, then at about 1.5 miles I went ahead of them. There was an out-and-back section with the turnaround being about the 3-mile mark, and I looked at my watch to see how far in front of the next guys I was...turned out to be just under a minute. It stayed mostly flat for the next couple miles, just rollers, trending uphill but nothing major. There was a 50k that had started two hours prior to my race so I passed a runner from that every once in a while but mostly it was just me. After a bit the trail went into the forest and uphill...it was steep at times and muddy at times but it wasn't too bad except when it was steep and also really muddy, so my feet were slipping back as I was trying to go forward and up. I wasn't working like crazy, just moving along decently. The course was two loops, this (Base) loop (8.2mi) and a steeper, shorter (Summit) loop (6.4mi). At the top of this loop there was an aid station, and then a really really steep downhill. I was taking it easy down the hill when a guy came up behind me. I asked him which race he was doing (in addition to the 50k there was also an 8.2-mile race that started 5 minutes after us and a 6.4-mile race that started 5 minutes after them) and he was like, "Uh, yours..." Turns out it was one of the guys I'd passed at a mile and a half and had been a minute up on a mile and a half after that. I guess I'd been taking it a little TOO easy. He was a pretty good downhill runner, so I had to work slightly to keep up with him. He would fall back on the uphills and flats and then catch me again on the downhills. When we weren't too far apart we had a bit of conversation going. We came through the start/finish at the same time, and even though I wasn't taking the race 100% seriously I decided I did want to win. The second loop started out the same as the first, and I made a plan to break away right after the courses split, when the course went up the (steep) hill. I was with him at that point and I just sped up and was gone pretty quick. I went up a hill for a little bit and then the trail leveled off, then actually went downhill. I was rocketing down the hill, wondering when it was going to go up toward the summit, and I got to the out-and-back section of the Base loop, which I was pretty sure wasn't in the Summit loop. I stopped and got out the map I'd taken in my key pocket just in case, and sure enough I was not at the right place. I turned around and headed back up the massive hill, looking for a sign I'd missed. Another runner, one of the guys who was right behind me in the first mile of the race, was coming toward me, having apparently also missed the turn, and I told him we were on the wrong trail. He turned around but I didn't wait for him--I was hoping to make up the lost time, so I was pushing pretty hard. I was getting close to where the trails had initially split and was thinking I might just end up back at the start or something, but then saw a sign telling me I was on the right trail. I didn't think I'd taken or missed any turns on the way out or on the way back, but apparently there was a little hairpin turn with no sign or markings anywhere that we were supposed to take to pretty much just turn around on the trail. Anyway I'd gone about a mile downhill and a mile back up, and once I got back onto the right trail it was just straight up for another mile or more. The cumulative uphills were wearing me out, especially since I was trying to make up two miles on the guy in front of me. It had been foggy the entire race, but about a half a mile from the top of the hill, it cleared up and there was nothing but blue skies above me, and nothing but fog below me. It was crazy, like being on an island in the middle of the ocean, and then in the distance the mountains and hills that were tall enough came out of the fog and looked like more islands. Anyway finally got to the top, blew past the aid station, and tried to fly down the hill. It was really steep, and in places also muddy, so it was a bit crazy trying to find a balance between going fast enough and not falling. I was doing pretty well but not seeing anyone from my race in front of me. When I got in view of the parking lot, less than a half-mile from the finish, I could see someone in red who I thought might be the second-place guy, but he was too far in front of me to have a chance at catching. When I came through the finish line the first- and second-place guys were surprised to see me and I told them what had happened. They had both gone past the turn also, but since they'd both done the race last year they realized the mistake right away and only lost maybe a minute. Second place had finished about 30 seconds in front of me and first was about six minutes in front of him. I didn't stick around for awards.

If you have some time to kill there's 86 pages of pictures here. Some good shots of the fog scattered throughout; the easiest to find are the last couple pages.

James - 3.1

~31:00

I don't usually like to stop during runs, but after the first one here I just went with it. 3 stoppages:

1. An Austrian/German couple asked me for directions. I think I helped them.

2. Passed some 11-ish kids and as I did one shouted "Boycott!" (I was wearing a Boycott BP shirt after last years fun in the Gulf.) Not being sure how to react, I slowed to a stop and turned back to them.

"What?"
"I dunno."
"Were you reading my shirt?"
"Yeah."

I smiled and ran off. Perhaps a Hell Yeah would have been appropriate.

3. At the turnaround point I helped another person with directions. Was even less sure about this one.

Luke - 8.25

8.25mi, 61:10 (7:24)

Did the short loop of Pre's, then took a loop on the BMX track (so fun and hard!) then took the trail around the pond and onto the longer loop of Pre's, then back home. Felt pretty good...a lot of runs the last few months I've felt (and been) a lot slower than before, so it was good to not feel that way on this run. Some of it probably has to do with running in the middle of the day.

Steve - 4.7

41:50 (8:54)

Distance is approximate. I had to piece this together with gmap pedometer. It was a back-and-forth along Ocean Blvd in Santa Monica on the dirt but I wasn't exactly sure where I started. I really felt like I was going faster 8:54 per mile but maybe I'm just slow. I finished up my Analysis math course on Tuesday so now I need to take Linear Algebra. Should be fun.

Luke - 8.75

23' w/u, 1 Mile @ 5:03, 5mi c/d.

Zack wanted to do a Mile time trial, so we went to the track and brought along racing shoes. Zack wore my Nike Zoom Streak XC 2s--his first time in flats--and I wore my new Matumbos that I got for free by finally redeeming the coupon I got at that 5k back in July. I hadn't worn spikes in a long time so it was kinda weird but they felt fast. After warming up (two loops on Amazon) and changing shoes we did a couple strides and then just got to it. I wanted to take it out in 74 and then hit 75s the rest of the way so Zack would have splits of 74, 2:29, 3:44, and 4:59. At each lap I shouted out the split for him so he wouldn't have to deal with his watch. First lap was a bit fast, 72, but we both felt good so it wasn't too bad. I definitely overcompensated on the second lap though and ran a 79...just a mental error on my part. Third lap was I think a 77, which is pretty good for the hardest lap of a mile race, and left Zack needing a 72 final lap to break 5. I sped up and he tried pretty hard to follow me. I was shouting encouraging things at him for the last 150m or so but he couldn't quite find that next gear, so he came through with a 76, for a 5:04. Still a 14-second PR (!) but he was a bit disappointed he wasn't under 5. It was especially good under the conditions (a bit cold, dark, only us two out there), and a couple seconds of blame can be put on my bad pacing on the second lap. We both sorta wished we had a do-over. We did a long cool down on Rexius to get a few extra miles in...always good.

James - 3.1

27:50

Outdoors. Need For Speed mode. I would have expected a slightly faster time given the pushing I did during the entire distance, but I suppose I should be pleased that it is over 3 minutes below 10-minute-mile pace. I had a very stressful day with a journalism story, but I don't think that had any effect on the run.

For purely tenuous-to-running purposes here is a video of a guy on a treadmill. I interviewed him for the story, which was about the subject of his website.



http://www.seeingtheroses.org/pages/show/4

Steve - 5.1

47:03 (9:25)

Ran in my neighborhood. Usual route. I suppose this is my Magneto Run. I usually do 4.28 or 5.1 on this run. There is a small dirt trail that goes to the beach that is .41 miles. So if I do one out-and-back on it, that puts me at 4.28. I did 2 on this day. At least when I do it increases the percentage of the run done on soft ground to 1.64/5.1 to 32% instead of 19%. So an interesting note about the dirt path that goes down to the beach is it has construction cones there for a few weeks now saying it's closed. Naturally I ignore them and run there anyways. When it rained and was really windy a while back a lot of the dirt blew away. I really have no idea what the construction is they are doing though. There is one steeplechase like barrier on the path that is about 1/2 the height of a regular steeplechase barrier. I feel like a slower version of Luke Vaughn when I leap over it. Another note on this run is that my foot (the surgically repaired one) hurt a lot. Not good.

Luke - 6

6mi, 48:22 (8:03)

1.6-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 13:09. Ran as soon as I got home so I would have enough light to run out there instead of having to go up to Amazon and Rexius like I have been doing most nights.

Luke - 8.75

8.75mi, sl:ow

Did double-looped Rexius in the dark, but my stomach started hurting a bit at about 2.5 miles in and then got really really really really bad at about 7 miles, so I ended up walking some of it and took the sidewalks the last mile to cut off another quarter mile or so. One of the worst, most painful runs I've ever done. Also it was like 23º out by the time I finished.

James - 3.8

36:44

After preparing and eating a vegetarian English breakfast I really felt like running outside (hours later of course). Luckily we were invited to a park with a friend and her dog. It's a big, beautiful park that we've been to before but I don't think I've ever run in it.

This was unexpectedly far. I tried to follow the designated walking/cycling path, but there were too many forks in the road and I think I lost it. Anyway it was exciting to know there is so much more to explore on future runs.

Some teenagers tossed a stick in front of me and said "fetch." I managed a "ha ha. cock." These stories used to be more interesting.

Steve - 4.28

39:42 (9:22)

Ran early on Sunday morning. I still can't find my running watch so I usually my wife's very masculine, tiny, purple watch. However, I temporarily lost it (which she was thrilled about). So I had to do the stupid thing where I start a stopwatch on my phone before I leave then count the seconds in my head before I actually start running since I live on the 4th floor and like to do the lunge matrix and leg swings before I run. Anyway, I did find the purple watch later in the week.

Luke - 13.75

13.75mi, 1:48:30 (7:53)

Drove out to the Blanton trailhead of the Ridgeline trail, but instead of taking the trail, Zack and I headed up the road. The run started with a little less than a mile uphill, and then about a mile of steep downhill. We got out to the highway where it was a little less hilly, but there were still lots of rollers. We took a wrong turn and ended up heading back into town a little ways before heading back out on the highway. I thought I figured out where we'd need to turn around to get exactly 15 miles without having to do the erroneous portion again on the way back, but I thought we'd gone 1.32 miles out and back, not 1.32 miles out and 1.32 miles back, so my math ended up not working out. Anyway we kept a pretty good pace on the way back, and when we got to the hill with a little less than two miles to go I sprinted up it eagerly and Zack followed. It was pretty fun pushing up such a steep hill. By the time we got back to the car it was really dark, so it was probably good that we didn't go the whole 15 as we'd planned.

The GPS info is here; it's a bit messed up because I pressed some buttons when we were crossing a road and ended up with a little extra time. I think there might have been a few hundredths of a mile that didn't go on there too but I'm just gonna round to the nearest quarter.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 12/4-12/10

Luke - 52.2 (6)

Steve - 14.66 (3)

James - 5 (2)

71.86 miles in 11 runs by 3 runners.

Luke - 4.5

4.5mi, 39:22 (8:44)

Ran late, with Zack, Erin, and Matilda, in Portland. We ran on the roads to a high school with a park and track, and we did four laps on the track before heading back. The last one Zack and I did quickly, me in 72 and him at 75.

James - 2.6

~27:00

Weak week.

Luke - 8.5

23' w/u, strides, leg swings; 6x800m, 300r: 2:32, 2:33, 2:32, 2:33, 2:33, 2:32; 14' c/d.

Also did 5 loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, the living room, and my bedroom, made a Christmas list for my mom, and went back and updated all my old runs and the Weekly Mileage Totals. And now I'm driving up to Portland for the weekend, and stopping at the bank on the way out and stopping at the running store just before Portland to finally cash in my coupon for a free pair of Nikes that I won at the 5k back in July. Full day!

Steve - 4.28

39:10 (9:13)

Another run on a cold L.A. winter's night. Boom look at that already at 14+ miles for the week!

Luke - 8.75

8.75mi, 61:46 (7:03)

29' w/u; 3mi tempo on the bark: 6:13, 6:07, 6:04; 14' c/d. Good tempo feel but I could tell I have no speed right now.

Luke - 10.35

10.35mi, 87:52 (8:29)

Adventure run! Fox Hollow with the extra 1.6-mile loop at the top, in the dark, with Zack. He took a flashlight and I took my headlamp. There was frozen fog, but the moon was pretty full so that made things slightly more visible. It was pretty crazy running through the woods and not being able to see more than a step or two in front of me. I thought the fog was getting thicker and thicker as the run progressed because by the time we got out of the woods I could barely see the ground, but when I got back I realized my headlamp had just been running out of battery. Our splits for Fox Hollow were 9:56 up and 9:16 down, which is a lot faster than I was expecting we'd be able to go.

Steve - 5.38

47:15 (8:47)

Ran with a club in Santa Monica area that runs along the dirt trail I sometimes run on my own. I've been trying to run with some new clubs lately to meet some new runners since I can't run with the Flyers anymore since I no longer work near Cal Tech.

Luke - 6.5

6.5mi, 52:50 (8:07)

Rexius easy with Zack in the dark.

James - 2.4

29:35

I got an email from Flotrack.org with the rather alarming subject line Will The Athletes Revolt!?.

Apparently, a blog post entitled I'm Tired of USATF and IAAF Crippling Our Sport has caused a two month-long controversy about sponsorship in track and field.

My initial reaction was skeptical, as the author is essentially complaining that runners aren't allowed to have MORE sponsorship, as in other sports. But if the governing bodies are monopolising their bodies for their own sponsorship money, that is of course terrible, and if there must be advertising in sports, athletes should have some control over it, since they're the ones wearing it. It's a little confusing. He seems to say Nike, Samsung et al are victims but also benefit from this set-up.

And then there's the whole issue of whether we should be able to "make a living" from running rather than just enjoying it. Well under capitalism, it's nice to have some people who work to entertain, I guess. Under another system, you could run for the love of it, without needing to worry about paying bills but without feeling the need to be famous either. Anyway...

Then I got annoyed at this: "Since when does the greatest nation in the world kowtow to an international governing body?" Um, well it controls most of the "international" governing bodies out there, but really, shouldn't it be listening to legitimate international governing bodies? That's the point of having rules everyone in the world has to follow. The rest of the paragraph is like that.

And to have him saying he was old and his career on the cusp of being over at age 27 was utterly humbling, to put it lightly...

Luke - 13.6

13.6mi, 1:50:44 (8:08)

The Butte. Splits: 12:31, 14:39, 8:20, 7:01, 8:03, 3:44, 3:25 (57:45), 3:57, 2:47, 6:15, 6:15, 7:34, 14:13, 11:34. I love weekends so much more during the winter, since they're the only days I can easily run in the light.

Steve - 5

43:05 (8:37)

Went back to the hallowed grounds of Manhattan Beach to run on the very Eugene-like bark that lucky bastards like Luke get to run on whenever they damn well please. I personally need to drive 4+ miles to do so. Anyways, it was good to be back.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 11/27-12/3

Zack - 62.7 (8)

Luke - 52.5 (5)

James - 14.5 (4)

Steve - 3.27 (1)

Alison - 1.5 (1)

134.47 miles in 19 runs by 5 runners.

James - 3.6

34:55

The cold helped, but it's very satisfying that this is the sort of speed I would have gotten on the treadmill, when traditionally outdoors has been slower. The last lap was superfast. I felt potential for further improvement as well.

Zack - 9.2 mi (10km race: 36:06. PR)

Minuteman 10 & 2 10km race in Alton Baker Park.

36:06 (5:49/mi): 5:46, 5:43, 6:03, 5:51, 5:52, 6:50 (5:42/mi). 2nd place.

A real breakthrough performance in this low-key race at Alton Baker Park. This was a massive 1:18 PR off of a huge training week. It was 34F and sunny at race time and I had been up until about 2AM the previous night and then woke up about 8AM. I was slightly concerned with having had about 5 glasses of wine and a few beers the night prior due to the tailgate and having people over. However, this was early in the afternoon and I had plenty of water/food so a hangover was not an issue.

There were a few people that jumped ahead of me early and I managed to reel them in after a steady 1.5 miles. One guy got away at about 1 mi and stayed consistently about 200m in front of me for the rest of the race. I was able to maintain my pace but didn't close on him. He ended up going 35:32 for the win. I also managed to break one of my "goals" on the right side of the page, so I will need to make another for the 10km!

Steve - 3.27

32

First run since the Turkey Trot. Had 7 days off.

Zack - 4.25

32:11 (7:34)

Easy Amazon loops at noon before going to the PAC 12 championship tailgate + game.

Splits: 7:37, 7:41, 7:43.

Luke - 10

The Facebook group I'm in with a bunch of really good local runners has a few Olympians. One of them is Gabe Jennings, and every week he posts that he's going to do a 10k tempo in 32:00, so Josh and I decided to join him once to see how long we could keep up. We were hoping to stay for 3, maybe even 4 miles. So we met up and Gabe said he might start a bit slower, like 5:45 pace, and speed up the whole way, which sounded perfect to Josh and me. This was on the bike path (out on one side of the river, back on the other side) so every quarter-mile was marked, and also I took my GPS watch so that I could see exactly how far I was able to hold on. For both Josh and me this was a race effort.

We started and Gabe and Josh took off with me right behind, but they went really fast. 72 for the first quarter, maybe even 71 for them. I tried to keep up but I just don't have that kind of speed. I went through the first mile in 5:18 and they were 5-10 seconds in front of me already. They kept pulling away and I was never really able to close the gap, and fell off more in the second mile, which I think I hit in 5:40. At about 2.5 miles I turned around and did another half-mile or so in 6:00 pace, then jogged out to where they would be coming back on the other side of the river. I didn't really know where the finish line was so I jogged around a bit, hoping to maybe do a quarter or two with Gabe when he came up on me. I saw him behind me a while later and right when I turned around he stopped, apparently at the finish line. He had finished in about 32:20, and Josh had held on for three miles and then finished pretty well in the mid-33s somewhere I think.

The three of us jogged back towards our houses for a bit and it was nice talking with them. I'm hoping I can do this again sometime and actually be fast enough to hang on for a while.

James - 3.5

33:07

Short one of the week, so I went for some speed for the first time in a while. That 3.5 is the short one of a whole week would have been unthinkable just a few months ago.

On the way home we saw a free comfy chair by the side of the road. I started to drag it home (after our 90 minute workout) and this friendly guy called Spike helped me carry it.

Luke - 6.5

6.5mi, 54:03 (8:18)

Rexius real easy in the dark with Zack.

Zack - 6.5

54:08 (8:20)

Rexius easy with Luke. Super slow.