James - 2.1

5:52
6:13
6:19
---
18:24

Hi all. I have been running a bit lately, since my gym membership expired. I didn't make an update because I wanted to be more into a habit of running first -- but it looks even more dead here than I had anticipated. Ah well. No harm in quietly making the update, someone will see it eventually and that's good to know.

I got a new phone (a techno-savvy fliphone!) and it has a stopwatch with split timing. So I had to time these laps around the complex, all about 0.7 miles each.

Steve - 3ish

I went for a run on early Sunday morning. I was pretty sore from a gym workout on Friday where I did squats and some other stuff that basically made my upper and lower legs sore. For my runs lately I haven't been keeping the time or distance. I'm just focusing on running and enjoying it. Also I listen to music while running. It's necessary for me right now since I'm trying to build the habit of running regularly again and have been battling laziness.

Luke - 8.75

8.75mi, 70:35 (8:04)
The alternate way up Fox Hollow (in 8:32) and down the normal way (in 8:33).  I was going to do the stream crossing on the way down but it was too dark (which is also why the splits are slow).

Luke - 9.4

9.4mi, 71:43 (7:37)
12:17 for the 1.4-mile loop of Pre's plus a .2-mile detour to the bathroom and back, then the 1.5-mile loop in 11:34 and 11:31.  Had a lot of crap going on, like sunscreen (and a bug, it turns out) in my eye, and my stomach hurt and it was pretty hot.

Luke - 14.5

14.5mi, 1:51:36 (7:41)
Ran with a couple guys for a token Sunday long run.  Met them at the HS, went Amazon to Rexius, up Fox Hollow (in 9:02; other people don't race up that hill every time they run it), lower trail over to Dillard, up and over Baldy, down Spring to the Ribbon trail, out the back of Hendricks park, hopped the railroad tracks and crossed the river to get on Pre's, and took the shortest way back home from there.  Felt pretty good the whole way, it definitely didn't feel like I ran almost two hours.

Luke - 7.9

7.9mi, 61:24 (7:46)
1.5-mile loop of Pre's in 11:31, then the 1.4-mile loop with a quick detour to the bathroom.  Ran with Zack, and we ran into Jeff and he ran with us for a couple miles too.  My legs were pretty dead, I think from Thursday, but felt decent by the end of the run.

Luke - 10.25

10.25mi, 82:36 (8:03)
Amazon to Rexius, up the fun trail, over Baldy, back around Baldy, and back the same way.  It had rained a good bit prior to this so the trails were a bit messy in parts.

Luke - 7

19' warmup, then worked out with the Flyers.  The workout was called The Predator, which is basically everyone starts at the same place and time and runs for a certain amount of time, then after some rest everyone starts at the same time again, from where they stopped, back towards the start, the idea being everyone should end up getting back to the start line at the same time.  We ran on Hayward Field.  The plan was to do two sets of 3 minutes out, 3 minutes back, 2 out, 2 back, and 1 out, 1 back.  The paces were supposed to be 10k pace, 5k pace, and mile pace, which seemed fast to me.  The first couple times I was much faster on the way back, since I had a lot of people to chase.  Between the two sets I was feeling pretty rough, for one thing because it was really humid.  I told the coach I thought the pace seemed tough for so much volume and he quietly told me the workout was impossible on paper, but that for the kinds of skill levels that make up most of the people at the workouts, it was a good way to get them to run hard.  So I didn't feel so bad about feeling so bad.  Anyway on the second time going 3 minutes out I knew where I'd finished the first time and as I was getting there I started slowing down and looked at my watch to see 1:37, and I was like WTF? and realized I'd miscounted laps on a 2.25-lap interval.  On the 2 minutes out my stomach was hurting a bit, and pretty much as soon as I started the 2 minutes back I was unable to run hard.  I ended up just running the 300m to the bathroom, and that was the end of the workout for me.  I wasn't able to run much so my cooldown was about 10 minutes of walking and 5 minutes of running.

Luke - 7.4

7.4mi, 57:17 (7:44)
Mile loops of 7:42, 7:41, and 7:39 with Zack, then did another 24½ minutes on the roads on my own.

After getting up at 6:30am Munich time "yesterday" (9:30pm Sunday, in Pacific time) I wanted to avoid jetlag, so I barely slept at all on my flights home.  I got in to Portland at about 8:45, then had to drive back to Eugene.  I stopped at a rest stop halfway down for a 20-minute nap so I wouldn't fall asleep and die.  Got to bed at about 12:30, got up at 4:30, worked ten hours, came home and took care of a bunch of stuff (bank, bills, store, etc.) then did this run.  And was slightly surprised that my body felt kind of tired after less than an hour of running.

Luke - 12.5

12.5mi, 96:26 (7:42)
Before my flight out of Munich, got up at 6:30 for a run.  Went to the English Garden and looped around the outside, then came the same way back.  Splits were 48:23 out and 48:03 back.

Luke - 7.75

7.75mi, 58:45 (7:34)
After the baptism there was celebrating, and though I never really got drunk I did drink a lot of alcohol.  And since the tap water is bad and everyone drinks bubbly water instead of the normal stuff, it's not as easy to have a bunch of water while drinking...so I got a hangover.  Waited most of the day to run, then once I did it was rough for 5-10 minutes and then I felt better the rest of the day.  Went out to the bike route again, but went left instead of right, and ended up at some ponds with a restaurant overlooking them.  I stopped and there were some business cards for the restaurant tucked into a sign so I took one so I'd know where I'd been.  It was here.  On the way back I missed the turnoff so I ran an extra 4:30 or so...splits were 28:25 and 30:19.

James - 2.8

The gym closed and I still wanted to exercise, so I ran around the apartment complex like I'm sure I used to do a lot. This is the furthest I've gone in a long time. I just kept going, and I thought I had done a 5K, but apparently I didn't accurately remember the distance around the complex. Ah well. My ankle doesn't hurt either. I've been working for a month now (party store) so maybe I've built up some physical strength.

Luke - 4

4mi, 28:37 (7:09)
Today was the day of my god-daughter's baptism (the main reason for my short European vacation) and I once again didn't have much time to run, but I squeezed this in just before the ceremony.  Basically the same route as the past couple days, but before turning around I headed down a steep, sloppy hill which lasted a couple minutes in each direction.  14:59 out and 13:37 back.

Luke - 15.5

15.5mi, 1:58:49 (7:43)
After getting a nice bit of rest for the first time in a little while, I headed out the same direction as yesterday but at a much more manageable pace.  The bike route took me out a trail, through a town, on another path and another trail, through another town, up a hill on a road, and down a hill on a trail before I turned around at exactly one hour.  Came back the same way, and even though I was pretty thirsty and hungry I managed to be just over a minute better on the way back.

Luke - 6.8

6.8mi, 43:26(6:23)
On Thursday I went to the Zurich Diamond League track meet and gave Usain Bolt a high-five and did not run.  So then today I took a train from Zurich to Saarbrücken and almost didn't have time to run again, so I squeezed in a faster, instead of longer, run before dinner.  Went out a path in the forest behind my brother-in-law's family's place and then followed some signs to stay on a biking route.  Went out reasonably fast, probably accelerated from 7:20 pace to start to 6:50 pace when I turned around, then really picked it up.  Splits were 23:53 out and 18:33 back.

Luke - 4

Didn't write down the time, but this was at about 5am, before heading to the airport.  Went to a park, did a loop, came back.

Luke - 10

10mi, 79:20 (7:55)
I woke up at 2:30am, worked 4:00am-2:30pm, then drove straight from work up to Portland to collect my weight in beer from Widmer.  It ended up being six 30-pound cases, so the packaging is included in the weight but they rounded me up to 180 pounds.  After loading it into my car I drove over and parked at Forest Park and got on the Wildwood Trail, which I've never done before.  It was pretty well-marked so I just stayed on the main trail instead of taking any smaller side trails, and I did an out-and-back (turned around at 40:50).  A pretty fun trail and not too hard to get to, so I'll have to do that one again, and maybe explore more of the trails.

Luke - 3.6

3.6mi, 29:26 (8:10)
I was getting things ready for my trip so this run was pretty late.  Went and did a loop of Amazon, then started another and the lights turned off.  Was going to head up to Rexius but I was having trouble breathing, and I was hacking up phlegm a lot and stuff.  I think it could be something to do with allergies but I'm not really sure.  Anyway I cut it short and walk/jogged home on the roads.

Luke - 7.9

7.9mi, 62:15 (7:52)
1.4-mile loop in 11:55, 1.5-mile loop in 12:11.  Unsurprisingly slow.

Luke - 17.25

17.25mi, 2:28:27 (8:36)
Worked 9-3 today, and after work I headed up and parked at the East end of Ridgeline.  Took the trail West, went up and summited the Butte, came down and continued on Ridgeline to Dillard road.  Went down the road and up the trail to the top of Mount Baldy, where I had a gel, then continued to Sping Blvd, came back around Baldy, down the fun trail, and over a short hill, where I stopped and ate a few blackberries off the bushes.  Went over and did the stream crossing, went down to the road where there's a cooler of water and had a couple cups (and poured some over my head), then went hard up Fox Hollow (goal was sub-8 and I hit 7:55) and did as best I could over the last four miles back to the car.

The run went really well, and it was my longest since the marathon, I do believe.  Afterwards I felt sore but full of energy, like I want to race someone because I feel like I'm in shape or invincible or something.  When I got home I had two beers, and then went to Laughing Planet and got two burritos and a pint of cider.

Luke - 8.5

Did the workout with the Flyers.  We were on Hayward Field tonight--and next Thursday I'll be in Zurich for the Diamond League meet, so I will have been at two of the best tracks in the world within a week!  Anyway: 16' w/u; 2500m of fast on the straights, easy on the turns; 800m in 2:36; 2:00 rest; 4x400m, 60s rest: 74, 73, 73, 74; 4x200m, 30s rest: 32, 33, 33, 33; 20' c/d.

Felt pretty slow on most of it, which makes sense since it's my first real interval workout in a long while.  Also the rest got shorter the faster we went, which is mean.

Luke - 7.7

7.7mi, 61:01 (7:55)
1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 10:53, 1.5-mile loop in 12:03.  Very tired.

Luke - 13.85

13.85mi, 1:51:44 (8:04)
The Butte.  Was pretty tired right from the start, but as with any butte-conquering, there were fast parts and slow parts.
Splits: 13:02, 14:30, 8:31, 7:18, 8:03, 3:46, 3:30 (58:44) / 3:23, 2:36, 6:00, 6:06, 6:53, 14:38, 13:21.

Chris - 8

72:45 - 9:05 pace

I took almost 2 weeks off from running for the wedding and honeymoon, and with Hood to Coast coming up this Fri/Sat I really wanted to get in a run that was longer than my longest leg (7.68). Here is the course map. I am doing legs 5, 17, and 29. The last one is definitely the hardest - possibly the most difficult leg there is. I started out this out & back pretty easy because I just wanted to get in the miles (after doing 19 total last week). I picked it up on the way back though. I think my split was about 27:10 and 25:24. The route I did is pretty hilly too, so I'm happy with the 9 min pace. I figure that's good for 8 to 8:30 pace for my H2C legs. I'm planning on doing an easy 3 miler on Wednesday to shake out my legs before our first leg at 12:30pm at Timberline on Friday. Should be fun!

Luke - 9.3

9.3mi, 69:05 (7:25)
Pre's Trail: 1.4-mile loop in 10:26, 1.4-mile loop in 10:20, 1.5-mile loop in 11:11.

Luke - 15

15mi, 1:43:22 (6:53)
Went out to a long gravel road next to a lake with about 7 others for a long run.  The group I was running with on the way out started at about 7:20 pace and I felt good enough to go with them.  We were down to 7:00 or better by the time I turned around, and on the way back we picked it up a bit more and were hitting 6:40s or so.  Splits were 52:46 on the way out and 50:35 on the way back.
Afterward we went to a diner for breakfast where they have giant pancakes.  I hadn't eaten breakfast with this group before so they predicted I wouldn't finish one pancake.  I finished it (it had strawberries and whipped cream too!) and corned beef hash and eggs, and then the other person who had ordered a pancake couldn't finish it so I had the end of his, too.  We were talking to the owner of the place and she said if I can eat three it would be the record and I'd get my picture on the wall, a T-shirt, and a pancake a month for a year...so I think we're gonna go back in a month or so and see if I can do it.

Luke - 7.6

7.6mi, 63:50 (8:23)
Worked 6½ hours today (and 6 yesterday) for some overtime, and drove straight from work up to the East end of Ridgeline.  Ran to Fox Hollow and back.  Felt okay.

Luke - 6.7

6.7mi, 48:43 (7:16)
1.5-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 10:39.  Felt quite peppy, surprising after running so hard yesterday.

Luke - 7

I wanted to do a workout today and had planned on joining the Flyers, but they were doing a hill workout instead of intervals and I do enough hills on my own, so I instead headed out to Dorris Ranch where there was a small 5k put on by the Oregon Track Club.  They do an all-comers type race on the second Thursday evening of each month and I knew Jeff was going to be running it since I'd run with him a few times over the past couple weeks.  I saw him about 5 minutes into my warmup and ran with him for a bit, then a bit later we saw Thomas, who was just going to be doing like 6:30 pace for it, and ran with him for a bit too.  Our other friend George was also coming and neither Jeff nor I are 100% right now so we figured he'd win it.

The start was a nice big downhill that went past the finish line and into the woods.  The course was partly on gravelly paths and partly through the hazelnut orchards.  There were lots of turns and the flour put down to mark the course was a bit thin, but it was infinitely-better marked than the last 5k.  Also for the first half of the race we were led by a bike.  George and Jeff took it out pretty fast and I hung close behind and sometimes caught up to them.  I was breathing pretty heavy for the first mile and it seemed very fast.  We came through at 5:10, which seemed about right with the downhill start and the numerous sharp turns.  A couple minutes later I took the lead with Jeff, and I pulled ahead slightly and he said, "Good job Luke." That's something you say when the guy you're running with is gonna take off, so I responded "I'm not going anywhere."  He and I shared the lead for the next little while with George close behind.  The bike pulled off as we went out a long straight path for an out-and-back.  The 2-mile point was at the turnaround and we were at 5:30, slow only because of turns and tough footing.  Jeff and I missed the turn after the out-and-back but the guy on the bike happened to be going past us at that exact moment and pointed us in the right direction.  Pretty lucky.  I had noticed that if I ever dropped back I was able to catch back up with a little effort, and figured that meant I should be able to give that sort of effort more continuously and build a lead.  I did that most of the third mile and once I'd put a few seconds on Jeff I was running scared, which I think I do pretty well.  I was expecting Jeff or George to come flying by me at any moment.  I came through mile 3 in 5:26, and ran the last (uphill) tenth of a mile hard to be sure to finish first.  My time was 16:40; Jeff came in 5 seconds later and we chastised each other for running too hard.  I really hurt, and had for most of the race.  I keep making myself forget how much a 5k hurts.

For the win I got a $25 gift certificate to Track Town Pizza.  As I was cooling down the Race Director called me over and asked what size I was and then gave me a t-shirt, and I was a bit worried that was the prize and I wasn't getting my pizza...but then a little later they called out the names of the winners and gave us our coupons.  George, Jeff, Thomas and I went straight from the race to the pizza and shared a delicious large "Decathlon" pizza and a couple pitchers of beer.  As we were eating the female winner also came in, with all her siblings who were in town for a wedding.  Runners love pizza.

It was a real fun time!  Glad I happened to go out there.

Luke - 4.5

4.5mi, 34:29 (7:39)
Mile loops of 7:49, 7:37, and 7:47.

Luke - 4.5

4.5mi, 41:15 (9:10)
Mile loops of 9:14, 9:10, and 9:00, at 3:40am.

Luke - 9

9mi, 70:22 (7:49)

Fox Hollow.  8:40 up, 7:03 down.  Was tired (sleepy) and tired (worn out).

Luke - 11.2

11.2mi, 81:49 (7:18)
Yesterday was an unplanned day off because I didn't get back home from Seattle until 11:30pm.  I had run 60 days in a row before that.  I was really tired today, plus I barely had any food because I didn't have time to go to the store between getting home and going to work this morning.  The day off acted as a bit of a taper, though, so my legs felt pretty fresh on today's run.  Did the 1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 10:33, the 1.5-mile loop in 11:03, the 1.5-mile loop in 11:10, and then the 1.4-mile loop in 10:06.  The way home was about 6:40 pace without really pushing.

Luke - 6.4

6.4mi, 50:11 (7:50)
I was in Portland on Saturday before heading up to Seattle for the weekend to go to a couple Mariners games, so in the morning I ran from my friend Patrick's house to a park and did two loops of it and came back.  Splits were 16:22, 10:02, 9:23, and 14:22 (random distances, but the first and last are the same as each other and the middle two are the same as each other).

Luke - 6.7

6.7mi, 50:51 (7:35)
1.5-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 11:34.  Felt less sore than I expected after last night's hard run.

Luke - 13.85

13.85mi, 1:45:20 (7:36)
The Butte!  A quarter-mile longer than usual due to construction and I still managed to run 1:45!  Really happy with how this one felt, especially since it's my longest run in (*checks archives*) about four months.  6:30s on Rexius on the way back, and then down to 6:15 pace for the last stretch.
Splits: 13:24, 14:37, 8:32, 6:59, 7:59, 3:33, 3:27 (58:34) / 3:21, 2:26, 5:31, 5:57, 6:51, 12:28, 10:10.

Luke - 6.75

6.75mi, 49:40 (7:21)
Was on my way to do my 6.3-mile loop when Jeff drove by, and stopped and asked if I'd run with him.  So I ran the couple blocks to his place and waited a few minutes for him to change, then we went down to Pre's Trail and did the 1.4-mile loop in 10:17, then came back through campus and did a couple loops in the cemetery before I headed home.  It was like 20º cooler than yesterday and even rained a little, which was pleasant.

Luke - 10

10mi, 79:29 (7:56)
Took the alternate way up Fox Hollow, then took Ridgeline East to Dillard, went down to the fun trail and went down it, and then took the road to Rexius and headed back the usual way.  The large branches that used to be across the ravine at the bottom of the fun trail were gone, so I had to climb into the ravine (it's only like 5 feet deep) and back out.  Someday I should smuggle a big thick board or something in there and see how long it lasts as a bridge.  The rest of that trail is so nice and clean and runnable; it's a shame the whole thing is wasted for most people because of one little section.
I was pretty tired today, for one because I got up at 3:30 this morning, and for another because it was super-hot again today.  The whole trail section of the run was pretty tough; I got a little bit of a second wind on Rexius on the way back, but just enough to get me near 7-minute pace--my legs weren't having any speed today.

Luke - 4.7

4.7mi, 41:55 (8:55)
Mile loops of 8:51, 8:46, and 8:46, at 3:45am.  Track is closed for construction so had to take the long way around to and from the trail.

Luke - 6.3

6.3mi, 47:05 (7:28)
1.5-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 11:14.  Felt pretty good even though I was hungry and it was 90º and sunny.

Luke - 6.5

MLK Jr. I Have A Dream 5km, 16:35 (1st place)

Warmed up about two miles, and before heading to the start, tried to make sense of the course map.  It looked like a fairly simple rectangular shape, but there were some question marks.  For one, there was a 10k and a 15k in addition to the 5k, and the map made it look like we all started together in the park, went about ten feet, then hit a street, where the 5kers took a hard right and everyone else took a hard left.  Also the course looked like it did 2 laps around a track, but I couldn't tell if it was for the 10k only or for everyone.  So right before the start, they moved the big START archway out to the street, which meant we wouldn't have to turn at the very start, but it also meant that the 5kers would have to start directly facing everyone else if they wanted us to have the same start line.  Instead they had us line up about 25m from the start, without a start line at all (just sorta spread across the street randomly).  There were chips in our race numbers but we wouldn't be crossing a mat at the start.

There were a couple guys that looked like they might be somewhat serious but I'd have been surprised if they'd really challenged me.  At the gun I went to the lead and maybe 4 people were right behind me in the first straightaway.  There was a police motorcycle leading the way, so I figured I wouldn't have to worry about getting lost...but then about two minutes into the race he stopped and directed us onto the sidewalk (not all the roads were closed so a lot of it we were supposed to run on sidewalks).  I started looking at street signs to hopefully see the road we were supposed to turn on, but the map was pretty ambiguous so I wasn't even sure which street that would be.  I was just about across one street when everyone was like, "Is this where we turn?"  There was a volunteer sitting on the curb eating her breakfast and I realized we were indeed supposed to turn there, so I led our group onto that road and yelled back to the volunteer, "Maybe stand up and tell people to turn here? Thanks!"  A block or two later a more-alert volunteer directed us onto the high school track which was right up against the road.  There were cones set up in between lanes 4 and 5 that did a pretty good job of showing us to stay in lanes 5-8.  As I was finishing up a lap, there was a volunteer just standing there staring at me, and I put my arms out as I approached, trying to get him to point me in the right direction.  When I was right at him I realized we were to do a 180 and go around the track in the opposite direction in lanes 1-4.  (After the race I found out they had some people do one lap, some people do two, some people do zero, and some people none of the above.)  We exited the track at the same place we'd entered and continued on down the street.  There weren't any markings or volunteers, but I was pretty sure I knew where the next turn was.  At one point, though, we had to take a right, go ~50m, and take a left, and in a couple other places the road was not exactly straight, so I was on and off the sidewalks the whole time, and all over the street.  Finally at the next real turn there was a lane of road blocked off for us, and there were cones the whole way so I knew I was on the right track.  I had put maybe 100m between myself and the next group of two runners at that point, and when I made the turn I picked it up with less hesitation.  There was one more turn (and this road, again, had a lane blocked off with cones) and I looked back as I went around the corner to make sure I had enough of a lead.  I stayed strong the rest of the way, and maybe had a slight kick at the end.  I think the next couple guys came in at somewhere near 17:20.
I hung out at the finish, where a band was playing, and the lead singer was kinda talking to the crowd.  I asked someone if there were awards and they said it would be a while, and to go grab a beer at the beer tent.  I did so, and a little while later the singer guy said "Can I get the winners to the stage," so I headed over there.  There was no follow-up so I stood around awkwardly for a while, and then a few minutes later he again said "Can I get the winners to the stage," and I just walked over to the other side of the stage and stood there awkwardly, and then a few minutes later someone who I think was the RD came over and told me the awards wouldn't be until 8:15, which was another half hour, and she wasn't sure why the guy kept asking for winners to come to the stage.  I hung out in the park as the guy kept playing music and asking for winners to come to the stage.  I talked with the winners of the 10k and the 15k, who were a lot faster than me (the 15k winner is a 2:12 marathoner) as 8:15 came and went.  We talked about how terribly-managed the race was, but apparently it was even worse last year.  This year the 15k was 9.85 miles instead of 9.3, but last year there were pretty much no markings anywhere and everyone just sort of ran around for a while and came back to the finish.  So the singer-guy started doing the raffle, and anyone who has ever been at a race with a raffle before knows that 90% of people leave before the raffle, so you have to call out 5 numbers before you get to someone who is still there.  This guy had never been at a race with a raffle before, so he called out the number, waited, called it out again, waited some more, and kept calling it out and telling us what the prize was, over and over for about five minutes before he finally gave up and went to another number.  This happened with every raffle prize, so it took forever.  At one point I went over to the beer tent and grabbed another beer, and carried it out of the beer tent, which you're not supposed to do but it's not like anyone in charge was doing anything.  Finally at about 9:00 they did the 5k awards, and they called me up onto the stage and gave me a medal, and asked me what I thought of the course (I lied) and what I was thinking about when I was out there ("Running fast").  If I'd known they were going to hand me the mic I would have prepared a speech.  Anyway they also told me I'd be getting my weight in beer for the win, so even though everything was pretty ridiculous it was so worth it.  After I got off the stage the RD lady got my name and phone number and told me she'd call within the week to get me my certificate for the beer.  I shall let you know if/when that happens (she also said to call the number on the race website if I didn't hear from her after a few days, so I will get my beer).  I stuck around and talked to one of the fast guys for a few minutes longer before running back to where I was staying.  Right before I left I talked to the 15k winner, who was still waiting for his award, since after the 5k awards they went back to the raffle.

Luke - 6.5

Messed up on my watch so I don't have a total time.  1.5-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 11:14, then on the way back saw Jeff so I did some strides on the turf fields with him.  Felt pretty good the whole run; hopefully I feel that way tomorrow.

Luke - 3.25

3.25mi, 24:56 (7:40)
Mile loops of 7:47 and 7:31.  I was hobbling since I'm still sore from yesterday's steeplechase, so I wasn't expecting my times to be so not-godawful-slow.

Luke - 5.75

OTC All-Comers Meet 3000m Steeplechase, 10:35 (5th place)

I'd looked up my posts from the last two years when I did this race, and both times I said I went out too slow...so I went out fast in this one.  First lap was 73 or 74 I think, with three hurdles in it.  Maybe slightly too fast, but not terrible.  First water jump was pretty bad, landed with both feet pretty deep in the water.  Couldn't even imagine how I'd do any better, either.  You see people spring off the hurdle and land in stride, and I think I even have done it before...but once you're there it just seems impossible.  Got passed by a few people on laps 2 & 3...felt okay for the most part but was constantly dreading having to do the water jump again.  On the third water jump (4th lap, about halfway through the race) I landed on both feet pretty deep in the water, as usual, and when I tried to re-start running, the water held my feet and I fell forward.  Sorta rolled out of the fall so I only lost a few seconds, and also I think the crowd enjoyed seeing a fall.  Somewhere around lap three I felt my toe slipping over the sole of my shoe, and I thought the upper was just loose and that the shoe was falling over itself, but then I looked down and saw my toe.  The shoe had come apart from the front around to the inside, so there was a hole an inch or two long.  At some point it happened to the other shoe too, so for most of the race I was tensing my feet to keep them in my spikes.  There was a guy not too far in front of me from about lap 3 on, and I really tried to catch him in the last 500m.  I was picking it up as he was dying, and he was close enough that when I splashed into the water on the last water jump he heard it and looked behind him.  I made up a little more ground on the last hurdle, but there was still a lot of ground to make up.  I was able to kick pretty well and thought I'd catch him, but he looked back and gave a little kick of his own, which I might have been able to overcome but he also positioned himself in front of me so I couldn't pass.  We were finishing in lane 4 because there were lots of people being lapped or double-lapped, so going to one side of him wasn't enough--I'd have to go around him and re-pass him, and there just wasn't enough room.
So I was 11 seconds slower than last year and the year before (both 10:24) and I fell and my shoes died and I was so sore I could barely jog home.  Yay steeplechase!

Also there's video here, but since the race is so spread out they zoom way out and you can't really see anything ever, and they didn't even capture my water jump fall.  (I'm in bright yellow and go right to the front.)

Luke - 6.3

6.3mi, 48:05 (7:37)
1.5-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 11:45.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 33:43 (7:56)
Mile loops of 8:03, 7:49, and 7:55.  Legs were really sore today at work.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 36:49 (8:39)
Mile loops of 8:40, 8:51, and 8:19.  Sets of 2 then 3 pullups on the first loop and 3 then 2 pullups on the last loop.

Hello again, 3:45am.

Luke - 9.7

9.7mi, 73:57 (7:37)
Went to Amazon and did a k hard (3:16), then ran easy with a couple other guys who were doing Rexius, then went up Fox Hollow hard (7:06) and then home easy.  Observant readers will notice that 7:06 for Fox Hollow is tied for my best time ever, which, when I ran it, I called equal to or better than a 4:49 flat mile.  So I guess I have to admit that I'm nearly "in shape" again.
Steeplechase this Thursday and 5k on Saturday...will certainly try to break 10 on Thursday...before today's FH ascent I was thinking sub-10:30, but I now think there's a chance of breaking 10 (a goal of mine for a few years now).  We shall see.

Luke - 5.5

5.5mi, 41:44 (7:35)
1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 10:41.  Felt really short.  Limiting myself to just this today.

Luke - 10.1

10.1mi, 79:48 (7:54)
Alternate way up Fox Hollow, finished out the 1.6-mile loop at the top, then down Fox Hollow the normal way and back via Rexius/Amazon.  Was going to add the stream crossing on the way down but everything was feeling really tired.  I'll probably go very short and easy tomorrow.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 32:24 (7:37)
Mile loops of 7:41, 7:30, and 7:33.  Sets of 4 then 2 pullups in the middle of the first loop and 3 then 2 in the middle of the last loop.

Luke - 4.3

4.3mi, 32:22 (7:31)
Short loop with Ribbon Trail.  Felt good from the first step.

Luke - 6.3

6.3mi, 47:20 (7:30)
1.5-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 11:20.

Luke - 7.25

7.25mi, 57:43 (7:57)
23' w/u; 5x400m, 200r: 79, 77, 77, 75, 73; 23' c/d.
First speed work in a long time.  It hurt.  It was very very hot, and pretty windy.  I stopped at drinking fountains just about every chance I got on the warmup and cooldown but was still dehydrated and overheated.  While doing strides I was thinking, "This is going to suck."  When I hit 79 on the first one I thought, "Yep, it does suck."  Glad I got faster on the rest of them.  It was difficult.

Luke - 6.8

6.8mi, 52:31 (7:43)
1.5-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 12:00.  Super tired today.  I realize now that 6.8 miles might be a bit too long for a recovery day, at my current level of fitness.  But: "The thing is to get out and run.  Later you can wonder whether you should have or not." - Rob de Castella

Luke - 9.25

9.25mi, 67:22 (7:16)
Headed out for a solid-effort Fox Hollow.  The field between my house and the track is under construction (they're putting in a softball field) so I had to go around on the way out and the way back.  Also my stomach was hurting a bit coming down Fox Hollow so I added the stream crossing so I could take a pitstop off a lesser-used section of trail.  So those two things are where the extra half-mile came from.  7:39 up Fox Hollow and was feeling pretty good, and then after getting my stomach back on track I started out near 6:00 pace on Rexius.  A bit later, though, the beating sun, the headwind, and a few other things all caught up to me and I could barely move.  Felt like my legs weren't attached to my body.  Was pretty dehydrated (I wasn't wearing a shirt, which probably made it worse) even after stopping at a couple drinking fountains in the last mile and a half.  In spite of all that, though, I think this was a pretty good run.

Luke - 6.25

6.25mi, 48:12 (7:42)
Mile loops of 8:04, 7:57, 7:35, 7:36, and 7:32.

Luke - 8.75

8.75mi, 66:27 (7:35)
Alternate route up Fox Hollow, regular way down (in 6:53).  Some stomach issues the last couple miles but the legs are doing all right.  Now heading up to Portland for the Jeeni-Chris wedding!!

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 31:40 (7:27)
Mile loops of 7:36, 7:23, and 7:13, with Zack.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 33:05 (7:47)
Mile loops of 7:45, 7:52, and 7:33.  Did 4 pullups, 30s rest, 2 pullups in the middle of the last loop.

Luke - 7

7mi, 52:46 (7:32)
Same run as Tuesday, including the 1.5-mile accel/tempo on Rexius on the way back, 6:40s down to just under 6s.

Luke - 5.5

5.5mi, 42:38 (7:45)
1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 11:05.  There was a concert going on at Cuthbert Amphitheater so I got music while on Pre's and got to smell pot every time I went past a group of trees.

Luke - 7

7mi, 53:26 (7:38)
Did the stream crossing without going up Fox Hollow first.  On Rexius on the way back did a 1.5-mile acceleration from 6:40 pace down to just under 6.

Luke - 5.5

5.5mi, 40:26 (7:21)
1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 10:32.

Luke - 8.75

8.75mi, 67:38 (7:43)
A classic Fox Hollow for the first time in a while.  8:32 up, 7:25 down.

Steve - 1.25

Day 2 of my Corporate Track and Field event. I was told I would be running an 800 in a relay and a 400. It turns out they only needed me for an 800. The relay was a 200, 200, 400, 800. I wore my flats since I'm not sure I'm ready to wear spikes in an 800 yet. There were 5 teams running in this relay. I knew we would be way behind 1st when I got the stick but I was just hoping I would have some runners around me to pull me around. My goal for the 800 was to run <=2:15. I figured I should run 65, 70 on the 2 laps to accomplish that.

As the race progressed, we quickly fell into third place. Watching the runners come in, I saw that I was about 8 seconds or so behind second place once I finally got the baton. This gave me a nice rabbit to chase as I took the stick. I went right into my hard striding pace and started thinking about how awesome it would be to pass the guy in front of me (but not all at once of course). As I hit the straightaway after my 100 meters I was feeling good and felt like I had made up some ground. I continued to work hard down that stretch and by 200 meters I could tell I was closing in. Going around the curve, I continued to make up ground and hit the horrible straightway with a headwind. I could hear a few teammates cheering for me cuz they could see I was closing more on the 2nd place runner. Once we hit the bell lap I was only a few strides behind.

I glanced down at my watch quickly to see a split of 65, right on target. Now I just needed to sustain a similar energy level and I could pass the second place runner. Going around the curve, I tried to maintain the same gap. I figured I should go for the pass no sooner than the 200 meter mark. But once I got through that curve, the legs started getting heavy and the gap started to widen. The runner in front of me was either starting to kick and/or I was slowly down. I tried all I could to prevent myself from slowing down. Once I got to the 200 meter mark, I was behind by about 10-15 meters. I knew it was going to take a massive effort to make up the difference. I surged with all that was left but it wasn't much. I finished 6.5 seconds back of him, clocking a time of 2:21 (low). I figure I made up at least a second or two on him. But alas I didn't reach my goal on this day of 2:15. It will have to wait til another day.

Luke - 5.9

5.9mi, 45:45 (7:45)
1.5-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 11:38.

Steve - 2.25

Day 1 of my Corporate Track and Field event. On Friday night I drove up to San Ramon, which is like a 6 hour drive from Los Angeles.

I at first was told I was going to run an open 400m race and a 200m leg in a relay. Then it turned into a 400 and a 400. Then a 400 and a 800. The  800 was in a relay for a preliminary round, so the time didn't really matter. Fortunately the 400 was up first so I could focus on that. It's been a long time since I have run an open 400 in a race, let alone an all-out sprint 400 in spikes. Despite not having even worn spikes in 3 years, I decided it was time to go for it. I warmed up carefully and did all my old track drills. Made sure I got up to full-speed running for some ~100m build-ups a few times.

Before the race I was talking with one runner entered in the same race who said he had run a 56 recently. I said I would be happy if I was a few ticks under 60. He said he was going to use blocks. There's no way in hell I was going to use blocks. I figured I would just do a standing start. There were 5 runners in the race and I drew a pretty favorable lane, lane 3. It felt weird just standing there waiting for the gun. I didn't know exactly how to do a standing start for it. I have done standing starts for open 800s before but that's totally different. Since in a 400 you basically want to sprint as hard as you can the first 100. You're definitely not supposed to do that in an 800.

Anyway, the gun finally went off and I blasted out of the starting line. I ran a pretty good curve because I heard the announcer say my name and that I was "running well out of lane 3" or something like that. That's always cool. Once we got to the straightaway and I let off the gas a bit and let my momentum take over. I could feel a few runners ahead of me and a few behind me as we approached the turn. Once we got to the turn, I basically accelerated as hard as I could. I didn't really observe any of the other runners going through the curve. With the stagger, things don't typically shake out until the final 100. Once I got there, I still felt strong and I hit the treacherous headwind. There were two runners ahead of me, one about 20m, the other 10-15m. I pushed as hard as I could. I could see that guy who said he had run a 56 was in first place. I focused on trying to make up ground on the #2 runner and I managed to close some ground once we finally hit the line. I heard the announcer say the winning time was 54:xx. I knew must have at least been under 60. The other two runners finished well behind me (more than 10 seconds) so I had an easy third place. I walked over to the timing tent and I got my official time of 58.89! I was pretty happy to be more than a second under 60! First place was 54.47 and second place was 57.04. Running that time in the 400 basically made the whole trip for me.

Later in the day I cruised the 800m in 2:39.

Luke - 5.9

5.9mi, 45:47 (7:45)
1.5-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 11:42.

Chris - 5.05

43:32 - 8:37 pace

Ran 17 miles last week. I'm trying hard to not fall off the wagon considering our wedding is in 8 days and I was out of town this past Tue-Thurs. We're also moving all my stuff to our new apartment tomorrow! Exciting!

Luke - 6

6mi, 49:27 (8:14)
Drove up and parked at the Fox Hollow parking lot, ran Ridgeline to Dillard, over Baldy, back around Baldy, down the fun trail, over to the stream crossing, then finished up by going up Fox Hollow.  Some sections easy, some sections I gave a bit more effort.  7:53 up Fox Hollow and I don't think I could have gone a second faster.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 32:57 (7:45)
Mile loops of 7:47, 7:46, and 7:39.  Iin the middle of each loop did one set of 3 pullups and then one set of 2.

Luke - 6.75

15' up; 2x2400m, 400r: 8:57, 8:59; 14' down.
Wanted to do an easy workout to start getting at least a little speed back, so I decided on twice a mile and a half at tempo pace.  It was really hot and windy, but both of them felt just as they should: comfortably hard.

The plan right now is to do a steeplechase at the all-comers meet at Hayward Field at the end of this month (mostly just for fun), then an easy 5k up in Portland a few days later, then a 10k here in town on August 9th or 10th that I'd like to do decently at...then pretty much figure out where to go from there.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 32:38 (7:40)
Mile loops of 7:41, 7:36, and 7:31.

Oh that news from last week was that I made a crossword that is going to be published in the New York Times.  Pretty much the best thing a crossword can achieve, hey.  It had been a goal of mine since I started making crosswords, in 2010, so I am pretty excited that it happened.  I am very tired because I went to bed a little late last night, so that is why my excitement is not coming through in my writing.

James - 2.4

No time, because I don't have a good timer, and because it didn't seem important.

After spending some time reading skateboard magazines and several weeks of unforgivable gluttony (culminating in dentist trips), I had to get out of the house and run. Skating probably isn't in my future but I still want to hope my ankle will let me run.

This is the first proper run without stopping that I've done in a while, and it was probably too far. I was dead. I'm so out of practice that I forgot 45 minutes after a big dinner is too soon to run. It was a distance I knew on the trail, but I still wanted to measure it on gmaps to jog my memory. I also have been very very tired today, maybe from too much exercise the last few days.

But yeah I sweated so much even at 8pm. It has been hot here but it's also been raining an awful lot. It's hard to decide which is worse. I finished my summer college class last week and while I still have plenty to be busy with hopefully I can get some runs in during the next month.

Luke - 7

7mi, 53:03 (7:34)
With Zack, went out Rexius and did the stream crossing without going up Fox Hollow, then back.  Felt pretty great, we were doing about 7:30s on Rexius on the way out and 7:00 on Rexius on the way back.  I did two sets of 3 pullups on the way home too.  Breathing was a little labored the whole time, but I felt like I was holding back as far as how my legs felt.  Glad to feel sore/exhausted without feeling like I'm close to getting injured.  Gonna keep doing this gradual increase, maybe do one workout this week if I feel healthy enough.

Steve - 2.75

Today's menu was some 200m repeats sandwiched around a 600m interval. Not the most fun workout I have participated in. But alas it went decently. I was a bit disappointed in my 600 time. I faded really badly after 400m. I wanted to average 70 second 400m pace for the whole thing but I was way off that (ended up averaging about 75 per 400m). For the 200s I decided I wanted to cruise the first two of each set and then run the final two fairly hard. I was able accomplish that. We did only 1 minute recovery between the 200s so I think that was particularly notable that I could keep those times down. I don't really know what kind of shape I'm in at this point. That 600m was really tough. I've got a Corporate track event next week in which I hope to run the 800m in 2:15 or faster. I may run some other distances like 400, 1200, and 1600.

7:44 wup

4x200m w 1 min rec in (36, 36.5, 33.6, 32.6)

4:25 recovery

600m in 1:53.8 (73.4, 40.4)

5 min recovery

4x200m w 1 min rec in 35.76, 36.45, 33.5, 33.5

800m cooldown

Luke - 5.5

5.5mi, 38:15 (6:57)
1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 10:35.  Started the run out fast-ish, then when I got on Pre's I saw Thomas running with his son, his son's coach, and his son's coach's daughter, so I caught him and ran with him for a bit until they turned off.  Started to pick it up again after that, and when I got to 1.5 miles to go I really picked it up and pretty much did a tempo.  Did that stretch in 9:32, so like 6:20 pace.

Luke - 6

6mi, 46:26 (7:44)
Planned on driving up to the trail, but when I walked out to the driveway my car was not there!  Because I left it at a friend's house yesterday after having a lot of beer.  So instead I ran on Amazon and then ran to my car (this friend lives even closer to Amazon than I do!).
Mile loops of 7:35, 7:53, 7:55, 8:03, and 7:38.  A set of three pullups and a set of two pullups in the middle of both the first loop and the last loop.

Steve - 4.39

37:02 (8:26)

Just piling on a few easy miles. I didn't feel particularly great for this one but I got through it. First half in 19:06, second half in 17:56.

Alison/James - 2.0

This was actually the other night at the park. It was so hot and humid, even at 11pm, that it looked like we have been swimming in the ocean instead of running. Quite gross. I think it's that time of year that we hang up the outside running for the season and stick to the treadmill. We pretty much had already, but I don't know what got into us that night.

Luke - 3.75

3.75mi, 28:56 (7:42)
Today was the Butte to Butte 10k, but I knew if I ran it I would try to race it, and probably injure myself, so instead I made a poster and ran out to a couple places on the course to cheer on "my team"--Thomas made up jerseys that say Team Generics Eugene, and wearing them to a race is a fun team experience.  The poster I made ended up looking really cool!

After cheering people on I did a little bit more running on the roads, and then less than 5 minutes of barefoot running on the grass for the first time this year.

Steve - 2.25

My quads were a bit sore still from Sunday's hill workout. So I decided I wanted to do some 400m intervals where I "cruise" the first 200, and then accelerate the final 200 to run a negative split. I usually go in aiming for a 40/36 or something like that. I was a bit short on time so I decided to slash the recovery. Predictably the times got slightly slower as I went. I don't know where I came up with the idea to do 400m intervals like this, but I sort of like it. I'd prefer to not slow down with each subsequent one though. I guess it's sort of like that Oregon 40/30 workout that I'd like to be able to do for more than 1 lap someday. Next time I run on the track with Luke, I will challenge him to see who can do the most laps of 40/30.

6:09 wup
77(41.8/35.66) 3 min recovery
78(41.2, 37.6) 1:30 recovery
81(42.7, 38.6) 1:30 recovery
82.5(44.2, 38.3)
1 lap cooldown

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 33:19 (7:50)
Mile loops of 8:01, 7:46, and 7:39.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 33:14 (7:49)
Mile loops of 7:53, 7:45, and 7:47.  Did two sets of two pullups in the middle of the first loop--no pain! Gonna try pushups tonight.  Ran with my friend Thomas on the second and third laps.

Luke - 6.3

6.3mi, 44:55 (7:07)
1.5-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 11:03.  Last 1½ miles were just under 7-minute pace.  It was something like 94º out, but I felt pretty dang decent during the run.  After the run, however, I felt like I was getting heat stroke.

Steve - 4.5

The track we run at on Sunday was closed so we did a workout on a nearby hill instead. It's a 100m hill, so we did a 1 minute jog(and a little walking) down the hill as the recovery. It was a pretty moderate hill I think. Based on some very rough Google Pedometer work, it's a climb of about 30 ft in 100m. I'll leave it to Luke to tell me how good or a bad of a hill that is. I tried to gradually ratchet the times down and did so for the most part. Before and after the workout we did about a 1.5 mile run so I actually got some decent mileage in today. I decided I'm going to buy the Garmin Forerunner 610. It seems like its one of the best watches out there and I hated my old so much. Times below:

20.6, 20.3, 19.6, 19.49, 19.3, 18.7, 18.3, 18.5, 18.6, 18.1, 18.3, 18.5, 17.6, 18.6

Luke - 3.25

3.25mi, 23:57 (7:22)
Mile loops of 7:25 and 7:24.  Was going to run a bit later to allow my legs a little extra recovery after the past couple days, but I decided to go early after getting some good news that left me with some excited energy.  I'm not ready to share said news with everyone yet, but Steve, it doesn't have to do with running, and Alison, it doesn't have to do with a girl.

Luke - 5.5

5.5mi, 40 (7:16)
1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 10:15.
Yesterday Zack and I, along with Zack's friends from the South and this girl Zack's been hanging out with lately, drove out to the Waldo Lake area for a hike.  The hike was ~3½ miles each way, pretty much all uphill on the way out and then just the same way back.  Since Zack's friends are runners we broke out into a run pretty often.  About a half mile in we started seeing snow, and a mile later we were going across huge drifts of the stuff.  Got some great views at the top and had a beer before heading down.  We were all hiking/running on the way down, and sliding down the snow.  Below the snow there were tons of mosquitoes, so I grabbed the keys and ran the rest of the way when I thought we were somewhat close.  I thought it was going to be like a half-mile, but it ended up being at least two.  It was pretty fun, but really tiring.  After everyone else got back we drove to Waldo Lake and quickly jumped in before heading back to Eugene.
So today's run I was pretty tired from the hike, plus we'd had breakfast an hour before and I had a lot, plus it was super-sunny and hotter than I'm used to.  So I was out of breath a lot and really struggling to keep up with Zack and his friend.  But I think this weekend of running will be good for me to get back into shape.

Steve - 1.5

So I was supposed to run in an 4x800 at a USATF sanctioned event. It was about 100 degrees in Pasadena where the event was taking place. When I showed up at the race, the open 800m was about to start. One of the guys that I was running the relay with was running late so the other guys said I should run as him. So as the 800m was starting for the women I did one warmup lap and a few quick drills and got my (his) number. I didn't want to injure myself so I figured I'd just cruise it. There was probably about 15 people running it.

The gun went off and I slid into the back of the pack. It was an diverse (by age) field so there was some obvious fast and slow people. Through 200 I was in last place behind an older guy. I accelerated a bit going around the curve and passed the old guy on the straightaway. From a distance I saw the clock was 1:1x so I knew it was really slow. Hit 400m in 1:23 so I decided I at least wanted to run a solid second lap. I picked it up some and started closing the gap on a few runners in front of me. Without hitting my top gear though, I wasn't able to really catch anyone. Once I hit 600, I slowly ratcheted up the effort to a comfortably hard pace and nearly caught two other guys as we finished. Second lap in 1:17, so total time of 2:40. Not bad for a warmup and being 100 degrees.

So about 20 minutes later we realize there were no other entrants for the 4x800m. We've already signed up so it's going to be a race against ourselves. The other guys say we should run 4x400m because it's so hot and it turns out there also are no other entrants in the 4x400m. So I want to run the 4x800 and no one else does, therefore I'm overruled. Well, we decide the order and I'm running second. Our leadoff man, who is the fastest, clocks a 57. I get the baton and I take off, almost as fast as I can for the first 100m. That's generally the best way to run a 400m. I'm not looking at my watch at all. You can't during a 400m. I sail into the straightaway and coast a bit, waiting to throw my max effort for the curve. I get to the curve feeling pretty good and accelerate with the burst I have left. When I get to the straightaway I see the clock from a distance and it says 1:4x, so I know I'm in range of 60 second 400. I hand off the stick and the clock is a few ticks under 2:00. I had wanted to run a sub 60 but I didn't quite there, instead running a 61. I figure it's pretty good considering the heat and running solo. Our other legs finish solidly and we hit a time of 4:10.

800m in 2:40
400m in 61

Luke - 5

5mi, 40:27 (8:05)
With Zack's friends, drove up to a half-mile from the South end of Rexius and parked.  Took Rexius to Fox Hollow, went up in 8:57, did the 1.6-mile loop at the top, and headed back down.  Did the stream-crossing detour and finished up on Rexius.  Two of us just drove home from there and the other guy ran the rest of the way home.  Felt pretty good.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 32:34 (7:39)
Zack has a couple friends in town and they were excited when I told them about the Thursday workouts on Hayward Field, so I ran down there with them and warmed up with them, then went off on my own when the workout started since I'm not in shape for that yet.

Steve - 3.99

32:55 (8:14)

Pretty solid run a day after a track workout and the day before a track workout. I finally returned my GPS watch at REI right before this run. So now I need to buy a new one.

Luke - 4

4mi, 33:13 (8:18)
I have a dentist appointment this afternoon (sixth week in a row with either a doctor or dentist appointment!) so I put shorts and a running shirt in my car before I left for work...unfortunately I didn't bring running shoes. So instead of driving from work to the West end of Ridgeline and running East, I drove home, put running stuff on, and drove up to the Fox Hollow parking lot and ran 2 miles West (the turnaround point was the same).  Felt pretty good, although still slow.  Might be able to start doing the odd 6-8 miler soon instead of this 3-5 mile crap.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 34:09 (8:02)
Mile loops of 8:17, 8:05, and 7:49.

Steve - 2.25

Did a track workout with one other guy. He was running 400s with limited recovery (about 1:30).

73
73
78
Full Recovery
75
4 min recovery
~70

400s are pretty tough, especially with limited recovery. I was dying on the 3rd one so I took some extra recovery. The last one he ran in 61 and I didn't have my watch but I counted from when he finished and it was about 9-10 seconds. I want to say it was under 70 because I think I counted too fast (you know cuz I was also running fast!).

I'm gonna run in a 4x800 relay this weekend so that should be interesting. Probably go out in a 65 and then come back home hopefully in 70 or faster.

Luke - 5.5

5.5mi, 42:30 (7:43)
1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 11:09.  Felt decent, if a bit slow.

Luke - 3.25

3.25mi, 25:39 (7:53)
Mile loops of 8:01 and 8:00.  I was pretty sore after yesterday's run (which is ridiculous, by the way) so went really short today.

Steve - 3.89

31:00

Was in vegas for a 3 day music festival (which was awesome). It was 100 degrees during the day and I wanted to do at least one run so I ran in the gym in the hotel. I was particularly dehydrated from staying up til 8 am the previous night but I got the run in. I wanted to do 4 miles but I felt like I was going to get heat stroke near the end so I cut it a bit short.

Luke - 5

5mi, 45:08 (9:01)
Same trail loop as the last two Saturdays.  First three miles felt horrible, like someone had just beaten me up.  Heading down the fun trail I started to feel better, and up the last hill (a very long, difficult climb) I was able to push it and go relatively fast.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 31:57 (7:31)
Mile loops of 7:42, 7:32, and 7:31, with Zack.

Steve - 2

Driving to Vegas late tonight so I had to squeeze in a track workout before my softball game at 730. Pretty insane schedule I was on since this prevented me from being able to watch the NBA finals. I ended up doing a mixture of mid distance sprints.

4:17 wup
500m in 1:40 (avg about 20 sec per 100m)
3:13 rec
600m in 2:01 (avg about 20 sec per 100m)
3:05 rec
400m in 1:12 (avg about 18 sec per 100m)
3:03 rec
400m in 81 (44,37) - intended negative split.

This was just a workout to get some decent work in at longer intervals at a decent pace. Not sure it tells me much but whatever I got in a workout.

Luke - 3.75

3.75mi, 30:18 (8:04)
Had a half-day at work because of a dentist appointment this afternoon, so I went straight from work to the trails and did the same route I did on Sunday.  Felt a lot better this time though.  14:58 out, 15:19 back.

Slooooowly getting back in shape... have run 9 days in a row, all between 3.25 and 5.5 miles.  Consistency is key, donchaknow.

Luke - 5.5

5.5mi, 41:18 (7:30)
1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 10:51.

Steve - 4.15

35

Got up early to run on a weekday for like the first time in 2 years. Survived the run. That's all I can say about this run.

Luke - 3.25

3.25mi, 26:30 (8:09)
Mile loops of 8:12 and 8:18.  Waited until after NBA Finals Game 6 to leave, and it went to overtime, so it was pretty late when I finally ran.  Did one pull-up halfway through the first loop, but it gave me a little pain in my surgery area so I didn't do any more.  Will have to wait a few more weeks before I start those up again...pushups are even worse, so I'm just gonna have a weak core for a few months.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 32:46 (7:42)
Mile loops of 7:53, 7:50, and 7:51.

Lauren - 1.10

After a lengthy, health-related hiatus, I am back! Does anyone else here have the joy of asthma? Yesterday's quick, indoor jaunt was quite enjoyable. We're about to move, so no more gym for free. The place around the corner from ours offers affordable options. Maybe I will pansy my way inside and join up. Much to the sentiment of James' most recent post, Houston heat--like Florida's--is a joke this time of year. I purchased a Keep-Cool towel, which sounds like a load of bullshit, but for a mere $5.99, my disposable income grew wings and flew to Groupon like Jay and Seth Rogen flying to the afterlife (don't go see that film).

James - 2

+ English Luke and Kat!

Hi all,

Sorry I've been silent for so many months. It's been a very busy time for me, with family visiting, getting buried by my continuing degree, and now friends visiting. My excellent friends Luke G and Kat have come to see us for 2 weeks (Luke V and Luke G have met, on a running and drinking basis). And goddamn it we got a run in in June in Florida. And it was FUCKED!

It went very well and all, but excitement isn't quite the word. We decided to run on the trail towards my college, so they could see what my usual commute is like. It's gone 7:30pm, but still hot. We are stretching and can see a line of orange somewhere in the distance, and I comment that I hope it's not some kind of construction blocking our way. We also muse that it might be a line of runners, though they don't appear to be moving. I suggest running the other direction, but Luke rightly points out that if they catch and pass us, that is going to be embarrassing. So we begin.

As we get closer, a few of the apparently orange people go past us and we see that there are about 100 more waiting to follow them (the path is not wide and surrounded by ravines on either side). "Shit! I know a diversion, we just have to backtrack a little to get to it." For some reason this does not appeal to my tough English associates, and we go along the edge of the trail, trying to eak out a single file somewhere between the dirty bumps, trying to avoid becoming badly injured fruitfly joggers in a healthcare shit sandwich. The first wave of 50 passes and we realise these might be military types, out chanting and running and being relatively fucking American. As the next lot head towards us, the terrain to get by them is even more perilous, so I shout for us to make a hard turn and run down the side of some homes towards a parallel street. We cut around and back up to the trail.

After we hit our stopping point and turn around, they look like they've done the same thing! These bastards seem determined to stomp us, if not under their boots, then under a climate of fear and with flagrant disregard for the rule of leaving most of the trail clear for cyclists. So going back we spend even more time on the parallel streets, sweating and staggering and frothing with confusion about what the hell's going on. We did not run this distance without stopping for a few walking moments, but we all felt it was a job well done.

One final story. When I told Luke to turn left and cross a street that cuts the trail, it was not a safe time to do so, car-wise. Luke V may remember I did this exact same thing to him when he was in England (and we were very close to Luke G's house, as it happens). Maybe I am so left wing that I don't know how to do a left turn.

Luke - 3.75

3.75mi, 33:08 (8:50)
Worked a half-day of overtime, then drove straight from work to the West end of Ridgeline and did a little out-and-back.  Uphill then downhill each way; 16:47 out, 16:20 back.

Steve - 3.5

Track workout. Best I have felt in a few weeks. Only a few coughs here and there. Did a 20 minute warmup so probably 2 miles and change. Workout was 200m repeats as usual. Usual caveat about my split times being off because of my impenetrable split button on the watch. I really am an idiot for continuing to use it but I didn't have my other watch so I had no choice. All the ones starred are slow by 2 seconds or more. After the 200s, I wanted to run a 400m where I cruised the first 200, and ran hard the last 200. It went about as well as I could have hoped.

8x200 in (31.8, 35.7*, 37.9*, 34.7, 34.3, 39.8*, 34.3, 33.3) About 2 minutes recovery between each

6 min recovery then 400m in 75 (39, 36)

Luke - 5

5mi, 44:09 (8:49)
Same route as last Saturday--and same pace!  Some of the lesser-used sections of trail are getting more overgrown by the day.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 31:04 (7:18)
Mile loops of 7:26, 7:23, and 7:19.  Did not feel like I was this much faster than last night!  Cool.

Luke - 4.25

34:13 (8:03)
Mile loops of 8:36, 8:17, and 7:10.

Steve - 3.07

Squeezing in a run before my softball game. I had about 25 minutes to run and get back in time for my game. So I ran 3 miles and ran pretty hard towards the end of the run. First mile in 9:06. Next .44 in 8:12 pace. Final 1.62 in 7:06 pace.

Luke - 5.5

5.5mi, 41:20 (7:30)
1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 11:00.

Steve - 2.75

Track workout all by my lonesome. Track at the college was closed where the group I sort of run with on Tuesday nights sometimes runs. So I went to a different track and ran by myself. I did sort of a weird workout where I started with 200m repeats and worked in some 400m intervals where I cruised the first 200 and then ran hard to finish with a negative split. I'm mentally preparing myself to run an 800 where you have to be able to run really hard even though you're already in so much oxygen debt. I'm not sure if this workout makes sense but I feel like it I got some good work in.

4x200 in (32.5, 35, 34.9, 34.7)  1:40 recovery between each
4 min recovery
400m in 80 (42, 38)
3:00 recovery
400m in 78 (42, 36)
2:30 recovery
400m in 79 (41, 38)
2:00 recovery
200m in 34

Luke - 5.5

5.5mi, 41:30 (7:32)
1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 11:18.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 34:01 (8:00)
Mile loops of 8:07, 8:00, and 7:57.  Felt out of shape, probably because I am.  Pretty windy.

Luke - 5

5mi, 44:06 (8:49)
Parked at the Fox Hollow trailhead of Ridgeline and took the trail to Dillard, down the road for a half mile, over Mount Baldy, back around Mount Baldy, down the fun trail, and up the alternate way up Fox Hollow back to my car.  Felt pretty good to get on the trails for the first time in a long time.

Steve - 2.75

25:25

Was dying all weekend with a cough and runny nose. I actually kept track of how many times I coughed on Saturday (89) so I could gauge improvement the next day. The number was only in the 40s  so Sunday night I decided to go for an easy jog. I was just glad to be able to run after basically 4 full days where I felt like complete shit.

Luke - 4.5

4.5mi, 35:49 (7:57)
Went to a concert at a bar last night and decided to drink beers and walk home, so my run today was back to my car.  Felt better than yesterday.

Luke - 3.25

3.25mi, 26:17 (8:05)
Mile loops of 8:09 and 8:14.  Felt about the same as Tuesday.

Luke - 3.25

3.25mi, 25:32 (7:51)
Mile loops of 8:21 and 7:55.  First run since my surgery six days ago.  My left knee started hurting about halfway through, but my surgery area felt fine, which is good.

Steve - 4

I was sick a lot lately. This was workout was done in a time where I could run. I got really sick the next day after this. This was sort of a random workout. I was planning on doing 200 meter repeats. What ended up happening was I did 4 200m repeats, took a 4-5 minute break, ran a pretty solid 400m with a group, took a 4-5 minute break, then did 4 more 200m repeats. I really hate my Garmin watch though. The split button is so hard to press that I never get accurate times. I'm actually going to try to return it. I bought it from REI, so we'll see. I'm tired of complaining it about as I am sure anyhow I run with is tired of hearing about it. Workout details below

4x200m in (29.5, 35, 35, 35.3) 1:40 recovery between each
4:41 recovery then 400m in 73.
5:28 recovery then 4x400 in (32.4, 35.9, 34.5, 34.6) 1:40 recovery between each
Did about 2 mile cd

Chris - 2.11

18:27 - 8:44 pace

I was supposed to run 3 yesterday but we watched the Pacers/Heat game at Jeeni's place, and by the time we got to my house it was getting late so I just ran this morning. Cut it a little short because I'm getting picked up in 2 hours to start my bachelor party weekend, and in case we play golf I want to have plenty of energy! Woo hoo!

Steve - 2.5

So I had this idea to run an 800m time trial on my 30th birthday since I'm officially an old man. My idea was that if I ran fast enough, I could turn back the hands of time. Well I got a few other friends to join me. Even the wife came to the track for like the 3rd time ever in the 10 years we have known each other. I had this great idea to run at midnight (a Thursday night). We brought donuts and she brought a cooler with little sandwiches and water. I had this goal all along to break 2:15, which is a pretty solid 800m time. I knew it would be tough since the guys running with me  weren't runners. I'd have to basically do it solo. Anyway, everyone didn't really show up until like 12:30.

After I warmed up, I realized since lanes 1-3 were blocked partially at some parts I had to run in lane 4. This meant that I had to do some measurements to get 800m. So I went to the 400m start in lane 4 and paced back from the start to the 400m finish. It was about 80 foot lengths. So I paced out the same distance back from the 400m finish and put a marker there so I could see a clear finish. So if I started at the 400m start, did one lap, and then did another finished there it would be 800m. Anyway, I positioned my wife like a rook at the 200m point so she could take splits for me at 200 and 600. Probably the first and last time she ever will take splits for me.

We finally started at about 1 am. The last few days I had been starting to get sick but I was doing my damndest to fight it off. So I was actually feeling ok that night. Anyway, we started the race and I took off pretty quick. I knew I needed to run about 65-66 to have a realistic shot at 2:15. I came through pretty smoothly at the 200. My split was 31-32. Probably a bit too fast but I needed to bank the time. Legs started feeling a bit heavy but I pushed through it. I hit the 400m split and glanced down to see 70:xx. Shit, now I know I'm in trouble. I would have to run a 65 (a negative split) to run 2:15. So I knew it was basically out the window since my legs were starting to burn a bit. I tried to at least maintain speed as my legs started burning more. I got to the 600m mark and didn't even bother to note the split cuz I didn't want to hear any bad news. I threw down whatever scant kick I had left and hit the line in 2:29. A pretty disappointing time for sure, but that's life for you sometimes. We hung out for like 30 minutes and ate donuts and talked and stuff. Then I headed home and crashed at like 3 am and proceeded to get really sick for the next week and half or so. It was a cool experience and I'm thinking of making it an annual tradition (minus the sick part). I'm hoping to shatter that 800 time in the coming weeks and months.

Chris - 3.05

26:13 - 8:35 pace

Today is the first time I've ever worn my key on my left shoe while on a run. Other than that...it started to rain a little bit for the last 10 minutes.

Chris & Jeeni - 3.05

27:37 - 9:03 pace

This week I start my half marathon/H2C training. I have 3,3,3 and then 4 on the weekend. Pretty mundane but it will be three days in a row and four runs for the week so it should give me a good workout. I think every other week the Wednesday's are race pace runs, so that should help my speed. I think I'll also work in a couple track workouts too.

Steve - 2.5

2x500 and 5x200.

Odd workout but that's what we did. I warmed up about 800 meters and then did drills and a few strides and stuff. So I was sort of treating the first 500 as a warmup. 500 is such a hard distance to run. Only one other guy ran the first 500 and he's much faster. I was 10 meters behind after 100 meters and I wasn't exactly jogging. I didn't look at my watch until 400 and it went by in about 73. Final 100 sucked and the total time was 93. Full recovery then another dreadful 500 in almost the same time. One guy was calling out times for this one and I was at about 51 at 300, which is relatively quick. In fact, quite close to the pace I hope to run on Thursday night for my 800 meter midnight challenge on my arbitrarily round number birthday of significance. Ended up slowing down the final 200 and finished in 93.8.

After a decent recovery, I banged out the 200s in 31.9, 32.5, 33.6, 32.6, 33.6. About 1:40 between each. I wonder if Luke is quietly complaining to himself that I should be just be only using whole numbers and ignoring the fractions of seconds.

So I realized recently that my surgically repaired foot will probably always be fucked up. The bone underneath my toe is tender to the touch at certain angles. Does anyone who has had a broken bone still have pain in that bone? I have only broken one bone before so I don't know. Anyway I probably land on my foot differently which causes I guess for my right calf to be really tight which screws up the rest of that leg. Whatevs.

Chris - 4

37:29 - 9:22 pace

Down and up the big Vermont road hill by my house. I start the half marathon training next week.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 33:27 (7:52)
Mile loops of 8:01, 7:48, and 7:46.

Now to go watch the new episodes of Arrested Development!

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 33:04 (7:46)
Mile loops of 8:06, 7:34, and 7:38.

Steve - 4.1

36:23

Running in the dark isn't smart. After softball I forced myself to run 4+ miles. I turned both ankles pretty bad. First I stepped on a pine cone and nearly fell over. It was painful but I could still run since it's just straight ahead. Then like 15 minutes later I was adjusting my arm band that holds my music listening device (I know Frank Shorter thinks I'm dead inside) and I took an awkward step and turned the other ankle. I heard the sound of cracking a little but it's definitely just a bad turn. I had to stop and walk for like 2 minutes. Laced up  real tight and then ran home the final mile. I should probably be more careful.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 33:40 (7:55)
Mile loops of 8:06, 7:53, and 8:07.  Went pretty late, after the Heat game, with Zack, and on our last loop we were joined by this elite woman we know.

Luke - 3.25

3.25mi, 24:49 (7:38)
Mile loops of 7:49 and 7:43.

So last Tuesday morning when I was getting ready for work I coughed pretty hard and my stomach immediately started to hurt.  I didn't know why but I noticed my inguinal hernia (the Wikipedia page for that is a bit NSFW), which I've always had, was protruding more than normal, and when I pushed it back in the stomach pain immediately went away.  All morning I was having to push it back in and it would pop out again within a minute, and I figured that was kind of a bad thing, so I called the doctor and asked if it was something that needed taking care of immediately, soon, or never.  After a few more phone calls I talked to a nurse, who talked to my doctor, who called a surgeon.  The surgery people called me back the next day and scheduled a surgical consult for today.  The nurse had said to avoid strenuous activity, but I wasn't really sure what that meant since I hadn't seen anyone and hadn't gotten much information from the people I did talk to, so for the last week I didn't run and didn't work any overtime.  Went in to my appointment this morning and talked to the surgeon, who was really good about giving me the information I needed, and he recommended surgery to repair the hernia, so we got that scheduled for next Wednesday.  He said I was okay to run between now and then as long as it didn't feel like it was doing any damage, and said I should be okay to run again within a few days to a week after the surgery.
I could feel the hernia bulging on my run today but it wasn't really hurting so I think I should be able to keep up easy runs for the next week.  I won't be able to do the next couple races I had planned, but I should be healthy enough to get the high mileage going this summer as I've been looking forward to doing for a while now.

Chris & Jeeni - 2.18

19:23 - 8:53 pace

Short out & back after playing 9 holes with my dad after work today. Jeeni got her first ever birdie on the par 5 at King City! It was 333 yards for her from the women's tees, and I missed my eagle putt on the same hole by about 6 inches. Fun day!

Chris & Jeeni - 3.06

28:09 - 9:11 pace

I had intended on running 4 miles this past Saturday, but instead I went to play 9 holes with my soon to be brother-in-law and we went to see Iron Man 3 in 3D afterwards.

We ran by my house, down and up the big hill that I ran all the time last summer. Our split was about 13 out and 15 mins back.

Luke - 5.7

5.7mi, 42:55 (7:31)
The shorter loop of Pre's Trail plus a short detour for a pitstop.

Luke - 13

13mi, 96:33 (7:25)
Went out for a long run with Zack and Thomas.  Started on Pre's Trail and went out to Springfield, did a couple loops, one on a trail and one in a trailer neighborhood, and came back.  I felt okay for the first five miles, then felt sick, as I have the last few weeks.  I let Zack and Thomas go about halfway through and jogged in a good bit of discomfort for a few miles.  Found a bathroom at about mile 10, and after using it felt way better than I expected.  Almost immediately I got down to 6:30 pace, then dropped it to 6-flat pace.  Settled into 6:30-6:45 pace for the last couple miles (on bark) and didn't finish too far behind my compatriots.  Was very glad that I didn't end up walk/jogging the last 4-5 miles.  Afterward, Zack and I got milkshakes at Prince Pückler's, which was key.

Steve - 2.3

200 meter repeats again today but with only 1 minute (standing) recovery this time (versus nearly 2 minutes last week). I wanted to get to at least 8, which I did. However, times slipped a little as I went. I have the time comparisons versus last week. I wore regular running shoes (probably 1.75 as heavy as my Nike Frees). So that in combination with less rest explains the times I think. The legs didn't feel as heavy as last time. Maybe cuz I was running slower times or I'm getting into better shape.

I want to add a run or two this week. Last week I didn't do a Tues or Wed track workout but I did an easy 3. So I want to do at least 3 runs this week. Although I'll miss this workout cuz I'll be in Princeton for a wedding. I guess I'll have to find a nearby track and maybe drag my brother out again.  Basketball is over now so I should get on it. I have only 18 days to get ready for my 215 800. I think I decided I'm going to do it at midnight on my birthday. The only trick will be to convince other crazy people to come to the track and run with me.

32.4 (-.1)
33.8 (+.8)
33.7 (+1.5)
34.2 (+1.7)
33.9 (+.4)
34.8 (+1.6)
34.8 (+.5)
34.7 (+1.2)

~3 min wup. (although I did drills and strides)
~1 mi cd in 9:11

Luke - 2.75

Beer Mile, 7:44 (~10th place)

I wasn't too confident going into this, with my recent body-feeling-like-shit-ness and all, but I gave myself goals of sub-6 if I felt great and sub-7:30 if I threw up.  There was one guy (Joe, a top ultramarathoner, BMPR of 6:15) going for sub-6, and all around a pretty good field of over 20 runners.  I also convinced a co-worker of mine to run...he's a 270-pound alcoholic who hasn't run more than a mile in the last three years.  He drunkenly did a practice Beer Mile on Wednesday and managed a solo 13:32.  Zack also was in attendance, ostensibly going for ~8:30 but I told him he could go sub-7 if he really went for it and had a great race.

For warmup I ran a little over a mile (4+ laps in lane 3), did a few strides, then 800m in 2:39, then a few more strides.  I also ate some pretzel sticks to soak up some of the carbonation.  I wore my red short shorts, a USA jersey, tall red-and-blue argyle socks, and my track spikes.  I was expecting the spikes to feel a bit weird since I hadn't worn them in a long time, but they just felt fast.

At the gun I downed my beer decently quickly, maybe just under 10 seconds.  I was probably in the top 5 off the line, then within a hundred meters (all the while burping) I was into first.  After about 70 meters I felt good enough to go pretty fast, and only had a couple more burps the rest of the lap.  The second beer took a little while due to inability to breathe, and though I started running first Joe was close behind me and passed me while I burped in the first 100m.  We were both quick through that lap; on the third beer we both took a little extra time and he was off a good few seconds before me.  I started that lap feeling a bit uneasy, going a bit slow so that I could sufficiently burp, and about 40m in one of those burps produced a little vomit--just enough, taking me by surprise enough, that I couldn't hold it in, and refunded about a third of a beer.  At that point I knew to not hold anything back, and I sped up considerably.  My fourth beer was pretty fast, since I was trying to put it down as quickly as possible and welcoming any ejection (which never actually came about).  I knew I had 800m to go but tried to give it as much of a sprint as I could...unfortunately I'm currently even slower than normal so that wasn't that great.  I passed a few people on that lap, and as I came through the finish line I announced that I had a penalty lap.  Passed a few more people on the fifth lap and came through at 7:44 to a crowd which included Zack "7:25" Kennedy, who was pretty happy to have beaten me.  They had popsicle sticks at the finish (for those of you who have never done cross country, a common way to tabulate finishers is to give out numbered popsicle sticks at the finish; runners turn them in later and give their name so officials can write everything down with plenty of time) and I didn't look at mine until well after the finish...I was surprised to see a double-digit number on there.  7:44 would be good for top 3 in a beer mile in any other city on Earth.  I was through four laps in 6:22, so I think I could be close to that in a non-penalty-lap beer mile.  Would love to have a few more beer miles throughout the year in order to get a feeling for how much to push and not throw up.

Adam finished at 11:19, which is pretty much amazing.  Would definitely be top 50% in a normal beer mile but with this amazing field it was only 21st I think.  Joe did break 6, clocking a 5:52.  I think 6:15 would be a possibility for me within a few tries, but sub-6 is elite territory.  Maybe I can get Adam to run a few with me over this summer.

Luke - 4.75

4.75mi, 39:17 (8:16)
Mile loops of 8:31, 8:22, and 8:05.  Felt like crap mostly...I should start eating better...

Luke - 5.9

5.9mi, 45:39 (7:44)
1.5-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 11:38.

Luke - 9.1

9.1mi, 68:41 (7:32)
Fox Hollow plus the stream crossing on the way down.  7:48 up, 7-flat pace on the way home (last 3.5 miles).  Run was just a little longer than normal because there was a track meet going on at the high school so I had to go around.  Glad I was able to give it a decently-hard effort, but my legs were certainly feeling it in the last half-mile.
I have a beer mile this Saturday, the Ridgeline Ramble on the 25th, then the Dirty Half Marathon in Bend two weeks after that.  I probably won't feel great for the beer mile but it's short enough that I should be able to at least have some fun and maybe scare 6-flat if I don't throw up.  I won't be 100% for the RR but I hope to feel somewhat strong...we'll see what the competition is like there, and maybe use it as a practice race for the Dirty Half.  Would like to do well out there (it's a pretty competitive one usually) but things haven't quite gone as planned the last few weeks.  Kinda wish I hadn't done the Eugene Half, but I felt like I had to since it was a free entry, and for whatever reason I didn't think it would take as much out of me as it did.  Really just looking forward to a high-mileage summer, and I think I should be able to stay healthy since the only races I have planned between June 9 and August 29th are a 5k and a 10k.  We shall see.

Chris & Jeeni - 3.1

28:22 - 9:09 pace

Three mile loop by Jeeni's place after work, before she has to go coach volleyball. And leave poor me all alone to play Call of Duty all night and do some laundry.

Steve - 3

Easy cruise on dirt in 23:30.

Luke - 4.9

4.9mi, 38:21 (7:49)
Mile loops of 7:49, 7:48, and 7:33, and a 1km loop in 5:16 before heading home due to needing a bathroom and the one near the trail being out of order.  Again did 3 pullups, 30 seconds rest, 2 pullups on the first and third loops.  Foot was really hurting from the rubbed-raw blister on my right foot, plus the lower leg is not back to 100% yet.

Steve - 4

Ran with this new smaller track group the for the second time. Workout called for 200 repeats with 200 meter jog/walk in between. All in one set. We ended up taking a longer recovery than planned (a little less than 2 minutes on average). But I really needed it. I felt pretty good and ran every single one in 34 or faster (in my ancient Nike Frees). I could only muster 8 before I felt like I was starting to lose my speed. The 7th one was my slowest so I ripped the shirt off for the 8th and banged out one more good one. I should add a little mileage this week. But I feel like my routine of 2 speed workouts a week and a full-court basketball game is getting in me pretty good shape. We had a physical at work the other day and my pulse was 42. I was bragging to everyone that  it was the lowest pulse ever recorded at one of these things and that 42 or lower is usually the number that olympic caliber athletes have. I'm an asshole.

about a mile wup
32.5
33.0
32.5
32.5
33.5
33.2
34.3
33.5
10 min cd

Luke - 5.5

5.5mi, 38:56 (7:04)
1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 10:14, with Zack.  Wore no socks and some old shoes and got a pretty big blister on the top of my right foot, which is dumb.

Chris & Jeeni - 3.12

9:36 pace

Woke up this morning and went to go run before we ate breakfast. It was about 68 when we left. It has been awhile since either of us have run this far, and there wasn't much shade along the road. When we got back Jeeni was overheating a little bit and felt nauseous, but after a little water and a cold rag on the neck started feeling better. I have officially been assigned the most difficult legs on our Hood to Coast team this year, so I really need to get my ass in gear and start training and running on a regular basis again!

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 33:26 (7:52)

Mile loops of 7:46, 7:51 and 7:46.  Halfway through the first and third loops I did three pullups, 30s rest, two pullups.  Legs still pretty sore, but getting better.

Luke - 3.25

3.25mi, 26:20 (8:06)
Mile loops of 8:14 and 7:58.  Legs starting to get a little better, but not much.

Luke - 2.25

2.25mi, 19:32 (8:40)
Mile loop of 8:54.  Right calf still really tight.

Luke - 1.25

1.25mi, 11:23 (9:06)
My legs were WAY more messed up from the half marathon than I thought they would be--they felt decent on Sunday but on Monday I woke up and my right calf was so tight I could barely walk.
Headed out toward the mile loop to see if I could do one or two, but a quarter-mile in I decided I'd just go to the track and back for a total of one mile.  When I got there I talked to Jeff for a while (he wasn't sure if he'd even run the half, and ended up doing 9 miles before dropping out) and then to Thomas (who had volunteered at an aid station instead of running, and was on the track doing a workout).  Thomas was heading to the bark for his cooldown and invited me along, and after standing there a while my leg felt better so I headed out with him, but by the time I got to the bark I knew it was time to turn around so I just headed back home.

Steve - 4.75

I ran with a new group of guys this morning. They meet pretty early (for me anyway) at 9:30 am on Sundays. All I knew going in was that they usually run 200 repeats and that one of the guys in the group ran the 800 for UCLA several years back in 1:52. When I arrived I heard that the plan was to do three sets of three 300m intervals. Seemed like an appropriately challenging workout for what I'm trying to accomplish. Recovery between each set was 1:30 only and 5 minutes between sets.

There were 5 of us and the stated goal was to run them between 50 and 55 seconds. First set went pretty well as I stayed with the group  (52, 51, 52). I knew I was in trouble on the second set when I ran a 52 on the first one and it felt really hard. Next two were slower (54, 54). I was hoping I would feel better for the 3rd set but my first repeat was really hard and it was 55. Next one was miserable in 60. I ripped the shirt off on the last one so I could sat least get under 60 and I did (58). So not sure exactly what this workout tells me. I've got one month to get my act together and run 2:15 800. I think if I can do this same workout and get every split under 53 I'll be pretty close.

Also we did a really long warmup (26 min) which also serves as the longest consecutive run I have done in 3-4 months. So that may have sapped a little energy. Cool  down of 9:55

3x300 in (52 51 52) , (52 54 54), (55 60 58)
955 cd

Luke - 15

Eugene Half Marathon, 1:18:59 (35th place)
Walk/jogged to the start at about 6am and did a little bit of jogging, pinned my number on my jersey, had a couple gels, and talked to a bunch of other runners I know.  Did some strides on the start line, listened to the nation anthem, and then the starter (guy who got 10th place at the Boston Marathon this year and, shall we say, knows his way around the inside of a giant foam representation of a popular breakfast food) tried and failed to shoot the starter's pistol.  The announcer went "3, 2, 1" and then nothing happened.  We all laughed at him, and then the announcer just shouted through the megaphone, "Go!" and about a second later the starter actually managed to make the gun go bang.
I settled into an easy pace early, and about a quarter mile in picked it up slightly.  I hit my watch at 1 mile but didn't look at it, deciding to only look at my 2-mile splits.  About a mile and a half in I was thinking "this is feeling really long," which isn't really a good sign.  My 2-mile split was right where I wanted it to be, though (11:31).  I'd talked to my friend Matt before the race and he said he would be doing about 5:55s since he had taken a lot of time off and only really got three weeks of training in...I told him he should go faster than that since I know he is way faster than me.  A little past a mile he caught up to me, and at two miles he said, "Yeah this pace feels good, I'll just run with you."  It was definitely nice having him to run with.  We passed Zack and our friend Thomas at about 2½ miles and they cheered for us and we waved.  The next 2-mile split was 11:38 with a slight uphill starting just before the end of it, so I was decently happy with that one as well. The next 2-mile split was also 11:38, with some uphill followed by a bit of downhill in the first mile of it.  Around 5 miles my stomach was cramping up and I decided I'd hop into the next bathroom I saw on the course.  I expected it to not be far since it seemed like they had a lot of them out there, but I was not seeing one at all.  I started speeding up to try and get to one sooner, and ended up feeling a little better just from being at that faster pace.  By the time I found one, just before mile 8, I didn't really need it too badly, but I went in anyway, as a precaution.  I of course timed my break and it was 58 seconds.  When I jumped back in to the race I felt decent for a couple minutes, but stopping had deadened my legs a good bit.  The next mile had a sizable hill in it and I was without my running partner, so things got pretty tough pretty quick.  I was hurting pretty good and getting passed by a few handfuls of people, and then just before mile 10 I got a sideache, which hasn't happened in like four years, and had to walk for a little bit.  As I was walking, Matt passed me, and I started running again so I could ask him what happened.  Apparently he had taken a pitstop about a mile after I did (and his portaloo split wasn't as fast as mine).  Difference is he felt really good, and I was only able to stay with him for a few seconds.  The next mile was another slow one, but after that my legs started coming back to me (thankfully!).  As I started accelerating there was a left turn followed 150m later by a right turn, and I looked over my shoulder at the second turn and saw, at the first turn, my friend Renee, who was leading the women's race of the half marathon!  I was happy for her and all but of course I sped up so as not to give her a chance of catching me.  As I came over the footbridge about 3/4 of a mile from the finish I passed a guy who said "1:18!" or something to that effect, I can't really remember.  The gist was that he was going for 6-minute pace, I surmised, so I said, "Yeah, but it's coming up quick!  Gotta dig deep!"  Entering the stadium I felt strong but not fast.  Finished hard, then after getting my medal I was able to cheer on Renee as she broke the tape.
Talked to a bunch of people in the finishing area, then grabbed a chocolate milk and a piece of bagel and headed out (it was no-reentry, kinda annoying) to the beer garden.  Even after standing around talking for like 15 minutes I was the first one there, and the guy wasn't even sure of the price yet.  Ended up paying $5 for a pint of I can't even remember what, and sitting and drinking it surrounded by empty chairs and tables.  Then headed out to talk with some friends, and attempted a cooldown with the guy who got fifth.  Made it probably less than a half mile of hobbling before stopping due to stomach pain, and ducked into the music building wherein I was able to find a very nice bathroom.  Walked back and watched a few people finished and talked to lots of people, then finally walked home with a couple guys and us and Zack went out to breakfast and demolished a ton of food.  There were three post-race barbecues going on in the afternoon, but I took a nap and ended up only going to one, but it was a lot of fun.  Unfortunately, the race being on a Sunday meant I had to leave early to get ready for the workweek.
All in all I wasn't really happy with the race--I thought I could BS a decent half-marathon time, and that didn't really work out--but other than miles 8-11 the weekend was a lot of fun.

Splits: 5:48, 5:43, 5:43, 5:55, 5:57, 5:41, 5:44, 6:41 (with :58 pitstop), 5:56, 6:34, 6:26, 6:01, 6:42 (1.1mi)

Luke - 3.25

3.25mi, 23:00 (7:04)
Jogged down to campus, where the Eugene Marathon 5k was going on, because Flap Jack the Krusteaz pancake had asked me to pace for him.  A guy I know on the UO Running Club team (Andrew) was trying to beat him, as was a girl on Team Run Eugene who usually does 1500s on the track (Jordyn).  Lots of smack had been talked in the weeks leading up to this race, and I was excited to see how it would all go down.  Flap wanted me to run the first mile with him and come through in 5:25-5:30.  I was talking to his coach before the race started and he said I should run a little slower, and I thought he was looking out for his runner, but then he went on to say that it was so Jordyn, who he also coaches, would have a better chance of beating him.  Conflict of interest!
I joined into the race about 50m in, and got right up next to Flap Jack.  I realized I should have worn my Garmin so I'd know the right pace for sure, but instead I mostly just keyed off a runner who was out in front of us and I knew would be doing about 5:05s.  Flap was going a little faster than 5:25 pace, so I just stayed close to him for the start.  Around the first turn, a bit over a quarter mile in, someone (maybe his coach but I didn't actually see him) told Flap to slow down, and a little before the half-mile point I told him "5:20 pace, a bit fast," but he wasn't letting up.  Jordyn was right behind us, employing really the only strategy one should use when trying to beat Flap Jack: sit behind him for about three miles, then outkick him.  She was breathing pretty heavily, but I couldn't hear Flap's breathing through the giant pancake suit.  I didn't see Andrew anywhere.  I told Flap that he was under pace one more time and he just said "yeah."  I didn't ever see the 1-mile mark, so at about 6 minutes I pulled off, but first gave Flap the rundown: "You're in sixth, but fifth is coming back to you; Jordyn is right behind you."  I walked for a little while and didn't see Andrew until somewhere over 6-minute pace.  I asked him what was up and he just gave me a thumbs-down sign (he would end up DNFing).  I walk-jogged over to Hayward Field and met up with some friends to watch the finish (the end was the same as the end of the marathon: enter the stadium and finish at the finish line).  After four or five faster runners came through, Flap Jack entered the stadium alone and had enough time to showboat a little and give high fives to the kids in the stands, and still came through at an absolutely amazing 17:08.  Jordyn came through about 20 seconds later; apparently the move had been made at 2 miles and she just couldn't hang on.  She was genuinely bummed about not beating the pancake even though she'd PRed (although she said that PR was pretty soft since she usually runs shorter stuff).  17:08, though, really is an amazing time for a pancake.