Luke - 2011 Mileage Totals

In 2011 I ran 2783.4 miles.

I had 44 days off.

I did 356 runs.

I did 97 runs of 10 miles or further.

I ran 269 mile loops on the Amazon trail.

I summited the Fox Hollow trail 84 times.

I summited Spencer's Butte 46 times.

James - 2.8

24:45

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

It's been fun SomeRunning in 2011, guys!

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

Steve - 4.72

41:34 (8:45)

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

Luke - 3.75

3.75mi, 38:57 (10:23)

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

Luke - 9.75

9.75mi, 74:14 (7:36)

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

James - 3.1

27:42

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

Luke - 9.75

9.75mi, 73:17 (7:30)

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

Steve - 3.44

30 (8:43)

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

James - 2.3

20:24

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

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

Luke - 5.79

5.79mi, 44:54 (7:46)

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

Steve - 6.3

50 (7:58)

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

Luke - 4.86

4.86mi, 40:19 (8:18)

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

Weekly Mileage Totals, 12/18-12/24

Steve - 19.38 (3)

Luke - 15.85 (2)

James - 7.5 (3)

42.73 miles in 8 runs by 3 runners.

Steve - 7

60:34 (8:39)

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

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

James - 3.5

~32:00

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

Steve - 7

58:17 (8:19)

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

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

Luke - 2.25

2.25mi, 18:36 (8:16)

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

James - 3.1

29:00

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

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

James - 0.9

~10:00

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

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

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

Hope you all have a merry holiday!

Steve - 5.38

45:05 (8:23)

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

Luke - 13.6

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

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

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

Weekly Mileage Totals, 12/11-12/17

Luke - 62.1 (6)

Steve - 19.18 (4)

James - 10 (3)

91.28 miles in 13 runs by 3 runners.

Steve - 5.1

42:07 (8:15)

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

Luke - 16.6

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

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

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

James - 3.1

~31:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luke - 8.25

8.25mi, 61:10 (7:24)

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

Steve - 4.7

41:50 (8:54)

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

Luke - 8.75

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

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

James - 3.1

27:50

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

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



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

Steve - 5.1

47:03 (9:25)

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

Luke - 6

6mi, 48:22 (8:03)

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

Luke - 8.75

8.75mi, sl:ow

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

James - 3.8

36:44

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

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

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

Steve - 4.28

39:42 (9:22)

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

Luke - 13.75

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

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

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

Weekly Mileage Totals, 12/4-12/10

Luke - 52.2 (6)

Steve - 14.66 (3)

James - 5 (2)

71.86 miles in 11 runs by 3 runners.

Luke - 4.5

4.5mi, 39:22 (8:44)

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

James - 2.6

~27:00

Weak week.

Luke - 8.5

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

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

Steve - 4.28

39:10 (9:13)

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

Luke - 8.75

8.75mi, 61:46 (7:03)

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

Luke - 10.35

10.35mi, 87:52 (8:29)

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

Steve - 5.38

47:15 (8:47)

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

Luke - 6.5

6.5mi, 52:50 (8:07)

Rexius easy with Zack in the dark.

James - 2.4

29:35

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luke - 13.6

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

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

Steve - 5

43:05 (8:37)

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

Weekly Mileage Totals, 11/27-12/3

Zack - 62.7 (8)

Luke - 52.5 (5)

James - 14.5 (4)

Steve - 3.27 (1)

Alison - 1.5 (1)

134.47 miles in 19 runs by 5 runners.

James - 3.6

34:55

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

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

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

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

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

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

Steve - 3.27

32

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

Zack - 4.25

32:11 (7:34)

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

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

Luke - 10

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

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

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

James - 3.5

33:07

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

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

Luke - 6.5

6.5mi, 54:03 (8:18)

Rexius real easy in the dark with Zack.

Zack - 6.5

54:08 (8:20)

Rexius easy with Luke. Super slow.

James - 3.6

35:42

I really need to update my bio here. It's almost 2 years out of date. Anyone else want to join in with the fun of changing theirs?

Luke - 8.25

Warmup, 4mi@25:12 (6:30, 6:08, 6:20, 6:13), cooldown. Didn't feel hard, just as it should be.

Zack - 9.5

71:10 (7:29)

27 min wu at Amazon with Luke and Renee.

4 mi tempo on the bark: 6:27, 6:08, 6:18, 6:01 = 24:54 (6:13/mi)

400m in 77, 200m in 36. Cooldown.

Definitely a challenge in the dark and with erratic pacing, but felt strong and under control.

Alison - 1.5

I did the set run that is the test for the coast guard. You must run a mile and a half in 15 mins. I did it in 14.wt, which was my mile time in first grade.

Also here is a joke about running that Luke said is the worst joke I ever done told him but I think itS the best.

Q. What happens when you presume?

A. You make Pre's out of u and me.

Zack - 5.5

44:08 (8:01)

EZ run on Amazon to Rexius, up to Snell Dr. and back on bark at 9PM.

Luke - 9.75

9.75mi, 82:44 (8:29)

Fox Hollow plus a loop on Amazon. 9:37 up, 8:55 down, 8:35 for the mile loop. I left right when I got home from work but it was still dark by the time I started the hill. Felt like I was going pretty well but it was mostly 8:00 pace on the flat stuff, and then the last couple miles were slower.

I've kinda been a pussy the last week or two. Enough of that!

James - 3.8

37:48

Going for a record again this week, even if only by one tenth of a mile. This start puts me above the needed average.

My trainer today was Cheers.

Zack - PM: 6.5

51:28 (7:55)

Rexius Trail at 9:30PM. Planned on ~5 mi but felt good and was really enjoying the crisp evening so I extended the run. Tired at the end after capping off a 2 day total of 27.75 mi (one of my biggest 2 day totals ever i'm sure). We will see how this experiment in mileage treats me the rest of the week.

Zack - AM: 3.25

no watch.

Amazon recovery at 7AM.

Zack - 18

2:14:00 (7:27)

Weyerhaeuser Rd. with 5/others. Relaxed pace, negative split by likely >5 min. After about 16 mi, legs started to get heavy but not any considerable fatigue throughout. Excellent start to hopefully another high mileage week (>60 mi).

Luke - 18

18mi, 2:14:08 (7:27)

Ran out on the logging road with Zack and 5 others. Garmin data here. I took a pitstop at the turnaround point and had to book it to catch up to everyone, and I think that took its toll later in the run...the last few miles my legs felt really heavy, and I fell back a bit...I finished a couple minutes behind Zack, so I think we ended up with the same overall time since I was stopped for about that long at halfway.

Had about a third of a carton of ice cream when I got home.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 11/20-11/26

Zack - 46.25 (7)

Luke - 44.25 (6)

Steve - 12.25 (2)

James - 5.5 (2)

Chris - 3 (1)

111.25 miles in 18 runs by 5 runners.

Zack - 4.25

32:49

Amazon AM run before going to the Oregon vs Oregon State football game on a lovely day.

Easy. 7:35, 7:37, 7:39.

Chris - 3

28:21 - 9:27 pace

Jeeni and I decided to go on a run in the neighborhood surrounding the new house I'm living in. It's very hilly. Which is good and bad...haha. My legs felt alright, I just didn't feel like I could go particularly fast. It did feel good to get out and moving though, especially after eating a bunch of yummy food on Thanksgiving.

Luke - 6.5

6.5mi, 50:41 (7:47)

Easy run on Rexius. It was 59 degrees out! I wore short sleeves.

Zack - 8

67 min (8:22)

With Matilda (black lab) and Luke on the Lacamas Creek Trails in Camas, WA. Lots of hills, a few raging waterfalls, and plenty of rare sunshine for late November. Nice recovery pace throughout.

James - 2.4

~24:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you all had a good one.

Rather than what you might expect from me on Black Friday, here's a feel-good story about an animal loving runner.

Jogger Saves Cat in Rainy Park, Carries Him One Mile in Her Coat

In November of 2006, I went for a run through a nearby local park. It was a bitterly cold and rainy day; the winds were harsh and felt like they were going right through me. Running through the park wasn’t initially part of my planned route that day, but due to the weather, I thought it would be best to run in an area closer to home.

As I ran through a wooded part of the park, I happened to glance to my left. If I hadn’t looked in that direction at that moment in time, I would have missed him entirely. There he was, a small brown tabby cat, huddled up in a ball; he wasn’t even attempting to find shelter from the elements. As I slowed to a walk and moved toward the cat, I saw what was next to him: a handful of crackers and a half-filled paper cup of water. He had no identification on him, simply a cheap blue flea collar around his neck. He was very calm as I approached him and did not exhibit any signs of being feral. By all appearances, he had been dumped in that park. As he looked up at me with his big, caramel-colored eyes, I realized I couldn’t just leave him there. And as the rain started to come down even harder, I made the decision to bring him back home.

P.S. I did get a treat when doing my post-run stretches. Some kids on bikes crossed the road that intersects with the trail, getting a big honk from an SUV. They shouted a mighty "Fuck off!" That cheered me up. Let us be thankful.

Luke - 8

8mi, 67:40 (8:27)

Ran at Lacamas Park with Zack. Great trails, although there weren't a ton of them so we did a lot of sections more than once. Mostly rolling hills, some flat sections, some really steep pitches. The weather was absolutely fantastic, which was weird.

Zack - 8

Turkey Stuffer 5km: 17:07 (5:31/mi) 17 sec PR. 23rd place

No watch nor splits which was a little strange for me. I was hoping to go sub 17 in this race but knew it was going to be tough. I felt like I was running nearly even splits but it is difficult to say. I moved up steadily after about 2 miles and then passed about 5 guys at ~2.75 mi. I didn't have much of a final kick and was passed back by a few of those guys with about 200m to go. I am pleased that my recent spike in mileage and the few strong speed workouts are proving to be successful. Enjoyed the rest of the Thanksgiving holiday at my girlfriend's mom's house in Camas, WA.

Steve - 7

So I also ran in a Turkey Trot 10k. I just never bothered to post it until now (for good reason). On Thanksgiving night we flew down to Cancun for 6 days. Had a great time, won't bore you with the details. Anyway, for the 10k I didn't run quite an all out effort but it was a decent time considering my mileage. My time was 45:17. I tried to run a pretty even pace but I don't really know if I did because the mile markers were wrong and I seldom saw them. I crossed mile 1 at 7:03 (probably right) and mile 2 at 5:59 (definitely wrong). The next marker I saw was a sign that said 1 mile to go, which would naturally make it the 5.2 mile mark. I hit that at 38:01 (7:19 pace). I picked it up a bit from there and covered the final mile in 7:14.

While in Cancun I meant to run at least once but never was able to. Now that I'm back, I plan to get my mileage jump-started again as I was getting close to 20 mile weeks.

Luke - 8

Turkey Stuffer 5k, 15:59 (6th place)

It had been raining for about a week before Thanksgiving, with wind here and there, but for the race it was clear and still for about six hours before going back to usual. Zack and I warmed up about 2½ miles and I felt pretty good, or at least nothing felt bad. It seemed like everywhere I looked there were a lot of fast people, and I talked to Josh Gordon before the start and he predicted at least 5 people would go sub-15. I think it being the 30th running of the race got a few more people than usual out there. They had to start the race about ten minutes late because there was still a line of people picking up their race numbers at 8:30 (listed start time). Zack and I lined up with a bunch of people we knew, including Josh and Jeff, who I was hoping to run with (and maybe beat). At the gun it was a pretty crowded start and I was probably in 25th at best at 300m. Jeff had gone out very fast, probably at the back of the lead group, and Josh was in front of me a little ways also. It thinned out somewhat by the time we made the first turn, about a half-mile in, and I was picking people off fairly constantly. Josh was also picking people off, and was probably 30m in front of me at about 6 minutes into the race. There were no mile markers this year, which is weird since they have always had them at this race in the past, and at almost every race in general. Kinda threw me off not knowing at all how fast I was going. I just kept trying to pick people off, and I was pretty successful at that. Not counting the first 50m, no one passed me the entire race. I kept catching up to the next guy in front of me, running with him for a second sometimes, and then passing him with a burst, and none of them ever came back to me. The only guy I wasn't catching was Josh. At about a half a mile to go we came out of the neighborhoods and onto a more major road, and stayed on that road until about 300m to go, where we turned into a parking lot and ran to the finish. At the turn onto the main road, there was one guy right in front of me, another guy about 25m in front of me, Josh just in front of him, and Jeff about 25m in front of Josh. I dropped the first guy right away and really tried to push to catch Josh. At the turn-in to the parking lot it took me about 10m to catch the random guy and I blew past him pretty easily (Steve--he had a CMS jersey on, so you'll be happy to know I beat the bastard). Josh was pushing hard to catch Jeff, so I was having a tough time gaining anything on him. At the finish it ended up being Jeff two seconds in front of Josh who was three seconds in front of me. I think if Jeff hadn't been there as a target for Josh I might've had a chance at catching him. Also I think if the race were a quarter-mile longer the order of the three of us would have been reversed.

I was surprised to learn that I'd gotten sixth--when I finished I figured I was somewhere around 13th, but I guess I'd picked off a lot of people. The race wasn't as fast as we expected--the winner was at 15:27. If I'd gotten my goal of 15:29 I would have been right up there...I think not having mile markers messed me (and a lot of other people) up. The cold might have had something to do with it, even though it was relatively warm (41º). Also I think I run a lot better in the evening. Kinda disappointed I didn't PR...I didn't feel like I was weak in any one specific area, there was just nothing really great about my race.

Cooled down for a while with a handful of other people, for what I'm gonna call 2.4 miles, and then Zack and I left...we didn't stick around for awards; I'm pretty sure I would have gotten a dinky medal for being second in my age group, but that's about it. We were much more interested in heading out to get Thanksgiving dinner!

Luke - 2.25

2.25mi, 17:51 (7:56)

A mile loop in 7:55. Just a shakeout, really.

Zack - 3.25

25:00

Amazon morning loops in a steady rain. No watch.

Luke - 7.5

Zack and I ran Rexius easy, and then I wanted to do 200, 400, 600 at 5k pace, with 200m rest in between each. The weather was not too bad on the easy part, but as soon as I started the track stuff the wind started going crazy and the rain picked up a bunch too. Came through the first 200 at 38, which felt nice and easy. On the 400 I started out okay but the wind was getting to me at the end and I ran a 79. The wind was getting worse and worse the whole time, so the 600 was awful. I could barely run coming down the homestretch, I was leaning forward like crazy and there was just a ton of resistance. Came through the 400 of it at 78 and ended at 2:00. So a bit slow, but considering the conditions it makes sense. I told Zack after that if the conditions were like that for the race on Thursday I'd be lucky to break 16:30.

Zack - 6.5

50:21 (7:45)

Rexius with Luke in the evening + 4 strides on the track. Rain.

James - 3.1

30:17

Whilst overall a bit slow, I really increased the speed continuously. I decided to have another rest week but throw in a few different things. I think I will do a fast 5K and maybe some fartleks later in the week if I can.

I've been doing a math report on the geometry of Stonehenge and surprisingly enjoying it - now that'd be a place to run around.

Zack - 4.25

33:29 (7:53)

Amazon at 10PM in the rain. Pleasant at about 45F.

Zoned out: 8:02, 7:51, 7:47.

Steve - 5.25

43:22 (8:16)

Ran around Santa Monica. About half on dirt.

Zack - 12

93:04 (7:45)

Relaxed long run from EWEB building, out to Dorris Ranch and back with 5 others. Lots of fun and a very comfortable pace.

Luke - 12

12mi, 93:04 (7:45)

I had many many beers last night. Zack and I were scheduled to meet some other runners at 10am so I had to get up and go. Right before we started I was very close to throwing up, but once I started running that went away and I just had a general malaise about me the rest of the run. My legs felt fine the whole time but the hangover was pretty bad. Also it was under 40º...I had a thick hat and gloves so it wasn't too bad while we were going, it was only really noticeably frigid before and after, when we were stopped. Kinda glad I got out there and did the long run, I'll probably feel better the rest of the day than I would have if I had stayed around the house.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 11/13-11/19

Zack - 49.65 (7)

Luke - 48.55 (6)

Steve - 14.61 (3)

James - 8.9 (3)

Chris - 6 (2)

127.71 miles in 21 runs by 5 runners.

Zack - 6.4

6.4 miles, no watch

Ran the big loop of Pre's Trail with my girlfriend Erin. Easy.

Steve - 5.1

42:05 (8:15)

Usual run in the neighborhood.

Luke - 5.5

5.5mi, 44:41 (8:07)

Worked a half-day today (told my boss I'd do so and then work zero overtime next week, so I can get enough sleep every night, so I can race well) and then got a token run in; now I have the rest of the day to hang out and watch the Duck game.

James - 3.1

32:17

The third in a trifecta of slow runs, although it was still hard and so I wonder if I am overrreaching and should not have done such distances, even at slow speeds. I may have a second easy week to see if I can recover more. I am talking with my England friends about doing the 10th Manchester 10K with them when I return in May (I did the first one in 2003 so it would be very nice).

After this gym visit Alison and I went to Chilis for 2-for-1 drinks where I had many and most of hers even though it was walking distance from our house and she didnt have to drive and I may still be drunk and also too many chips and tacos and holy fuck bananas.

Speaking of bananas, I made Alison listen to the excellent Japanese noisy punk band Melt Banana today. Let's see if Luke the banana lover likes them. Here's a cover of the most West Coast song EVER and an original one:

Zack - 4.25

4.25 miles

EZ Amazon loops, recovery.

Luke - 9.3

9.3mi, 75:13 (8:05)

1.6-mile loop in 12:56, 1.5-mile loop in 12:23, 1.4-mile loop in 11:23. Cold, but at least it was light out and 90% of the time it didn't rain.

Luke - 5.5

5.5mi, 47:04 (8:33)

Weather was way shitty, so it took a bit for Zack and I to get each other out the door. The first half mile felt like the whole run was going to be miserable, but the rain died down and it was not bad at all the rest of the way. Got DoughCo a bit later.

Zack - 5.5

47:04 (8:33)

Rexius trail up to Snell Dr. with Luke super easy in the rain. Legs felt surprisingly good, slightly tight calves.

James - 3.1

33:22

Another slow one. More impressively I did some bicep curls using my puny arms, and some crunches. And I did run most of the way to school last night due to super lateness.

Zack - 12.25

90:03 (7:21)

Track workout on the South Eugene HS track with a few other guys. They are currently much quicker than me so I wanted to hang on the best I could.

22 min wu.

(600, 500, 400, 300, 200) x 3 and only 100m rest. Ended up doing 200 rest on the last set, 400 m jog b/w sets.

Splits: (1:59, 1:38, 77, 56, 35)

(1:54, 1:37, 77, 57, 35)

(1:55, 1:39, 77, 56, 35)

Very long 37 min cooldown.

This was done with a stiff wind/rain. The guys I were running with were crucial for these splits, as they pulled me along and then typically dropped me towards the end as they increased the pace. This is equivalent of 15 x 400 with little rest. The consistent intervals and speed of this made it probably my strongest workout ever.

Chris - 3

26:49 - 8:56 pace

Lunch run in the rain. First cold and rainy run of the fall! And I broke 9 minute pace! Tomorrow my goal after work is to go shoot hoops for an hour. Then Friday and Saturday I'm moving to a new house. Ahhh the joys of moving. NOT.

Steve - 5.23

38:50 (7:25)

I ran with the Nike running club in Santa Monica. I decided to join the 5 mile group. Of course I'm a nerd and I mapped the course in gmap pedometer and it's actually 5.23 miles(http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5191852. Their run is pretty similar to what I run in SM anyways. It was an out and back that is slightly uphill on the way out. On the way back, there was a group of about 5 of us. They were pushing the pace and I didn't want to drop off. We were probably doing under 7 min/mile pace for the long down hill portion of about a mile. Overall this was a pretty damn fast pace for me for a training run. It was a bit of a struggle to keep up, bit it was more fun that way than running by myself.

Zack - 6.5

51:07 (7:52)

Rexius loop at night easy.

Splits: 7:58, 8:02, 7:39.

Steve - 4.28

36:42 (8:34)

Had a test today that I think I aced. So it was nice to get out and do a run and let out some of that nervous energy.

Luke - 9

25' w/u, 3x(400, 200r, 300, 300r, 200, 400r, 300, 300r) + 1x400m, 15' c/d.

Went out for Swede Johnsons but I was hurting "the wrong way"* near the end so I cut it slightly short. Did three out of the four sets plus the ending 400. Goal paces were 70, 51, and 32. Actual splits:

69, 49, 32, 50

70, 51, 34, 50

69, 51, 33, 50

69

Pretty happy with the amount of speed, especially comparing to last time I did this workout. Even though I cut it short, I feel like I could have finished it at the same paces if I'd needed to. Racing a 5k on Thanksgiving and Zack and I are both hoping for big PRs.

*A big thing for runners to learn is the difference between good-hurt and bad-hurt. Bad-hurt is usually sharper pain often in a specific location, and good-hurt is closer to general soreness, but there is a large gray area so it takes a lot of experience to differentiate and make a judgment call as to whether or not you're hurting "right".

Zack - 5.25

40:52 (7:47)

Evening Amazon, long day after being the one to present at my research lab's group meeting. I realized after I was done that the total time of this run was exactly the same as the previous Monday.

Splits: 7:58, 7:53, 7:47, 7:44.

James - 2.7

27:32

Taking it a bit easier this week after last weeks total distance record. For some reason, Friends has always been on the TV whenever I've gotten to the treadmill lately, and I find myself watching it without sound or captions (and I don't normally like to watch TV when running, even in a boring gym).

Chris - 3

28:14 - 9:24 pace

I finally ran! And I am in terrible shape. And I got a side ache after like 4 minutes. Pretty pathetic. It feels like it's been forever since I posted so here's a couple reason why I haven't been able to run (besides being lazy). I was in Houston, Texas from Oct 26th-31st for my cousins wedding and spent time with some with a couple of my best friends as well. When I got back I got a stomach virus from Jeeni's family, and then caught a head cold after I got over the stomach bug. Last week Jeeni and I did go to 24 Hr Fitness and lifted weights for awhile. My chest is just now recovering from doing the bench, haha. I'd really like to start playing basketball on a regular basis soon, so I want to get back into somewhat decent running shape so I can last longer than 5 minutes on the basketball court.

Luke - 3.25

3.25mi, 31:45 (9:46)

Mile loops of 9:50 and 9:33, too early.

Zack - 9.5

79:25 (8:20)

Ran the first hour with Erin mostly through an industrial part of North Portland. Matilda (her dog) and I continued on and ran around Fernhill Park. This was super relaxed and easy.

Luke - 16

16mi, 1:58:52 (7:25)

Autumn Trails Run, 1st place.

Was going to do a long run with lots of trails/hills anyway, so when I heard Josh Gordon was going to do this as a long run I decided to join him.

We started at the bottom of Fox Hollow and did about a mile on the Rexius bark before heading up. I took it real easy to start, and there were about a dozen people in front of me (there were about 60 people in the race, some doing the 3.5-mile course, some doing 6, some doing 10, and the rest of us doing 16). I'd told Josh before the start that I'd be hitting the hill hard and then settling down because I always feel better when I do that (I learned this in August). Once the hill started I sped up and started passing people, getting into first a little before halfway up Fox Hollow. We took the back way to the start (crossing a stream) so I didn't get a traditional split, but I think it was about an 8-minute effort, which is fairly fast. After Fox Hollow we got on Ridgeline, and Josh and this other guy Mike caught up to me pretty quick. We settled into a good pace and pretty much ran the rest of the way together, me in front, then Josh, then Mike. We talked intermittently, none of us racing, but still kept up a nice pace. At about 45 minutes there was an aid station so we stopped for not quite a minute and had a gel and some water. After the aid station we were retracing our steps so we passed all the other people doing 16 miles; the first guy we passed was 3-4 minutes behind us.

About 9 miles in we took the turnoff for the butte, but instead of going to the very top like I usually do, we went around the back. This portion had some fairly steep downhills, and I knew we'd be coming back the same way. At the turnaround, though, there was another aid station and we stopped for some Gatorade. We headed back up and some of the steeper sections were a bit slow but we were all doing pretty well anyway. We once again saw the next guy as we came back; he was about 6 minutes behind us.

Once we got back to the trail I'm used to I picked it up a bit, as it was a fun downhill section and I of course know that trail really well. I put a bit of a gap on the other two for a couple minutes but they caught right up once we got back to Fox Hollow. At that point there was one trail loop left and then it was down Fox Hollow to the finish...my legs were feeling a bit tired but I kept leading. I'd told Josh I'd be bombing it down Fox Hollow because it's fun; he said he'd be running like an old man because it was a bit muddy and he wanted to be safe. I took off when we got there but I didn't put a ton of distance on him and Mike as I ran a 6:04...I think my legs were feeling the distance behind me a bit. From the bottom it was less than a quarter-mile to the finish, and I could actually hear Josh and Mike gaining on me. I was able to speed up and hold them off though, coming through about 7 seconds in front of Josh and 10 seconds in front of Mike. I'm not sure if the race people realized we'd run the whole way together on purpose, and just thought it was a close race. Our time was a few seconds over 2:00:00 (the time at the top of this post is the time I had on my watch--I stopped it when we stopped for gel and for Gatorade).

For winning I got a comped entry to the next trail race, in December, which I may or may not do, and since there were only 60 people in the race, across 4 distances, maybe 10 age groups, and both sexes, everyone got an age group medal. There was chili, pizza, and brownies there in addition to the bagels, bananas, Gatorade, and stuff like that that's always at races, but I just had pizza and Gatorade. And only one slice of pizza...I guess I don't feel like eating as much after 16 miles as I do after a 5k.

Went home and had a Sleigh'r in a hot shower...very nice.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 11/6-11/12

Luke - 66.25 (8)

Steve - 17.89 (4)

James - 14.4 (4)

98.54 miles in 16 runs by 3 runners.

James - 3.2

~32:30

Alison sat/stood on our balcony while I did my 5-lap apartment complex route. She was cheering me on and it was very exciting each time I saw her, but the cheering was dead silent because it was late and we live on the second floor. She said she could hear me coming way down the path and that maybe that means I am hitting the ground too hard (which I probably am).

Earlier in the day we read on the balcony and also played battleships. It is finally cold enough to be out there.

Luke - 6

6mi, 48:16 (8:02)

1.6-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 13:00. Took it really really easy.

Steve - 5.1

41:23 (8:07)

Only one decimal point. Eat your heart out Luke. This was one of my typical Saturday runs where I watch the first quarter of the Michigan game, pause it, and then go run. I always want just a little taste of the game before I run. It was a good run made better by the fact that they dominated Illinois. I heard this Illinois war chant like 40 times during the game and I kind of got addicted to it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJp1uB1RvlY&feature=feedlik

One of the many reasons the college football experience is better than the NFL experience are the bands. Most colleges have a war chant, not just the ones that have names related to American Indians. For instance, Michigan has this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VERrETp-beQ

This post may inspire some criticism from James about exploitation of American Indians, of which I am also cognizant of. On the scale of offensive nicknames, the Fighting Ilini are 1 out of 10. A 10 of course is the Washington Redskins (Can you imagine a team being called the Los Angeles Blackskins or the New York Whiteskins or Seattle Yellowskins?). The logo for the Cleveland Indians would also rank as a 10 out of 10.

Can anyone guess what Stanford's team name used to be before changing to the Stanford Cardinal? (yes, cardinal, as in the color)

Sorry if no one else found any of this interesting..

Steve - 4.89

42:18 (8:39)

Took off from work early cuz I'm cool like that and did a run before it got dark for once. I hate daylight "saving" time. It doesn't save anything. I guess it makes it easier to wake up in the morning in the winter but it sucks otherwise. I'm not a fan of the sun setting at 4:30 pm or whatever it is setting at now. Thanks a lot Benjamin Franklin. I will now burn a 100 dollar bill in your honor. /rant. My foot felt better today. I had acupuncture again yesterday and it seemed to actually help. So who wins tomorrow guys in the big game? Michigan or Illinois? Just kidding, I'm referring of course to Oregon and Stanford...

Luke - 13

Wanted a workout with some short fast stuff, so I made up a workout that would simulate the progression of a race:

26' w/u (WARMUP)

4x200m, 200r: 32, 32, 31, 32 (FAST START)

5mi ez (AEROBIC FATIGUE)

1600m, 400r: 5:23 (82, 82, 80, 78) (ANAEROBIC FATIGUE)

4x200m, 200r: 33, 33, 32, 32 (FAST FINISH)

19' c/d (COOLDOWN)

Was definitely dead-legged on the cooldown, but I was glad I was able to get some speed going after the five easy miles.

Afterward had a bunch of Indian food.

Luke - 6.5

6.5mi, 54:46 (8:25)

Rexius, easy, with Zack. Both of us were dragging ass trying to get out the door so it was good we had each other to keep us motivated. Once we were out there it was not nearly as bad as either of us were expecting. It was dark and foggy but the route wasn't so bad that we needed headlights...just all cool-looking.

James - 3.1

32:04

A fairly slow 5K to try and recover a bit before going for gold on Saturday.

James - 3.1

30:45

It's time for another edition of connecting running to radical and anti-capitalist politics!

The Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (phew) posted this blog post last week: The Tyranny of Comfort

In a lengthy tirade on the subject, Edward Abbey exhorted tourists to exit their vehicles and subject themselves to the wonderful discomfort of the desert (from Desert Solitaire):

“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs, look around; throw away those goddamned idiotic cameras! For chrissake folks what is this life if full of care we have no time to stand and stare? Take off your shoes for a while, unzip your fly, piss hearty, dig your toes in the hot sand, feel that raw and rugged earth, split a couple of big toenails, draw blood! Why not? Jesus Christ, lady, roll that window down! You can’t see the desert if you can’t smell it! Dusty! Of course it’s dusty – this is Utah! But it’s good dust, good red Utahn dust, rich in iron, rich in irony. Turn that motor off. Get out of that piece of iron and stretch your varicose veins, take off your brassiere and get some hot sun on your old wrinkled dugs… …Yes sir, yes madam, I entreat you, get out of those motorized wheelchairs, get off your foam rubber backsides, stand up straight like men! like women! like human beings! and walk — walk — WALK upon our sweet and blessed land!”

...
Marketers and consumers share the blame. Ubiquitous ads convince us how much more comfortable we’ll be when we own [insert your favorite overblown, overpriced product here]. And we consistently convince ourselves that we can satisfy our needs by purchasing evermore “comfortable crap.” It’s as if the purpose of the economy is to make sure we’re comfortable.

Comfort is ruining the planet! Run into pain, feel the wind in your face, and enjoy the heightened pleasure later!

Luke - 8

8mi, 75:02 (9:22)

Ribbon Trail to Relentless Hills. Craaaaaaaaazy beautiful sunset (though that did mean it was getting dark for the second half of the run). I took my Garmin and I don't think it quite works as well in the trees...here's the route it plotted for me; I guess it didn't have quite enough time to sync with the satellites at the beginning of the run because it was about a half-block off for the first half (I didn't run through all those houses)...and then the rest of the run the lines are way too smooth...it missed a lot of zigzags when I was in the trees. Pretty sure my pace wasn't 10:30 (even though it was pretty slow...tired, tons of hills).

Despite not working on trails so much I think the GPS will be nice to have for finding new routes on the roads, and when I'm travelling.

Steve - 3.8

33:54 (8:55)

Distance was probably a bit longer but I'm being conservative. I should probably make note of my route more carefully or at least record my run the day after instead of 3 days later. When I'm trying to decipher it on google maps pedometer 3 days later, it's tough to be exact. Or I could "sell out" like Luke and get a Garmin wrist watch so I can complain about local races being 3.14 miles and messing up what would have been a PR for sure. /my favorite rant

Luke - 9.25

22' w/u; 5x1000m, 200r: 3:28, 3:19, 3:17, 3:21, 3:18; 27' c/d.

Headed to the bark loop for these, and was joined by a couple other fast guys. It was dark, of course, but not too cold. We were shooting for 3:22-3:25...the first one I followed and we ended up pretty slow; the second one I pushed the pace a bit and we ended up going that pace for the rest of them. Felt good to go pretty fast...it's so much easier with company.

James - 5

47:02

Beat my previous distance record by a whole mile.

The last two miles I was in a drug-like daze, with tunnel vision. Trying to do work this evening I have just wanted to go lie down. The physical devastation is very exciting.

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 33:10 (7:48)

Mile loops of 8:22, 8:09, and 6:17. The other day I spent a bunch of money on running stuff: got a pair of shoes and two pairs of shorts for super-cheap, and bought a really expensive toy: a GPS watch. The package came today so I threw on the Garmin and headed out real quick for a run, without setting up anything custom. Here's the result...apparently it's slightly shorter than we have been calling it, but I'm still gonna keep calling it four and a quarter. I'm excited to do some more adventurous runs with the Garmin, it's fun to geek out on information for a run.

Luke - 3.25

3.25mi, 32:22 (9:57)

Mile loops of 9:56 and 9:36, so early. It's amazing this is the fastest I can go at 4am, when I'd have a real tough time getting myself to go that slow on an afternoon run.

Steve - 4.1

Unofficial time of 20:45 in pouring rain through puddles. Mustache pics. now live!

----------

So it was my first 5k race in several months. Naturally, when I woke up the morning of the race it was pouring rain. A rare occurrence for L.A. My wife made a meek effort to persuade me to not do the race, but we had already paid in advance and I was determined to run on this day. I figured there was a chance it wouldn't be raining at the USC campus, which is about 15 miles from my house. Of course, when we arrived there on campus it was raining just as hard. Undeterred, after parking, we jogged over the pre-reg tent as everyone around merely walked in the rain. The 25 minutes or so before the race pretty much sucked as I was trying to do some drills and strides while most people huddled in the areas that were covered. Finally about 2 minutes before the race was supposed to start, people started assembling at the start. By this time I was completely soaked. For some unknown reason they kept us standing there for another 10 minutes or so for various speeches and of course an extremely slow rendition of the national anthem in which I refused to take my hat off. Call me a traitor to my county, I don't care.

At last the race started. We started right by the Tommy Trojan statue. . We ran along the sidewalk through campus for most of the first mile, twisting and turning through puddles gallore. I really had no idea what my pace was in the first mile during it. I was mostly just trying to not step directly into puddles without slowing down too much. The first split was 6:37 and there was probably about 15 people ahead of me. I actually felt surprisingly good as we finally made our way onto the streets. However the same problem with puddles exists. As some of may know, L.A.'s street system is not designed to drain water so there tends to be puddles everywhere. It's always a disaster when there is persistent rain. I still didn't have a good feeling for my pace during the second mile. I passed a few people, which doesn't mean much cuz people always go out too fast in the first mile. I hit the second mile at 6:43, a slight drop off, but still pretty good. Now within striking distance, I had to remind myself not to let down. I picked off a few runners, although a few different runners blew past me. The final mile consisted of a bunch of dizzying turns on the walkway around the campus, not exactly optimal for speed, especially considering the puddles everywhere. At last, I hit the 3rd mile at 6:48 and picked it up slightly to close the final .1 in a decent :37 for a final unofficial time of 20:45. I was pretty happy to be under 21. I really had no idea what I would be capable of after averaging about 10-12 miles the last 5 weeks or so. Oh also, I grew a mustache during the first week of November, partially for "Movember" and partially as a half-ass costume to work for Halloween. I wore a Google T-Shirt and I had a mustache. So my costume was a "douche", since I work for a quasi-competitor to Google.

Splits (6:37, 6:43, 6:48, :37)

Luke - 16

16mi, 2:00:18 (7:31)

Zack and I drove up to the Fox Hollow parking lot and met five other runners for a long run. It was very hilly, but we did really well. Last couple miles were in the 6:15 range or so.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 10/30-11/5

Luke - 51 (7)

Steve - 13.38 (3)

James - 9.7 (3)

74.08 miles in 13 runs by 3 runners.

Luke - 8

8mi, 70:15 (8:46)

With Zack, drove up to the Blanton trailhead of Ridgeline and ran to Fox Hollow Road and back. Took it real easy. Cold and rainy, but fun.

James - 3.1

28:43

I was going to do a 5K tomorrow, but decided against it. My training was really interrupted by injury, money isn't exactly growing on trees right now, and mainly because I had a ticket to see ska-funk-soul-punk L.A. legends FISHBONE tonight. I'm guessing at least Steve knows them. If you're not familiar, this is one their less eclectic songs (ska-punk mainly) but it gives an idea of their vibrant live shows.



One of the best gigs I've been to in ages.

I was doing a lot of stretching between bands after todays run and all my new paranoia about stretching.

I hope I made the right decision, as originally I was excited that the race was November 5th -- what with V for Vendetta being one of Luke's favourite films and me being of the opinion that I can channel his powers if I just follow the right procedures.

Luke - 6.4

6.4mi, 50:16 (7:51)

1.6-mile loop of Pre's in 12:40, with Zack. Took it real easy because my hamstring is still pretty tight, but I think I should be all right in a couple days. There's a 16-miler planned for Sunday but I'll see how I feel tomorrow before I decide whether or not to do it.

Steve - 0

65:13

Ran 10 miles at slow pace in P.M. over flat course 10 - 15° with 20-35 mph winds = 30 below wind chill = fun!!

Luke - 1

9 minutes or so.

Took Wednesday completely off because my left hamstring was still pretty tight. Went out for an easy run but considered not even going when I took my first step and got pain. Went real slow to see if it would get better and it never really did so I turned around at about a half mile. It feels a bit better when I run on my heel rather than my toes like I usually do, but I don't want to let it change my form so I'm gonna take it real easy and be cautious.

James - 3.5

33:08

I had my first massage the day before this. It was a discount for 30 minutes. Felt pretty good after, though not sure if it's something I'd want to do much/again. Guy had some advice, said I should stretch more after the run than before, and sleep with a pillow under my knees to prevent back pain (though I normally sleep on my front, I've been trying it). And do quick stretches every morning and night. Guys?

Steve - 4

34:09 (8:32)

Went back to Caltech to run with my old group. A lot of people don't come out anymore so it was a bit disappointing. My legs are still beatup, so I just did an easy run.

Steve - 4.28

37:39

Usual run in my neighborhood.

Luke - 3.75

The plan was a 5-mile tempo on the bark loop at 6:00/mi pace. Jogged to the trail and waited a few minutes for the people I'd be running with, then warmed up two 1k loops and one mile loop with them. Started off and felt pretty good, just let them go at it and hung right behind them. Came through 1200m on pace, then about 200m later my left hamstring got real tight and I had to stop. I tried walking around and stretching it a bunch, but it was still super tight when they came through at the end of their second lap, so I just walked home from there.

I'm guessing it was a combination of things that caused it: it has gotten a lot colder in the last week or so, I've been running a lot of miles, and there were no good bananas when I went to the store so I've had like three in the past week (I usually have three a day) so I might be low on potassium.

James - 3.1

~30:00

Trail. Thought a running guy and a woman on a bike were behind me for the last half mile, so pushed it and refused to look back. When I finally finished it transpired that they must have turned off right when I thought they were there.

Saw that segways are the only form of motorised transport allowed on the trail. A few days ago we watched a film about friendly, skinny, soft-spoken west coast guys going west to east across the U.S. in an unusual fashion (on segways, but does the rest remind you of anybody?). The film made me want to do something like walk (or er, segway) down our 47-mile trail, but since you aren't allowed there after dark I need to work on the idea.

Luke - 13

13mi, 1:46:41 (8:12)

Ran over to Relentless Hills, did the loop plus one extra offshoot, then took Ribbon Trail to the backside of Hendricks, got on the roads, hopped the railroad tracks onto the bike path, crossed the river to Pre's Trail, and came home pretty much the usual way. It was dark by about the time I started Ribbon Trail, so I had to slow it down in some darker places. Most of the run was pretty good, except my stomach bothered me a few times. Distance is an estimate.

Luke - 5.25

5.25mi, 49:10 (9:21)

Mile loops of 9:22, 9:03, 9:14, and 9:26. Runs this early suck...this was harder than yesterday's run.

Luke - 13.6

13.6mi, 1:56:17 (8:33)

The Butte, with Zack. Took it fairly easy, felt good. It was pretty rainy to start out and then was just sprinkling by the end. A lot of the trail was covered in leaves, which I love running on, and everything being wet made it a lot of fun.

Splits: 12:26, 13:46, 9:21, 7:38, 8:44, 3:54, 3:39 (60:31) / 4:26, 3:15, 6:46, 6:39, 8:07, 14:35, 11:54.

Steve - 5.1

43:03 (8:36)

Waited til about 5pm to do this run. My leg is still pretty beat up. Doing that little bit of speedwork last week really set me back. My right calf is really tight. It actually felt OK during the run, but now a day a later it's tight again. I'm going to acupuncture tomorrow for the first time. I'm hoping to get some good pain relief for my foot since my heel has hurt ever since I started walking after my surgery.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 10/23-10/29

Luke - 91.3 (11)

Zack - 60.6 (7)

Steve - 15.6147 (4)

James - 8.45 (3)

Chris - 3 (1)

178.9647 miles in 26 runs by 5 runners.

James - 2.2

23:16

Alison and I went to the same store that caused that huge panic last week. I said I'd run around it while she went in to get the one thing she wanted. I didn't want a long run, we didn't have much time, and I just wanted to get one in. I also ran around her some as she was walking to/from the store. Anyway, she has me run around that thing FIFTEEN times and I am knackered. Nearly lost her again on the way home.

Zack - 6.3

61 min (9:40)

Pre's with my lady Erin and her pup Matilda. She wasn't feeling great and hence running slow for her, so this was super easy. However, I really enjoyed the beautiful evening fall scenery around the trails. We also let Matilda take a swim in the creek and threw the stick for her to fetch. This is her favorite thing in the world, so it is great to see.

Luke - 5.5

5.5mi, 43:46 (7:57)

1.4-mile loop of Pre's in 11:24. Started out real slow, but the last two miles I was pretty springy.

Luke - 9.7

9.7mi, 1:21:53 (8:26)

Took the Ribbon Trail to Relentless Hills, after coming off The Wall took a different trail than usual. Found a very lightly-used trail and hacked my way through, til I came to a road. Took that road up the back side of Hendricks Park, took the Ribbon Trail again, and came home from there. Took it pretty easy most of the way, and I felt good. Just a fun little run tromping through the woods.

Luke - 8.3

8.3mi, 67:02 (8:04)

Fox Hollow with Zack. 8:28 up, 8:26 down. It was really dark so we wore headlights the whole time (hence the slow descent). Felt pretty good the whole way until a mile or two left, when my stomach started hurting. Zack's went out too just a little ways from home so we walked the last bit.

Steve - 2.1359

17:13

Crappy run on a Friday night. Ran for the second day in a row but my whole right leg was hurting so I cut it short.

Zack - 8.3

67:45

Fox Hollow with Luke using a flashlight to navigate the trails. Felt exhausted from the solid week of training and then succumbed to stomach troubles the last part of the run. These days happen once in a while, especially during solid training blocks.

Luke - 6

6mi, 48:17 (8:02)

1.6-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 12:41, right when I woke up...at 11:15am.

Luke - 9.25

23' w/u

1600m on the track in 5:22 (74, 82, 81, 84)

1:45 jog from the track to the bark loop

1 Mile on bark in 5:14

1:56 jog from the bark loop to the track

1600m on the track in 5:02 (77, 74, 76, 73)

25' c/d

Worked out with a bunch of people, which is so much better than alone. Josh Gordon was there doing the same times as me (my plan was 5:20/5:20/5:00) so on the track ones we alternated leading laps (the first one he led laps 1 and 3 and the the last one I led those laps). On the first one he went out a bit fast and then we overcompensated a little on the remainder. The one on the bark was pretty even I think, I didn't take splits but I looked at my watch at the quarters and I think we did something like 81, 78, 78, 77 or so. The rest between the second and last one seemed really short, so I struggled a bit just at the beginning of it. On the last lap, Josh was leading and I wanted to go slightly faster than we were moving, so on the backstretch I pulled up almost next to him, and he sped up like I'd wanted...but then of course I couldn't hang. I still don't have much speed, so these interval workouts are good to be doing. Anyway he pulled away a bit over the last 200m...I was able to keep my speed going for the whole thing so he ended up about a second in front of me and pulled me along to a nice time.

After a cooldown with a half-dozen other people, Zack and I went home and watched the second half of game 6 of the World Series (a CRAZY game) and had pizza and beer.

Zack - 10.25

75:32 (7:22)

22 minute warmup, 3 x 1 mi (5:48, 5:41, 5:35) w/ 2:00 rest alternating track and bark with some friends and the Eugene Running Company's Thursday night group.

Ran nearly all of the workout with Renee (a top female runner in the area) and we stayed together for about 2.5 of these miles. It was great having company. Long 32 minute cool down where I was still feeling really springy despite the solid miles thrown in there. This workout is a sign of progress, but I must stay after it!

Steve - 4.7663

39:17 (8:14)

Ran through Santa Monica in the dark carrying my iPhone in my hand as I'm still watchless. Running with it in my pocket is too annoying so I decided to just carry it. 4 decimal points, just for you Luke.

Zack - 4.25

32:46 (7:42)

Recovery loops on Amazon at night. Splits: 7:52, 7:44, 7:36.

James - 3.15

~28:00

After reading some of you lots posts about beautiful places recently, I realised I hadn't run on my beloved trail in some time. I've been using the gym and the apartment complex but an injection of life is needed! Especially since it's starting to cool down. I checked and my last confirmed post about the trail was 2.5 months ago, but even if it isn't that long it's been at least 1.5 months.

I also haven't been running in the day much, so this was nice. Some slow spots but also some hard-pushed speed. This is a very satisfying outdoor time for a 5K.

Luke - 10.75

10.75mi, 84:03 (7:49)

1.6-mile loop in 12:15, 1.4-mile loop in 10:58, 10:47, and 11:15.

I don't know if anyone else will find this funny, but: I came upon a couple on the side of the trail standing there talking, and all I caught as I ran past was the man saying to the woman, as serious as can be, "Yeah, well guess what, Raven, we're supposed to be looking out for each other, not picking on each other."

Luke - 4.25

4.25mi, 36:51 (8:40)

Mile loops of 8:51, 8:27, and 8:30. 3:45am, 31º.

Steve - 4.3125

38:02

Ran at the track with my friend in Santa Monica. He was doing a workout of 3 mile repeats at 6:25/mile pace before his marathon in early November. I decided I would run a few random 400s with him at this pace when he caught up to me running my slowish ~8:00/mile pace. I warmed up about a mile and then ran a 400 at 1:35. Foot felt ok. Ended up doing two more 400m jaunts with him. Foot held up, although I still feel some pain in there but seems like I can do a little bit of speedwork. I'm going to run a Halloween 5k this weekend...

10:18 1800m
1:35 400m
6:11 1200m
1:38 400m
7:53 1600m
1:30 400m
8:56 1100m
6900 m

Luke - 8

8mi, 56:34 (7:04)

2mi w/u (16:28), 4mi tempo (24:44), 2mi c/d (15:21). Same route as last week, but a little further. Splits: 1:40, 97 (downhill), 93 (uphill), 91, 92, 93, 92, 93, 90, 90, 89, 91, 92, 89 (downhill), 94 (uphill), 91. A little faster and a little longer than last week, and felt better. Was a bit colder than I expected--gotta start wearing gloves again.

Zack - 8

62:50 (7:51)
Rexius Trail (7:55, 8:08, 7:42), 1 extra lap on the Adidas Trail (7:46) and another half-mile in the dark and cold for a nice solid hour. This was mentally a bit tough, but I got the miles in.

James - 3.1

~32:00

A post-drinking run that went okay. I was unfairly struck by the Voice of Golgothan but persevered (we've been watching a bit of Kevin Smith lately).

Luke - 8.3

8.3mi, 68:34 (8:15)

1.4-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 11:13, with Zack, then 1.6-mile loop in 13:25. Had to take it a bit slow in some parts near the end because it was so dark.

Chris - 3

27:14 - 9:04 pace

Lunch run with Jeeni. We went to Seattle this past weekend and had a blast. She introduced me to a couple of her really good friends and showed me around. Went to Pike Place Market, rode to the top of the Space Needle, had a couple great meals, saw the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, and walked around on the SPU campus. She played her first ever drinking game (flip cup) with me on Saturday night also! Luke and Zack, I told her we should all play beer pong when we come to Eugene to visit.

Zack - 5.5

43:28 (7:54)

Pre's Trail in the evening with Luke. Tired feet but managed okay. Stretched afterwards and tried to get a solid night sleep to speed up recovery time from yesterday's massive effort.

Luke - 3.25

3.25mi, 30:25 (9:21)

Mile loops of 9:15 and 9:05, on the bark, with a headlight, at 3:30 in the morning.

Luke - 18

18mi, 2:08:45 (7:09)

67:45 out, 61:00 back

Went out to Springfield to run on a logging road with Zack and a bunch of fast people. There were 9 of us heading out together, plus two more who went a bit slower and a bit shorter. The first couple miles were reasonable, just over 8 and just under 8, and then we settled into 7:30s and a bit under by the turnaround. On the way back we sped up more, and the overall pace for the last 9 miles was about 6:45. I was struggling slightly the last third of the run, and especially the last mile or so, but didn't really fall off much.

It was great to get out there with such good runners, I think I was only faster than two guys (including Zack) and the one girl (who turned around at 7½). I had a gel at about 45 minutes in, and some Gatorade at about 45 minutes left. One of the guys brought his dog, who not only was fine for 18 miles at 7:09 pace, but also had a saddlebag pack with water, Gatorade, and some gels and stuff.

Afterward I was toast. That's the longest run I've done in I don't know how long, and at a very good pace even. I was really impressed with Zack, who also kept up with everyone the whole way. Post-run we had some great organic chocolate milk, and I had a giant ham sandwich for the protein. Then had a beer in the shower, which felt nice (although I really think we need to install a hot tub in the living room). I feel like I'll be pretty sore and tired all of today, and tomorrow morning's run will be slow, but I don't think I'll be out of it for any more than a day.

Steve - 4.4

44:36

Slowish run.

Zack - 18

2:08:51 (7:09)

With large group on Weyerhauser Rd. Out in 67:45, back in 61:06!! Legs tight the last 30 min but really really solid run. Here is a Garmin file from one of the guys (Tim) running to show the splits: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/123826733. As you can see, we were blazing pretty much throughout!

* Tim had his turnaround a little short for a pit-stop and then caught up, hence the 17.6 miles.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 10/16-10/22

Luke - 68.5 (9)

Zack - 51.2 (7)

Steve - 10.3 (2)

James - 8.7 (4)

Chris - 8.7 (3)

147.4 miles in 25 runs by 5 runners.

James - 2.2

20:57

Again not much distance but the first half in particular I was minutes ahead of my usual speed. For the first time in ages I felt cold air in my lungs, and all it took was running at 1am in late October because we were at a horror film festival all day.

In my last entry I shared something reflecting a philosophy of running. Well here is something about how running can effect philosophy!

5 Tips for Good Writing (Judy Reeves): Start with Eating Right:

1. Eat Healthfully. Give your body what it really wants so it can support you. You may think it wants caffeine, sugar, or alcohol, but it really wants broccoli and spinach. Eat healthfully for stamina, good health, and the sensory experience of it. (Notice your carrots when you eat them, their color and crunch. Smell that onion; look closely at its layers and textures.) Eat several small meals throughout the day; begin with a good breakfast.

2. Be Physical. Remember when your mother warned you about making faces (“your face could freeze that way”)? If you’re sitting at your desk all hours of the day and night, your whole body could petrify that way. Move it — stretch, exercise, work out. Breathe. It roils the blood and feeds the brain. When you walk, run, bicycle, or swim, you’re in touch with the earth (unless you do it in a gym, and in that case, get outside). Do it alone so you can pay attention to your body and notice your environment as you glide along.

3. Laugh Out Loud. ...
4. Read. ...
5. Cross-Fertilize. ...

Running has so many more uses than at first appears evident.

Luke - 10.5

10.5mi, 94:19 (8:58)

Double-looped Relentless Hills. Great weather, great views, tough run.

Zack - 6.4

47:31 (7:25)

Pre's Trail easy before watching the UO-Colorado game (blowout). Gorgeous fall weather and lots of sun, felt tired on the last mile.

Chris - 2.7

25:01 - 9:15 pace

Ran with Jeeni during lunch today. She hasn't run in awhile due to volleyball and life, so we kept the pace nice and easy.

Luke - 8.75

8.75mi, 70:17 (8:01)

Fox Hollow with Zack. 8:19 up, 7:56 down. Felt quite good after.

Zack - 8.75

70:16 (8:02)

Fox Hollow with Luke in the evening. Nice uphill in 8:23, down conservatively in 7:53 as darkness started to encroach. We then relaxed on the way back.

Steve 4.3

37:30 (8:43)

Time is somewhat approximate as I still can't find my watch. I started the clock on my phone when I left the house and walked down the stairs and did the lunge matrix that I now do before all runs. In my head I counted how many seconds before I started. I did the same after I finished.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5161890

Luke - 6

6mi, 45:40 (7:36)

1.6-mile loop of Pre's Trail in 12:14. Was pretty slow to start out, and my plantar fasciitis was hurting a bit, but felt great by the end.

Luke - 5

24' w/u; 4x400m, 200r: 75, 78, 75, 75; 6' c/d.

Was hoping to do 8x400 at about 70, but instead everything was bad. I'd worked 4-4, and was dead tired when I got home, so I took a too-short nap and got up at 7:15, by which time it was dark out. Went to the bark loop where I usually warm up, and the lights were off, so I had to warm up on the track instead. It was dark, I was by myself, and my legs had no pop, so I did the four of them and then I was feeling dizzy so I headed home.

Glad I at least did a little bit of speed, as it has been a while and I want to start doing at least one interval workout every week. Zack and I are now on a group on Facebook for Eugene-area runners, where people share the workouts they're gonna do so people can join in. I think it will be a great way to get some really good workouts in, as a lot of the people in the group are faster than me (see Zack's post below).

James - 2

18:28

I was trying to do a fast 5K due to time restrictions but my shoe came undone.

I present here something to think about on those difficult runs. From the book How To Be Free and the chapter Disarm Pain:

"Nietzsche was of the opinion that the rejection of pain is a rejection of life . . . I recently decided that, instead of avoiding hardship and pushing it away with central heating and air-conditioning, it might be sensible to embrace it. Yes, that might sound like a strange idea coming from the pen of an idler, but could embracing hardship be the path to freedom? For example, I recently considered buying a draughty old Land Rover to replace my old, luxury American van, partly because, in the Land Rover, you are better exposed to the elements. This is not to deny the pleasures of the log fire; indeed, the pleasures of the log fire are all the more intense when you have been out in the snow to chop up the logs for it. This is a pleasure that those with underfloor heating cannot experience. This is what the medievals enjoyed -- the harsh contrast between hardship and pleasure. The fire is all the cosier when you've been for a long walk in the cold.

Or for a long run. What runner can't relate to this pain/pleasure satisfaction?

Zack - 5.5

42:09 (7:39)

Amazon to 32nd Ave and uphill, eventually to campus via 24th/Agate and home in the dark. Super tired and had really dry eyes which bothered my contacts.

Zack - 8.5

4 x 1000 m workout w/ 60 s rest on Adidas Trail

Warmup 13 min, splits: 3:25, 3:28, 3:29, 3:29, cooldown 29 min.

Had plenty of company on this evening run which made it really enjoyable. Ran the 1k's with Josh (~15 min 5k) and Steve (~14 min 5k). Of course with these guys, they were only doing cruise intervals whereas I was a few seconds off the back running intervals! I ran my cool down with Josh's fiance Renee and another dude Jeff.

Chris - 3

24:25 - 8:08 pace

Felt in a lot better shape today and my pace reflected it!

Luke - 6.5

6.5mi, 47:37 (7:19)

Long loop of Pre's, then took the trail around the pond to finish. Then had DoughCooooooooooooooooo

Luke - 6.1

6.1mi, 56:41 (9:17)

29:16 out, 27:24 back. Got up at a quarter after three in the morning, so that's why it's so slow. Wanna get used to doubling 3-5 times a week, so I gotta get up stupid early, when my legs no worky.

James - 1.4

An unplanned run. Alison and I decided to go somewhere. It was after dark. She thought we were walking, I thought we were driving. She went on ahead of me as I did something in the flat, while I waited at the car, thinking she'd have been there first. And after looking around a bit, panicked. And ran all the way to our destination and back and around the complex and was ON THE EDGE. Somehow we missed one another until I was about ready to call the police (and I would do almost anything to avoid doing that). Turns out she walked all the way there and back too, but couldn't get what we went for because I had the money. And phone and keys for that matter. We think we might have been in the (small) store at the same time and just had terrible bad luck.

I wasn't dressed well for running, but in terms of speed, panic works.

Steve - 6

58

Pretty slow but long. Oh yeh.

Zack - 7.8

59:05 (7:34)
Another AM run (6:45 AM and 37F). Both loops of Pre's Trail, beautiful scenery with fog hovering over the Willamette River.

Luke - 7

7mi, 50:15 (7:10)

Two miles warmup (16:10), three miles tempo (18:42), and two miles cooldown (15:23). Ran on the bike path (quarter-mile markers) and planned on running the first two quarters at 100 and 95, then the rest 90s...actual splits were 99, 95 (slightly downhill), 97 (uphill), 92, 91, 93 (9:30 at the turnaround), 88, 94, 91, 86 (downhill), 96 (slightly uphill), 94 (9:12). Felt like I was going harder than tempo while I was running it, but I should really be able to do better than 6:15 pace for a 3-mile tempo considering my race paces. Probably just a bit rusty.

Zack - 3.9

30:14 (7:45)

Ran out on Amazon bike path at 6:45AM to Rexius and back on the bark easy.

James - 3.1

~34:00

Beach wedding yesterday. Free booze. Took advantage of it.
I feel alright today but I expect to feel the difference during the run. On the other hand, my back, dare I say it, feels entirely better. I did not feel spectacular but normalcy was pretty exciting.

Until.

Lap 5 of 5. I need to cough up because of my mild illness. It turns into a mini-vomit. I stop briefly. Then - and I am hesitant to admit this - I started to go faster, and it was manageable. Then I decided to do a fast last lap. I am speeding up and up. The pain does not control me. This is what it used to be like. I am president of this! That first haircut since July really helped! I AM BACK! THE HEAD-ON WIND SERVES ONLY TO COOL ME, I AM FEARLESS. COME ON FUCKER, YEAH! I can't wait to see how fast this last lap is it's going to be a scorcher...

Somewhere around minute 32 the stopwatch must have gotten reset.

Luke - 8.3

8.3mi, 65:04 (7:50)

Both sides of Pre's, plus a little extra. Felt pretty good the whole way. Beautiful sunset.

Chris - 3

25:26 - 8:28 pace

Another lunch run, but this time it was sunny! I still kept on my dri-fit long sleeve the whole time, but it was pretty much perfect out. My left hamstring is really bugging me, it's pretty irritating. I'm wondering if some light weight lifting or wall sits would help strengthen it back to normal more than just running on it would, since just running doesn't seem to be helping much.

Zack - 10.35

1:22:22 (7:57)
Fox Hollow + 1.6 mi upper loop w/ Luke.
Splits: 9:24 up, 13:52 loop, 7:14 down. Rexius: 7:23, 5:39 (0.75 mi).

Luke - 10.35

10.35mi, 81:41 (7:53)

Fox Hollow plus the 1.6-mile loop at the top, with Zack. 8:43 up, 7:16 down. The whole run felt pretty tough, but it was really just what I needed.

Weekly Mileage Totals, 10/9-10/15

Luke - 42.75 (6)

Steve - 13.32 (3)

James - 9 (3)

Chris - 6.47 (2)

71.54 miles in 14 runs by 4 runners.

Luke - 6.5

6.5mi, 52:17 (8:02)

Rexius, took it real easy. Came back and finished up making chili and cornbread and watched a fun Ducks game.

James - 3.1

30:50

On top of everything else I started to catch a cold from Alison yesterday, so I ran to try and head it off. I was sweating an unusual amount so hopefully that was a good sign.

I also had my first energy gel. We finally found some a few weeks ago after looking and failing for ages (then of course saw them in like 2 other places), but I wanted to be in better shape so I could more accurately see how they felt. It was a banana Hammer one. It tasted okay, and I am sure it helped with me feeling run down. Squeezing mush out of a metallic tube whilst running was hard not too easy though. Do you guys normally eat them when you're taking a rest?

Steve - 5.14

44

My watch is currently MIA but I think this run was about 44. Ran around my neighborhood and did two loops on the short dirt path that goes down to the beach.

Luke - 8

8mi, 56:41 (7:05)

Zack's girlfriend picked us up at PDX and we went to dinner at an Irish Pub called County Cork. They were out of like five beers on their taplist, but the food was good and filling. I got dropped off at my friend Patrick's house and talked with him and his wife about my trip and stuff before going to bed. I woke up kinda early, I guess from jetlag, but was able to go back to bed for another hour or two. Zack picked me up a little after 11 and we drove to Forest Park. We took Zack's girlfriend's dog Matilda. We stayed on the Leif Erikson Trail, which is the main path, more well-maintained than the fun little offshoots of single-track, and also more gradual of uphill. There are quarter-mile markers, so we turned around at four miles (31:18). We sped up a bit on the way back, and then at a mile to go I picked it up even more. Zack stayed back to give Matilda a break, but we kept on talking as I pulled away and Zack said something about Matilda being able to beat me and I said "Suuuuuure" sarcastically even though of course she could, she's a dog...so Zack told her to catch me. I of course sped up and tried to race the dog; she stayed right behind me or even with me the whole time so I of course told Zack that she wasn't quite strong enough to pass me. My last mile was 5:03; my first quarter I was still accelerating so it was 80, then I went 75, 77, 74. That doesn't quite add up to 5:03 so I don't know exactly my splits or time. Anyway it was a nice downhill so it was faster than normal and also a lot of fun. Zack was maybe a minute behind, a nice little 6-minute mile at the end of an 8-miler. Also at the end of a great vacation.

THE END