Getting back to Boston

Tough 10-miler tonight. Not in terms of pace, but the legs just did not want to respond.  Really didn't get going until I accelerated to 8:30 pace for the last three miles. Ran home from work for the first mile (legs dead then, too), changed clothes and did a couple of errands, then ran 6 slow on the DM, then accelerated for the last 3.

Decided I'm gonna run the 5K Saturday, which means taper time after tonight. Legs are gonna need the break.

Seven easy tonight. Legs felt much better than last night or Monday. Still took me about 4 miles to really get going, though. Now a mini-taper for the 5K on Saturday. it would be nice to run a really good race; I kinda need a confidence booster right now, as I feel like I'm spinning my wheels to some extent.

Good progression run tonight, shortened due to mini-taper but still a good hard run. Went to the River Trail, where despite the unusually cool late summer weather, it was still around 80 and quite humid. The plan was to warm up with 2 miles, run back to the start at GMP or faster, and then warm down with another 2-mile jog. Went pretty well, except for the sweat blinding me. Warmed up, stopped for a stretch break, then took off at what turned out to be almost 10K pace for the two-mile return run. Ended up averaging about 7:32 for the two miles, then jogged out the 6, went and paid the power bill downtown, then went to McD for some high-calorie sustenance. Plan to do a slow jog tomorrow, either AM or PM, of about 4, then show up for the 5K on Saturday ready to go sub-22 (I may be kidding myself on that one, but we'll see how it goes).

Easy 4 tonight on the DM just to knock the kinks out before tomorrow's Clear Mountain 5K. The race is officially the Arkansas 5K state championship, not that I'm in competition for any of that. But it's a flat course, it's a course I know well, and I feel like I'm going to have a good race. Particularly if the weather cooperates (rain in the forecast). I'm also happy because Tyler is home from school for the first time, and he's in a really good mood, which is a lot different than what I've been hearing on the phone for the past 2.5 weeks. I think the adjustment is happening now. Unfortunately, Pam is coming down with a cold or flu or something, so I'm gonna have to keep my distance.

Awakened to the sound of my wife coughing, not a great start t the morning. Got to the course in plenty of time, got my bib and shirt, and started warming up. Left thigh did not want to loosen, even after a jog and a stretch. So I jogged some more, stretched some more, and ran some high-knee-lift stuff, and it finally came around right before the start.

Lined up a little farther back than I had planned (non-chip race). Wasn't that I got to the line so much slower -- it only took 4 seconds to cross the line -- but there were a lot of slower people lined up in front of me that I had to get around. It took 400-500 yards before I could run at the pace I wanted without traffic issues. Got to the first mile mark in 7:11, which is kinda what I had in mind -- low 7s early, try to save a little bit of energy and kick it home on the River Trail. Second mile was tough mentally. It was humid this morning, which always bothers me, and Riverfront just seemed to stretch on and on and on. But the second mile was also 7:11. I'm thinking, OK, I'm in business. Tried to make myself run faster even though the legs didn't want to speed up.

Third mile, turn off Riverfront, about 100 yards on Pike, then onto RT. I've run that stretch of RT probably 75-100 times, and I always try to push it, at least a little, once I get to the rail bridge. No different this time, even though the pain level was quite a bit higher than usual. Plus there was the incentive of people in range to be passed. I tried to pick off as many as I could. Third mile, according to the Garmin: 6:51. Got to the line and the timer just clicked past 22:00. With the 4-second delay in getting off the start, I'm giving myself an unofficial 21:57 -- PR by 23 seconds. We'll see what the official time is later in the day. But I'm proud of this run, because the PR didn't come from fitness, it came from mental discipline -- making myself run faster when I wanted to run slower. The kind of mental discipline I may need at mile 24 in Memphis to get that BQ time.

Official time: 22:01.80. Subtract my four seconds before the line (4.29 according to the Garmin) and it's 21:57.51. Seventh in age group, 66th overall men.

Spent the day packing, then decided to go run tonight. Had planned to do 8 or 9, but legs felt good and I only did 48 last week, so I kept going. Eventually decided to run for exactly two hours, progression style, and see how far I got. Ended up at 13.25 before I had to pull the panic switch to stop (control panel shorted out again; 10 miles seem to be the tipping point where my flying sweat does that). Ran the last 1.25 at GMP-plus. Legs felt surprisingly good for as hard as I ran in the 5K yesterday. Hope to take advantage of the holiday for another good run tomorrow, perhaps after Tyler leaves to go back to school.

It's been a good weekend -- good time with my son, enjoyed the ball game, two good runs, got a lot accomplished on the house. And an added bonus: After lunch with my parents today, we went over to a coworker of Pam's house who was offering us boxes from her recently completed move. There were plenty of those, but there was another offering -- an essentially unused treadmill, complete with incline feature, free. Somebody gave it to her, she's not going to use it and it's taking up space, and she offered it to me. I would have turned it down a month ago because I would have had no place to put it, but in the house in Springdale, I will have a place to put it. And I can use it

 Easy 7 tonight on the treadmill. Legs a little stiff after Saturday's 5K and last night's 13, but loosened up OK as the run went on.

Pam and I had a long talk this afternoon and I think I understand some things better, about her, about myself and about us. Which should make my life better, and maybe even my running due to improved mental outlook. Let's hope that comes to pass, particularly the life part.

AFter five days off for the flu, and packing and a few other things, got back on the trail this evening for 14. Which, in retrospect, was too much. But I finished.

Went out for a late run to test the sore shin -- sfc, splints or what? Got a little sore, but nothing significant, and I was able to get through an easy 6 and run 10 hill sprints at the end. Took a total of an hour-2 for the whole thing, including sprints and recovery jogs. I guess it was just a weird kind of splints.

Fartlek tonight -- 10 one-minutes surges, three minute recovery between, then 12 minutes at GMP after the last surge. Wound up running 7.50 in 61:27, managing to Beat the Cop one more time. Found the run kind of energized me, or maybe it's the lifting of the stress I've been feeling for a few weeks now.

Got the last occupational uncertainty out of the way today; handed in my reservation and was not kicked out the door summarily. So I don't have to forfeit a week's worth of pay on the way out, which is nice. So I have that going for me.

Needed to accomplish four things tonight: Run, work on paperwork for the new job, pack belongings for the move, or catch up on my sleep. The night's total: Sleeping. :) Hopefully will get more done than that tomorrow.

After catching up on some sleep last night, felt like doing more today. Got home, packed several boxes of nick-nacks and kitchen stuff, then got in a good progression run, capped off by two miles at GMP. Wound up averaging 9:00 for the seven miles. Hard to believe that run felt so easy. Maybe giving my body a little more chance to recover this cycle is paying off. The legs do not feel so dead, and I feel like I can get more out of them when I do put some demands on them.

Try to get in a bit of a run tomorrow, but likely will be doing a whole lot of packing, since we leave REAL early Saturday with trailer in tow for NWA.

After packing and moving, moving and unpacking, I finally get back on the road this morning for about 8.5 around the new neighborhood, including aloop or two through Hunt Park. Wasn't sure about the trails through the park, not having run here before, so when I saw a woman going at a decent clip (about 9:00) I decided to follow her and see where she went. Turned out the full park loop is about 1.5 miles, plus I looped around Lake Springdale (which smells like the nearby sewer plant) was well as the Silent Grove/Pump Station/West End loop. Went better than I thought it might given zero running for nine days or whatever, but it was still tough, especially with the hills included.

Start the new job Monday, as if my anxiety level weren't high enough, then a visit to the state Medical Board on Wednesday (just a formality, but with the twist that if they say no, I can't work and I'm screwed).

Got the new job started on Monday, and decided that my legs need a little help getting back into job shape, much less marathon shape. So I got up at 5:30 (yes, me, on a weekday) and ran three laps around Hunt Park, plus a lap around Lake Springdale, which worked out to 7.23. Took me about 1:09, a modest pace, but again, I've only run two days in the past two weeks.

Worked a half-day today, then drove three hours to Little Rock to appear before the Medical Board -- and my appearance was delayed by an hour as they ran late. Finally got in there, got out in three minutes, with a board vote in my favor (meaning I still have a job and a license), and drove back to Springdale.