Training Aug. 24-30

M - AM 10 PM 6
T - AM 12

W - AM 5 PM Met Patrick, Karl, Bain and Jim at The Line in Rock Creek Park. We did our 3 minutes on, 1 minute off workout that winds through roads and trails. One thing about me is that I stink at running trails. Even on easy runs, I find myself falling behind. It actually went pretty well, though, for the first six reps -- proof that I am much more fit than when we did this months ago -- and I took my turn leading a tough one up a big hill on Ross Drive (I think). On the seventh we veered off the road toward an uphill trail, and the workout really started to choke me. Mission accomplished.

Th - AM 12 PM 4
F - AM 12

S - AM Gettysburg Alumni Race 5k XC - The Gettysburg College XC training camp lasts a week, and the last workout is always a 5k time trial. Beginning around 2005, the time trial was deemed the alumni race, and alums were invited to toe the line against the undergrads. I won this race as a senior in 2004, virtually tied with Andy Carmer in 2005, won in 2006, went to Africa in 2007, finished right behind winner Jeff Buttersworth in 2008 and in 2009 ... finished fourth in 17:05 for 5030 meters, my slowest time yet. Odd, too, because I am way more fit than I was last year, when I believe my time was 16:27. It was hot, very muddy and, honestly, the whole thing is pretty low key, as it serves no one well to go all out in late August with the big races in the middle of November. I really just ran in the pack most of the way; and suddenly there was less than 800 meters to go and I was running against a 1:53 half miler ... Gettysburg finished 6th in region last year, and it looks like they have an outside shot at making nationals in 2009. It is awesome to go back and see how hard they are working. Around 2000, the Centennial Conference and Mideast Region made a competive leap; Gettysburg was slow to adjust, but now we are really catching up. -- 10

S - 24 -- I was without a watch because Ironmans are designed to self destruct every six months. And so I set out from my apartment in SW with the penciled-in goal of 24 and made my way to the Capital Crescent Trail. Then I was in Bethesda, where we started last Sunday's run, and I hooked onto Georgetown Branch Trail and kept going for some reason -- knowing there was no way this loop was going to work (too long). I had started at 9:15. In Rock Creek Park, I stopped for water along Beach Drive and asked someone for the time. 11:30. Oh. Kept going and actually felt pretty good; looped past the zoo, past that area where we always stop for water (I really should know this all better by now) and then I got to the bottom of 24th Street and crossed the road -- I was thinking I could make it back to the Running Company at least and call Emily from there. But my body simply stopped, like a car out of gas. And so I walked up the hill, saw someone who looked reasonably nice, borrowed a cell phone and sweet Emily picked me up at the corner of Calvert and 24th. 24 is sort of a guess. It might have been longer; it might have been shorter, too.

Total 106

More later ...