May 24 - 30

20 Weeks to Chicago

"All paths are the same, leading nowhere. Therefore, pick a path with heart!!" -- Carlos Castaneda -- Found this quote on the wall at Baltimore's American Visionary Art Museum (http://www.avam.org/), which I visited on Saturday afternoon. I read Castaneda's "Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan" during a very influential cross-country train trip I took after my sophomore year of college. Castaneda, an anthropologist, recounts some of his time (he wrote quite a few books) with Yacqui shaman, Don Juan, who teaches him, well, all sorts of things -- like ... the art of hunting, how to hike, how not to be a whining loser.

It's Memorial Day Weekend: Summer has begun. I have another big road trip coming up in July, when Emily, Bruno and I will drive to Colorado for a Peace Corps Niger reunion, and I'm very excited for the discoveries it might be bring. Otherwise, this is a summer of training. This is the summer I try to break through.

Don Juan says to Carlos, "One must assume responsibility for being in a weird world. For you the world is weird because if you're not bored with it you're at odds with it. For me the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious, unfathomable; my interest has been to convince you that you must assume responsibility for being here, in this marvelous world, in this marvelous desert, in this marvelous time. I want to convince you that you must learn to make every act count, since you are going to be here for only a short while, in fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it."

He also says, "You have to curl your fingers gently as you walk in order to keep your attention on the trail and the surroundings. Your ordinary way of walking is debilitating and you should never carry anything in your hands. If things have to be carried one should use a knapsack or any sort of carrying net or shoulder bag. By forcing the hands into a specific position one is capable of greater stamina and greater awareness."

Monday - PM 12 with Klim
Tuesday - AM 10

Wednesday - 17 (5,12) PM - 3 times 3,2,1 with half the time rest and 2 minutes between each set. On the grass. I cut it a set short because it was so darn hot; I felt like I was handling it pretty well, but 3 just seemed like enough. Enjoyed, as usual, getting mocked by the school kids and the softball games.

Thursday - 15 (9,6, gym)

Friday - AM 12 with 35 minutes tempo effort. It took me 40 minutes to loosen up, then I went right into it. Just an easy 5 minute jog for cool down. No idea what pace I'm running these. When I do workouts solo I basically just gun it.

Saturday - AM 11, 10 strides on grass

Sunday - AM 18 at Greenbelt State Park. We have this six-mile loop we do there. Met up with Patrick Murphy. It was hot, shade helped. We started easily and picked it up a little each lap, after stopping for a sec to drink some water. Averaged 7-minute pace, which is not bad for a rolling trail.

Total - 95 - Hit goal volume with few problems. Was thrashed Thursday, but worked through it. The hot days are tough. It's going to be important to get out early in the morning. Per some good advice from Joe McVeigh I'm going to stick to 3 weeks up, 1 down throughout the summer. I am going to do a gradual buildup in volume to 120-130 MPW.

May 17 - 23

Monday - Went to Emily's bar and watched Kung Fu movies
Tuesday - 13 (8,5, gym)
Wednesday - PM 14
Thursday - 17 (12,5)
Friday - 11 with 35 minutes tempo, 4 pathetic strides ... Covering WAY more ground than a month ago
Saturday - 10 in 70 minutes with GRC, starting at 8 min. pace and working down (I'm not sure if we start slow by design or because we go out on Friday nights.)
Sunday - 14 with GRC - Zoo Loop

Total - 79

Training May 10-16

Photo by Asbury Park Press ... (http://www.app.com/article/20100509/NEWS/5090353/Rumson-Fair-Haven-run-brings-out-the-hardy-on-Mother-s-Day) mentions 20-30 MPH winds ... Official time was 26:09; that's OK for now.
More: http://www.ahherald.com/index.php/Local-News/18th-annual-rumson-fair-haven-run.html
And: http://www.tworivertimes.com/issues/100514/sports4.php

M - AM 12
T - 14 (8,6)
W - AM 12 - 5,4,3,2,1,5 workout in grass field behind Tidal Basin. Rest was half the time, but went into last 5 minute rep after only 60 seconds rest. Good weather.
Th - PM 11
F - AM 15
S - 8
S - 9 - 35 minutes tempo
Total - 81

Training May 3 - 9

M - AM easy 6 on treadmill

T - 15 (10,5) Second run on treadmill, did some core stuff

W - 14 ... (1:37) Still not recovered

Th - 7 ... weird work day

F - 10, strides ... Cool temp = having legs

S - 7, strides - grass, dirt in NJ park

S - Rumson Fair Haven Run (5 miles) - 3 WU, 26:06 1st, 2 CD 10 ... Huge headwind for duration of race, ran solo (won by 4:16), ran even (5:15s, closed in 5:08), hopefully I will write more later ...

Total - 69

Training April 26-May 2, Broad Street Run

M - 12, core

T - 10

W - 11 - Met Patrick and Dylan for 8 times 2 on, off on grass in West Fairmount Park. We ran fast without straining. Lots of wind. Kind of cold. Lots of school groups and kids making fun of us.

Th - 9, easy

F - 8, easy

S - 4, strides

.........................

Sunday, May 2, Broad Street Run - The weather report was not good: hot, hot, hot. This is when you scratch your plan and adjust.
The Broad Street Run, a 31-year-old 10-miler in Philadelphia, is known for good competition and fast times. The point-to-point route on Broad Street rolls slightly but has no major hills, and most inclines are followed by a similar drop in elevation. Before I got injured in January/February, and after I had dismissed the idea of returning to the Frederick Marathon to defend my title, my spring racing season was going to begin with the National Half Marathon in March and end here the first weekend in May (on the same day as Frederick).

Instead, Broad Street had become my first, and perhaps only, race of the season. As such, there were two good reasons to race here. One: Recent training suggested I could PR, or run faster than 53 minutes. Two: As the course is similar to the Chicago Marathon's, I liked the idea of collecting some data a few weeks prior to entering a new marathon cycle.

I believe that on a good day I was ready to run 5:16s (52:40). Today, though, guys who are running at a higher level than me ran the 5:16s ... I ran the 5:23s ... then the 5:33s ... then the 5-highs.

I tucked into a group and tried to relax but the first mile was still too fast (even if it's mostly downhill): 5:11. Mile 2: 5:23. Mile 3: 5:24. I was happy to be racing again. I was happy to feel stronger than a lot of people around me after missing so much training time (more than I have in 10 years) in the winter.
I was in a pack of 4 through halfway in 26:57, well off the goal. I knew a negative split was not going to happen, but for maybe 5 minutes I thought I might be able to double it, pick a lot of people off, place well. No one in the top 50 ran a negative split; most, in fact, ran 90 seconds to 2 minutes slower on the back end. And that's exactly what I did: 56:02, 50th. At Mile 7 I really tried to grind it. And I guess I did, though not successfully: 5:48, 5:58, 6:00 coming home.

Let's face it: The fire hoses were out. Let's face it: I'm a hat and gloves guy.

Did I compete well? It's hard to say. I expected to finish much higher than 50th. A lot of guys dropped, so maybe this was just a really competitive year?? Needless to say, some will falter and some will persevere.

All I really know is that it's done, and that I haven't thought much about it. After the race, I recall Jake joking, "So are you happy you made the trip?"

Yes, you know ... For some reason I am.

Bad blisters prevented a cooldown. I got in 12 for the day and thus 66 for the week.

I'm heading home this weekend to see my parents and do the hometown race. My training is heading in the right direction.