Easy 7

I met up with a few people this morning at Great Falls to get an easy run in. I ended up getting hammered on the hills by Chuck Moeser. It was nice to have somebody to run with for once. I used to run with the Wednesday night group from the store, but now I am on my own almost everyday with the new store.
This is going be an entertaining sports weekend with the Patriots trying to go 16-0 and the Redskins trying to secure a playoff spot. Fortunately for the Redskins they are 9 point favorites and they would have some nice momentum heading into Seattle. Unfortunately for the Redskins they have blown quite a few easy games this year.

Early Long Run

I got in an okay 12 miles today. I ended up averaging around 6:30 pace, but it is not about pace right now. I am just trying to put in the miles without killing myself, which is exactly what I am doing.
I did the run on the W&OD starting out at carmax(a fall favorite) and headed out towards ashburn. There werent too many people out today around 5 even with the fairly nice weather for december. I was hoping to run a little faster, but I am happy that I got in 12 miles. I still have a long way to go before I hit the track in the spring.
I am well on my way to hitting 60 miles as I am sitting at 45 with two days left in the week. I can see next weeks focus being on getting a solid 14 mile run in, which could potentially turn ugly if I get a little too pumped up.

Week 5

Im two days in the 5th week and things are going well. Yesterday I did an easy 6.5 from the georgetown store. It was the first day I felt good after the hard 10 miler at the beginning of last week. Today wasnt as good as yesterday early in the run, but I ended up feeling pretty good during the last few miles when I started to pick up the pace a little bit. I put in a little over 10 at Lake Fairfax on a nice day. It was so nice I busted out the stretching mat and the camera and took my time getting out of there.
Today was relaxing with it being Christmas and all. It was the first Christmas that I have not been at home for, but it turned out to be a good day. I watched a little bit of The Wire and will probably watch some more later along with the latest of the Bourne movies.

54

I ran an easy 11 this morning with Rasheed from his place on the trails up towards Rock Creek. That puts me at 54 for the week and I am really happy with that for my fourth week of base. I am honestly still a little beat from Tuesdays 10 miler but thats what I get for doing a little too much too early.
I actually decided to do a random race during base. I am running a road mile on the 31st and am pretty excited because road miles are few and far between. Hopefully I will get back to the schedule and train until the GW Birthday 10k in the middle of February.
Next week will hopefully be 60, which is straight from the schedule. No uptempo runs planned for next week as I do not want to get carried away and start running 5:30s again.

Balance

I once went on a tirade shortly after I was dumped about focusing all my energy into one thing. That thing being running of course. Sometimes in certain situations we say things we dont really mean, and that was one of those times. Dont get me wrong, running is a major part of who I am, but it is not everything that I am. My training philosophy is based around relaxing and letting things flow. I rarely go out during a workout and drive myself into the ground. So for me to say that I want to put everything into running was really just an emotional outburst. I am all about trying to maximize my potential, but this pursuit is not going to define me.
Balance is the key. I would say that I live a somewhat balanced life, I would like to have more fun but that is tough living out as far as I do. I would recommend not getting to obsessed about one thing. I guess that is what this was all coming to. Some people have religion, some drugs, and then for some reason I have running. But I also have other things that can but should not be neglected as they may not be around when I get over this running thing. The moral of this post is to find something or somebody special but dont let this something or somebody dictate who you are.

First Workout

I did not plan to do a workout today, but the run slowly turned into one. Next time Ill say I am going to run 6 minute pace versus uptempo. I hit two miles in 12 flat and knew sub 60 was not going to be a problem. My first mistake was running the next two miles in 11:22 becuase I always like to come back faster than going out. I ended up hitting 28:45 at the turnaround and thought about possibly going under 57 which would have been way too fast for the 4th week of base.

Well I ended up coming back in 27:04 to finish up 10 miles in 55:49...way too fast this early in my buildup. The one positive from today is that I saw what I thought I was happening physically on my easier days. The rest of the week is going to be fairly easy distance days. Actually the next couple of weeks are going to be easy distance weeks.

Lake Fairfax

I headed back out to Lake Fairfax today to do an easy run and some strides. I started from a different spot this time and picked up where I turned around a couple days ago. It was nice easy 56 minute run, a little over 8 miles but I am just rounding it down to 8. After I finished the run, I did about 3 strides on the turf. I was going to do more but I felt like I was done and tomorrow will be a little more uptempo.
The schedule for this week calls for a 10 mile long run and 55 miles total. That will be an interesting mix, but Ill figure out a way to get in.

Not So Cool

After over 7 years of using coolrunning to record my runs I am moving on. I have that feeling like I just got out of relationship...its kind of funny actually. They switched over to a different site and it is too much of hassle to work with the new site.
As for running, I got in 47 for the week. Todays long run went really well considering how crappy the conditions were. It was raining and freezing and I still got in a good 10 miles in 62 minutes.
I think the plan for next week is to hit around 55 miles but I will have to check my training plan before tomorrows run.

Another Easy Run

My online running log is currently being updated and I am not able to post everyday to that. In the meantime I am going to have to post all the easy runs here until the log is back up. So today I headed out to Lake Fairfax for the first time and checked out the trail there. There is something about running a trail for the first time that is similar to a kid getting a present at Christmas time. I always get near my turn around point and try and convince myself to keep going. I keep wondering whats going to be around the next bend; as if the next section is going to magically be vastly different than what I have been on.
I kept the pace easy the entire time for once. I went out at about 7 min pace and instead of coming back at 6 min pace, I only picked it up to around 6:45 pace.
It looks as if I am going to be on pace for 50 miles for the week unless the storm coming through this weekend is more intense that I am expecting.

5,6,7,8

I ran an easy 8 miles today mainly because I had 5, 6, an7 mile run in the previous runs. I am not running 9 miles tomorrow, but I can say that I definitely thought about it. Todays run went well as I kept it under control. I jogged the first half around 6:45 pace and came back into the wind right around 6 minute pace. 6 flat pace felt like 6:15, which is a good sign early on in base training.

This run reminds me to promote Feist. She has the catchy song 1234 and it falls in line with the rest of her songs. She does a good job with taking basics ideas and putting a little twist on them.

Burke Lake (Easy 7 Miles)

Went out to Burke Lake today for the first time. It was nice to do something new. I got in an easy 7 miles and I was pretty tight from yestredays 6 miler. I did not know there were mile markers out there, but I am glad they were there. I timed a random split and hit a 6:15. This made me feel a lot better because I assumed I was going around 6:45 pace and I slowed down once I saw that split.
The plan for this week is still to hit around 50 miles... 50 easy miles.

Cold

Today was one of those days when I just could not warm up. I am still cold as I am typing this. Running has been going well. Everyday I run, I feel 10x better than I did the day before. This week does not have a goal mileage, but I would like to get in an 8 mile long run by the end of the week.
Base is not the most exciting time but it is a good time to start building mentally for the upcoming year. I have learned from the past that I cannot start off the harder training at full tilt. I have to gradually get ready for a mental peak in addition to the physical peak.
As the base period progresses I will go into more detail about the upcoming year and what I hope to accomplish and how I hope to do it.

5 plus

I did a little over 5 miles from the new store after I got off from work. It went really considering it is the first week of base. I felt fairly relaxed and smooth the entire time. I am slowly starting to get into a rhythm. My plan with work is to get in as early I can and run as far as I can before we open at 10. If I sleep in then I will have to run at night around the city, and I will have to get home fairly late.
Approximately 14.8 miles for the week

5.1

I did an easy 5 miler and actually felt okay for once. I averaged around 6:30 pace and it was easy... which it should be. I felt all over the place with my form, but I dont think it will take long to get back to normal.

So far I have only done 2 runs this week because I have been putting in some long hours at work. I am going to not really worry about mileage for the first two weeks of base. This way I can use next week two get into a rhythm at work and train my body to wake up an hour earlier because I am officially working in Maryland now.

Base Begins

I have returned to running after a two week hiatus. Ive done two four milers and they have hurt like none other. I might even take a couple days off to recover!

I really took advantage of my two weeks off and made up for some lost time. This past weekend I had some friends visit from out of town and it was an absolute show. Friday was my all out night, but Saturday was still crazy thanks to some guys who didnt drink the night before.

Avoiding Running

I am going to try and write about something other than running. I have been getting stuck on thinking about the spring and getting a little too excited too early. I guess its a good thing that I have that excitement back even if I still have another week and a half before I even start back jogging.
Okay, time to move into another sphere...

I am fortunately easily pleased. This would have worried me in the past, but now I am spinning it to my advantage. It does not take a lot for me to feel the "rush"(thanks Jay for that term). I actually havent made it that far, but I think I have come close. For example, I think I have become infatuated at a rate of 1.3333 per month.

Honestly, that doesnt make much sense to me. Only another week and a half before running returns.

Veterans Day 10k(The Big One)

So I finally reached the race I had been gearing up for the past 3 months. At some point, I decided I would set a goal of trying to pr in the 10k. This was back when I was running in the 31:40s and I am glad I gave myself that challenge.
Well, I ended up not hitting a pr but I am really happy with how things went. I ran 30:33 this morning for 4th place. I did some research afterwards and the winner finished 6th in the 5k at the 2000 Olympic, while 3rd place has run 2:10 for the marathon...so needless to say I am happy with 4th place.
The race was kind of weird because there was pack of 7 people for the first 3 miles. I didnt know it was 7 until afterwards because I was leading and I never looked back during the race to see what was going on behind me. I was expecting it to go out flying but it did not because the guy who I was expecting to win brought some friends down with him from NY and they ended up working together. I actually felt great for the first few miles and then I started to get a little nervous about 2.5 miles in with all the footsteps I heard; at the same time the feeling great went away at this point and there was an unknown runner beside me. I decided to push a little bit to kill my nerves and test the unknown guy. I could tell a gap opened up from looking at the shadows on the ground, but it didnt take long for the out of towners to come around me. They opened a gap which took me about a mile to close down and then they made another move that was too much for me to handle.
The last 1.5 miles that I ran by myself were intense. I was on the verge of blowing up the entire time. I would start breathing really hard and it would take some talking to myself to control my breathing. I am happy that I stayed as relaxed as I could and kept the effort up until the finish.

Up next is a two week break and then I begin phase 1 of 4 which leads me to either Penn Relays or Stanford in late April or early May.

I Feel Awful

I did my final workout today and needless to say it wasnt smooth at all. I did a 1600 in 4:50, a couple 300s, and a 1000 in 3:02. I am not too worried though because I have had good races when I felt awful during the first part of the race and feeling bad a couple days out still gives me a couple days to take it easy.
The next time I post it will be a race report....good or bad.

Therapy

Since this running thing is almost over for the year, I think I need to fill the space with some meaningful posts. I was waiting for after the race but I got the urge to write, so here it is.
I think everybody has fears and problems, but since its not really accepted to put problems out in the open, I think we are forced to keep them in. I kind of came to a conclusion after a late night discussion with a relative stranger, that I should throw things out into the open in hopes that it might elicit a "I thought it was just me" type reaction.
I kind of realized that after the discussion that there was stuff I withheld from even the people I trusted the most. I maybe could have understood if it was something serious, but it was some of the smallest and most meaningless stuff.
One of the best examples I can give is my extreme insecurity. I used to not be able to take being a part of a joke because I would take it seriously even when I knew it was a joke. Ive come to realize that because of the insecurities, I would need constant positive reinforcement. Ive recently come to accept that running was a big part of my life because it would allow me to achieve such positive attention. I also realized that being in a relationship helped to erase the insecurity as well because it helped to produce a feeling of acceptance. I didnt have to worry about how unattractive I thought I was or how I skinny I was whenever I looked in the mirror.
Fortunately at some point I said "fuck it" and went through an acceptance phase. I no longer worry about my appearance and I have no problem being skinnier than I have ever been. So if you are dealing with a similar issue, you will get to a point where you will have to realize that you cant change who you are. You will feel great when you come to learn to accept this and not worry about things beyond your control.
Next up I think I will talk about my never ending social anxiety.

Tempo

I ran a tempo inside of a race today. I didnt feel that great but I didnt really push it, so I should be able to recover really well from this morning. I hit 32:30, which actually is a nice workout considering how I was feeling.

Next up I will be taking a number of easy days before on final workout before the big 10k.

Some Good Some Bad

My legs havent felt all that great since last thursdays workout unfortunately. Fortunately I still have well over a week to get them back under my control. Besides my legs feeling off, I had a really good controlled workout today.

3 x 1600: 4:41, 4:41, 4:50 with 4 minute recovery

2 x 800: 2:22, 2:06(66, 60)

I hit the 4:50 because I needed to make sure the workout stayed comfortable and so I could get a chance to feel out goal race pace.

I am really happy with how today went, the 4:41's felt fairly controlled. I just need to get back into the groove in the next couple of days and I will be ready to go.

Long Weekend

This weekend consisted of a lot of work, a little sleep, a lot of fun, a little bit of sadness, a lot of opening up to a stranger, and a moderate workout.

The workout took place in purcell park down at jmu. I did 4 x 1 loop(approx. 1.5 miles) with 2 minutes recovery. The loop has a couple of hills, one of which is a real rhythm killer. I ended up hitting 8:22, 8:12, 8:02, 7:47. I was happy with the effort but I was hoping to run a little faster. I know that I am still a little beat up from thursdays workout, so I wasnt too worried about pace today.

The End

Today marked the end of all the end of the hard workouts for the year. I will be simply maintaining from here on out. I decided to make today a tough one since it was going to be the final hard effort. The problem with making today really tough was that I faced the possibility of hurting my confidence if the workout didnt go well.
Fortunately the workout went really well. I ended up doing 3 miles in 14:50 with close to 6 minutes rest because it took me longer than expected to get my spikes on. I followed that up with 2 miles in 9:56 and another mile in 4:39 after 5 mintues rest.
The times werent what I expected, but you can tell from the picture(which you can click and make larger) that it was windy today. I would say you could take at least a second off of each lap to equate for the wind and that would put me right at goal 10k race pace. I am also happy with how the workout went because the effort was almost perfect. I would say every interval felt about the way it should have and by the final one my legs were straight smashed.
I am also in a good mood because my body is in a nice zone right now where everyday feels good. I was lacking that feeling all year and its nice to get it right at the end of the year. From here on out I am just going to be doing controlled workouts and getting pumped to attempt a PR on Nov 11.

Almost There

The "fall season" is coming to an end and I am trying to convince myself to keep going because I have more improvement just around the corner. The two main reasons I am stopping at Veterans Day on November 11th are: Lots of littls aches and pains and my schedule for next year will work better if I stop on the 11th.
As the season comes to end I am slowly wrapping up different aspects of training. For example, I put in my last long run yesterday. It was a solid 16 miles out at Great Falls. I would say the pace was around 6 minute pace and I felt in control for the entire run. Its amazing how little things like that work to build confidence.
Tomorrows workout will also mark an end to the real hard work for the year. Everything after tomorrow will just be maintaining whatever fitnessed I have amassed over the past few months. What is left is a last second decision to do an oldie but a goodie.... 3 mile, 2 mile, 1 mile with 5 minutes recovery. This one goes back to my first year of college. The first two repeats are at 10k pace and the last one is fast.
I will report back tomorrow whether its a success or unlikely failure.

Race Report - 24:43

I ran an 8k race this morning in Fairfax that went really well. I went in hoping to get top 3 and earn a little prize money. I ended up getting 4th but I ran a smart and tough race, so I consider today a success. Unfortunately I do not have any splits because I was expecting timers to be on the course, but that was not the case. I was kind of happy I didnt know any splits, that way I just raced and didnt even think about time.

I ended up running 24:43 and I was hoping to run faster but I realized that isnt everything considering how the course was. The course was much tougher than I expected. There were no flat sections, you were either running on a long downhill or a long uphill. The funny thing is that I was fine on the uphills but I struggled on the downhills and ended up getting dropped on a long downhill because I couldnt turn over fast enough.

Looking forward...the goal is still the same. I am still hoping to pr or at least be in the shape to pr for 10k when Veterans Day rolls around. Realistically I am on pace to be about 20 seconds off of my pr but it is possible that I have another big jump around the corner.

Next week will include 3x2 mile at threshold as well as the big one... 2 mile - 1 mile - 1 mile fap.

Long Run

I ran around 14.6 miles today for my long run. I wanted to go 17, but I like to stick to my own advice whenever I get the chance. That advice being that its okay to take a step back sometimes to go forwards. On the way out I started to feel like a struggle would occur if I kept going so I turned around just before 46 minutes and kept it controlled on the way back. I still managed to run a little over 6 min pace for a run that was definitely not flat.

The next step is to take it easy for a couple of days and then race an 8k on Sunday. I ran a 4 mile a tempo over a month ago in 20:10 and Im pretty certain on the worst of days I could add another mile onto that. So we will see what happens....

Great Workout (16x400)

I finally made a noticeable jump in my training. I felt that it was on the way, but I wasnt sure of it until my workout today. All of my previous interval workouts felt much different than I was used to them feeling when I was back in college. Today was the first day I felt in control of the workout.

The workout was similar to my 20x400 workout but I shortened it to 16 this time. I averaged 65.9 versus the 68.0 when I did 20. The big difference was effort level, I would say todays workout was an 8 out of 10 and the previous workout was a 10 out of 10. I once again did sets of 4 with 100 jogs between reps and 400 between sets. The sets were pretty much right on at 68, 66, 66, 64.

I am obviously really happy with how the workout went. I felt about the same on the last set of this workout as I did on the middle set of the previous workout. Today is going to be a nice springboard into my final phase before I start to the cut the mileage and get ready for the Veterans Day 10k.

Down Week

I am taking this fairly easy to let my body recovery after a pretty tough week last week. I had an attempted workout Tuesday that turned out to be a failure but I am not too worried considering I am just trying to recover for a 5k on Saturday and the two following weeks. The next two weeks will both include a tough threshold workout as well as a some very hard interval session while keeping the miles up near 70.

68...

...miles for the week

16

I had to move my week around a bit because I had to make a trip home on Saturday night and then be back in town for work Sunday at noon. I ended up moving my Friday workout up a day and my Sunday long run to today.

I successfully got my long run in this morning starting from the store. I ended up getting a solid 16 miles in. I ran the first 5-6 miles with the group at about 8 min pace up to Rock Creek Park. I started to pick it up down the hill to probably around 5:50 pace(which always is rough when you have to make a major pace change). I got back to the store in a little under 70 minutes(10 miles) and drank a little bit of water. I finished up with 6 miles on the canal in 5:45 pace, with the last two miles being a little rough.

8x800

Todays workout was a rough one. The plan was to get in 8x800 at 2:20 pace. I wanted to start at 2:24 and finish at 2:16. I ended up starting at 2:19 and finishing at 2:18. I was expecting the workout to be a lot easier than it was but I guess I cant complain since I hit the average I wanted to hit and I put in the effort that I wanted to put in.

My splits were: 219/222/220/221/220/221/220/218 for an avg of 2:20

I took 300 rest for the first few and then I took a little over 3 minutes after the 4th to switch into spikes earlier than I had planned to. The last few I just took 1:45-1:50 recovery(which was about how long it took me during my 300 jog).

I still need to get an easy run later on and tomorrow will be an extremely easy recovery day. Saturday will hopefully be a long run and Sunday will be like a typical Monday with strides.

30 min tempo

I had a pretty good workout today considering I took last week as an unplanned down week. I did a 30 min tempo over the same route that I did this workout a month ago. I did not take splits this time but I did check every mile to see where I was. I ended up making it about 10 seconds farther than I did a month ago. I would say I averaged 5:20 pace for the entire workout.
Overall I am happy with the effort which brought my daily total to 14 miles. I didnt want to go to hard because I am going to be doing 800s on Thursday. We will see if I went too hard or not in a couple days.

Back

I took last week fairly easy after a not so good workout. My back decided to cramp up after the workout, so I have been trying to let it heal before I get back after it. I got in a medium 10 after workout today with Ben. It will be interesting to see how my back responds to today run. If all goes well I will jump back into things on tuesday with a tempo.

Weekend

I had a somewhat long weekend that did not include a long run. I still managed to finish with 66 miles for the week, which is more than enough for me. Saturday morning my memory failed me which tends to happen a lot. I ran a few miles before the big group run from the store and then I did the group run from the store which would have been fine, probably a little long actually. During the group run I told somebody I would add on with them afterwards, completely forgetting that I had run before. So I ended up getting 12 miles in, which was way too much.
Sunday I got in an hour even though I had intended to do a long run. Part of that was from the run the day before and part because I got a bit Hibachi/horrorshow the previous night.
The upcoming week will include some mile repeats and a 4 mile race.

20x400

I had a fun workout this morning at George Masons Track. I had originally planned on doing 16 400s but I convinced myself to go for 20 since I am getting ready for a 10k. I finished the workout with an average 68.0 which I am extremely pleased with. I feel like I am starting to get things moving beyond the typical tempos which I have been going well.

The 1st set went fairly well. The plan was to run them in 70 with 100m jog recovery and I ended up running:

69.4,68.8,69.5,68.9

400 jog between sets except for when I put spikes on and socks.

The next set I decided to go for 68 and this is when it started to get tough. At this point I decided running 68s in flats was becoming tough. I made it through this set hitting the following times:

67.0,68.5,68.5,68.7

After switching into spikes I knew I would still have to stick to 68s:

68.1, 68.3, 69.0, 67.7

There was no question that I was going to stick with 68s but I was starting to ponder if I would be able to drop to 66 for the last set:

67.7, 67.8, 67.9, 69.1

At this point I was hurting but not dead so I convinced myself to make a run at 66s. I ended up hitting a 69 on the second after deciding not check splits and I wasnt sure if I should even do 20 or if I would blow up. I decided to finish:

65.5, 69.5, 66.9, 64.9

Specific + G-DUB + Excited

Ive know this for a long time but this is the time to start being a little more specific in my training. I realized I havent really even been doing strides. Starting this week I am going to focus on strides and intervals in the 70-72 range to get my body used to running at race pace.

Yesterday started off as a normal run but I ended up getting run down by what ended up being some guys from the GW team. I ended up running with them for the majority of my run and it made it a lot easier on me mentally considering how I had raced the day before. The run also solved a mystery that I though I would never figure out. Back in August I was run down on one of my easy days and it turned out to be one of the guys I ran with.

And I am excited because the Trials are approaching and videos are appearing:
http://www.nyrr.org/races/pro/mens_trials/glory/index.asp

Race Report

PVI Runfest 5k - 15:08(4th place)

I was hoping to run a faster time but I am happy with how the race turned out. There was never a point in the race where I actually ran with somebody, that makes a little more difficult to run fast. The lead pack went out in 4:30 and I settled in at 4:42 hoping to pick off a couple of guys. I was breathing fairly hard throughout the first mile, but I knew I had to keep the effort and at least one guy would come back to me. Once guys started falling off the pack, I was actually able to relax and get my breathing under control.
By the time the second mile came around I was already in 4th and that is where I ended up. I hit the two mile in 9:40(4:58 split) and I think I got somewhat frustrated since I realized I was not going to break 15. I was still able to relax and put in a good effort to finish in 15:08.
Next up is training...which I think will last until the Veterans Day 10k.

Close Call

Today was originally going to be a simple workout of 6 x 3 min on 2 min off but I changed it to a 4 mile tempo because I was on the brink. All morning I felt horrible so I changed the workout because I felt like I was close to being mentally burnt out. I went with the tempo because tempos have been confidence boosters lately.
I got over to the W&OD and started my warmup but I could tell from the start that something was wrong. About 10 minutes into the warmup I started feeling weak and struggled to make it back to the car. At this point I decided to pack it up and see how I felt throughout the day, with the hope of making a second go at it.
At 6 P.M. I started warming up from the house and I actually felt really good. I decided to get into racing flats because I needed all the help I could get mentally. I knew where 1.95 miles was from my apartment so I headed to that point with the intention of adding another 15 seconds to get to a full 2 miles.
I started out flying downhill and then leveled it out to fast yet relaxed pace. I made it to the 1.95 mark in 10:01 feeling like I had worked but I still had a good bit left. I added on the necessary amount and I turned back to the place keeping things at the same intensity. I picked it up going up an incline and then rolled down the hill. At this point I was still really relaxed and I stayed that way until the final hill that I originally flew down. I worked up this to the finish which I managed to hit in 20:10.
I am extremely happy with how the workout went. I am feeling refreshed and ready to go after it for another couple weeks.

Medium 8

I was leaving today open to a possible workout if I felt up to it. The plan for this week is to let the body regenerate so I will be ready to race when the time comes.
I ended up getting 8 miles in at a little under 6:10 pace. I didnt feel bad but I also didnt feel great. If I would have predicted a couple days ago how I would have felt today, Im sure thats the description I would have guessed.
Tomorrow will be easy and Thursday will be a controlled workout. So I am guessing my next post will be Thursday after the workout.

Past Few Days

I ran 4 miles today after taking yesterday off. I am trying to make sure I have recovered from last weeks beating. I finished up last week with a 15:30 5k on an extremely flat course. I guess I can say that I accomplished my goal for the week.
The plan for this week is to take it pretty easy all week with some moderate workouts and then finish up the week with a fast 5k on Sunday.

Roughest Of All

I attempted to do 4x1 mile again with 4 minutes recovery. This time I at least finished but the results were just as ugly as the last time. Splits were: 4:55, 4:46, 5:09, 5:05. The first and third were into a stiff headwind and I think the third one knocked me out. That is all for now, but I still will be racing in two days.

Tempo

I headed out to my favorite W&OD trail to do a tempo this afternoon. I was originally going to do 6 miles with 3 at 5:30, 2, at 5:10, and 1 fast but I had been pondering switching it up so I wouldnt beat my legs up after Sundays effort. I didnt write anything about yesterday but Sunday really took its toll on me so I wanted to leave today completely up in the air.

At the last second I convinced myself to do a 30 minute tempo, this way I wouldnt build up too much lactic acid in the last mile. This was needed because of Sunday and because I have another workout in two days and a race in four. The pace was to be the same as the 6 miler but I would just do whatever the last few minutes.

I ended up running 5.6 miles in 30 minutes(5:21 pace). I am really happy with the effort because I was dealing with stomach issues during the run and a nice side stitch during the second half. The effort was fairly controlled thanks to the 30 minute idea.

Training

I just got back from the beach/home, what a long weekend it was. Training is going well minus the whole sleeping in Friday morning and skipping the workout. I guess this will just have to count as a down week.
I did get in a good long run today. I ran a solid 15+ around Williamsburg at a pretty good pace. I was a little disappointed with the fact that I didnt get in 17 but when I realized how dehydrated I was(it looked like I had been playing at the beach), I was impressed with how the run went.
Next week is going to a challenging week. The plan is to hit 70 miles, run two workouts, and run a race/hard workout at the end of the week as a nice tuneup for the first big race.

3x2 mile

My legs were still a little beat up from the 20 miles on Friday but I decided to go and do some lactate threshold work because I figured that that would be the easiest on my legs. I ended up getting a pretty good work out in, but I could definitely feel my legs on the last interval. The workout was as follows:
3x2 miles with 2 minutes recovery
1 - 10:10(5:03,5:07)
Felt great on this interval.
2 - 10:30(5:15,5:15)
I know there is a 20 second difference but coming back is slower than going out. The effort was probably about the same and I could hear my legs telling me they were still tired finally in the second mile of this interval.
3 - 10:07(5:03,5:04)
Legs were no longer telling me they were tired but they were yelling at me now. I just tried to stay relaxed and keep my form. I felt pretty controlled for the first mile, but the second mile starts with a long gradual hill so I just pushed to the top of that and then pushed on the gentle downhill to the end of the interval.

Overall this was a really good workout. The section I ran on was not super hilly but it was by no means flat. There was a nice a gradual uphill on the first and 3rd intervals and two gradual uphills on the second one. My lactate threshold is where it needs to be now I just need to my VO2 rolling and I will be good to go.

Recovery

I think I got a little too fired up on Friday and ended up hitting 20 miles total for the day. I am really feeling the effect of the mileage and am currently letting my body recover. I might go out later and try to do some cruise intervals to work on my lactate threshold a little more and get a workout in without trashing my legs.

The past couple days have been a struggle but I would like to thank those who entertained me over the weekend and I would also like the people that I can trust to always be there during trying times. Maybe I havent talked to you but just knowing that there are people out there when I need them has made a world of difference.

All Is Fair...

I tend to hope for the best and expect the worst. I have come up with a theory that this makes it easier to deal with the negative aspects of life. I am finally starting to realize that this is not the case.
After a few stressful weeks I have a reached a fitting deneumont to a certain chapter of my life. What follows is a focus on one thing that I plan to put all my heart and soul into(I know thats a cheesy way to put it, but its true). This thing is obviously running, and I plan to drop the part where I expect the worst. From now I am only looking forward to positive outcomes in the future. From now on I am not going to think to myself that I might be capable of doing something, I am simply going to go out and do it.
Right now I am fired up so I am just going off about everything and nothing at the same time without giving it much thought, but I will sit down and start writing out some goals for the future. And you can damn sure believe that these goals will be so outrageous that I really wont expect anybody except for myself to believe that they are possible.
On another note, I ran 14 miles for the day with the middle 10 being llama loop(mid 55).

I will leave you with a long quote from Rocky:
Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!

Tired

I just finished up with an easy morning run and I am ready to call it a day. My legs are in need of some recovery and I think that explains why yesterday was so rough. I had my second best long run ever on Sunday and I ended up going farther than I should have Monday because I did some exploring. After that factor in the 70+ mile week and I am tired. I am expecting more of the same for Fridays workout, but I will make a conscious effort to turn next week into a recovery week.

Humbled

I was brought back down to earth today by my first VO2 workout in forever. I struggled through 2x1600(4:45,4:49), 1x600(1:49), 1x400(71)...which was actually supposed to be 4x1600. I guess the good thing that came out of the workout was that I have a pretty big upside in that part of training.
I am on my way out for my second run...the next post will probably come from jmu after I plan to get some form of a tempo in on Friday.

Finally....70 miles

I hit 72 miles for the week after all the mention earlier this summer about trying to get there and falling apart anytime I came close. I actually felt really good most of the week as well. I had the good tempo Thursday followed by a 16 mile long run on Sunday that was probably one of my best long runs of all time.
I looked back at the log and this was my 4th highest week of all time and the second if you take away the weeks at camp when I was running twice a day everyday at low intensity.

The plan for next week is to run about the same mileage wise with two workouts thrown into the mix plus a 15-17 mile long run.

Stresses

I have been constantly noticing the fact that I rarely drink more than one beer these days. I think that might just change tonight with a case of the working mans best friend(PBR!) in the fridge.

peace

7 mile tempo

I had a solid workout today on the W&OD trail. The plan was to do a 7 mile tempo with 4 miles in 5:40, 2 in 5:20, and 1 fast but controlled. That is definitely not what happened...

I did the 7 mile portion as an out and back with the last half into a fairly stiff headwind. I had no idea I had a tailwind on the way out until I turned out around and cursed the wind. I still managed to get in the 7 in 38:47(5:32 pace) with the following crazy splits: 5:17, 5:29, 5:49, 5:42, 5:33, 5:34, 5:21.

I am extremely pleased with how the workout turned out. To hit 5:32 pace in those conditions was impressive. I was grinding the last mile into the wind and hit 5:21, that gives me a good idea of how much the wind really affected me.

Thats it for the rest of the week as far as workouts go. I am going to take a few easy days with a long run this Sunday.

Recovery

I have been taking the past couple days easy to recover from the race on Sunday. I will do an easy double for my final recovery day before getting into some quality work.
The plan for the Thursday is to get in a 7 mile tempo with 4 miles at 5:40, 2 at 5:20, and 1 fast but not getting too carried away.

Leesburg 10k

I ran the Leesburg 10k this morning after 4 solid days of running easy and still feeling like crap on everyday. The crappy feeling carried on into the first mile and a half and fortunately for me it disappeared after that.
I ran 5:14 for the first mile and felt awful, I didnt feel smooth or comfortable at that slow pace. After that we started going uphill and I ended up feeling better. My next few splits were 5:09, 5:14, and 5:09. I felt really good for these miles; at some points it felt almost like I was doing a tempo because I was running extremely relaxed but still pushing. We started going down hill in the middle of the last mile and I get the intensity up which led me to hitting 4:55 for both of the next 2 miles.
I ended up getting broke in the last mile, but the race still turned out to be a great confidence booster. My overall time was 31:45 and I am pleased with that.

Mileage for the week - 51

Medium Day

Got in 14 today with a 10 miler in the evening. I am still a little tired from last week so the I ended up running 62 minutes for the 10.
I had originally planned on doing a 4 mile tempo at the end of this week but I think I am going to have to move it to next week to make sure I get in a decent mileage week.
I also picked up a yoga mat so I can actually stretch when I get done running instead of having to rush home and stretch.

New Personal Best

I set a new personal best over the weekend. 14...that is my new record for hours of sleep in a single night. I was blasted after a long day on Saturday and I ended up sleeping from 7 at night until 9 in the morning.
I got in about 10 miles the last 2 days to end the week with 64 miles. Not a bad a week overall, but maybe next week I will actually hit 70.

Solid 9

Ran 9 miles from the place tonight and it was a great run overall. It was nice to run at a slightly faster pace on the flats. The plan was to go for an hour but I ended up cutting it short because I decided to listen to my body.
After I ran I got in some solid core work. I will say that my core is extremely weak and I need to work on that at least 3 times a week from here on out.
The plan for tomorrow is to get in a similar effort for hopefully an hour this time.

Rest of Camp

I got in a couple good days while I was back in Harrisonburg. Tuesday afternoon I managed to get to the top of reddish knob in 44 mid, which was about 30 seconds that I did two years ago. Overall the effort was probably comparable to an easy tempo. I am extremely pleased that I could hit that time with the effort that was put in.
The past couple days really pumped me up to get back to training. I am going to hold myself back this week and keep the intensity low and focus on hitting 70 miles with low intensity. After that I would like to get in 70 miles with one or two quality days.

Camp

I am writing from the library at JMU today as I am helping out a few days at blue ridge running camp. I ended up hitting 35 miles for the week last week with 25 of that coming from the weekend. I got in a decent 10 miler on Sunday where I got dropped coming up the final hill. I am fine with that after pretty much taking the week off.
I am feeling refreshed and ready to get back to some serious training now. I dont have a set schedule, but I think I will come up with something after I see how this week turns out.

Actually ran a little today

I ran 10 miles this morning from store...the farthest I have been a week and a half. I felt a little off but the run still felt easy and I was still upbeat about running. I was so upbeat about running that I ended up getting out and running another 4.5 at night.
All the running was fairly slow but at least its a step in the right direction. I am going to give a workout a go at some point next week, so we will see how that goes.

Crappy Run But...

I ran 6 today and I was dead after I finished. There were a couple positives that came out of todays 6 miler at least. First was that I realized that I have been feeling like crap the past couple weeks. For me that means I am in better than 25:46 shape for 8k and I just need to let my body come around.
The second positive was that I at least didnt feel like I didnt want to be out there today. Usually I just want to turn around or stop and walk and that didnt happen today which was a nice relief. I have been waiting for the day when I could enjoy running again and that is the first major step back into the right direction.

4

Ran 4 miles from the store today. It was everything I dreamed of and more. I am hopefully going to get in an upbeat run tomorrow to add on to my mileage of 9.

A little break

After a not so stellar performance on Saturday, I decided to take some time off to regroup. I ran 25:46 for 8k and I was in pretty good shape coming into the race. I am just going to take it one day at a time and try and get back into the groove.

Patience

Patience is the name of the game. I havent really had a chance to go after it this week and last week was a disaster workout wise. So now I am just kind of running with no clue of the kind of shape that I am in.
This unfortunately will put a lot of pressure on the race this Saturday. I am not even sure what to really expect after the past couple weeks. If I can at least run mid 25s I will at least come away with some positives. If not, then I will just go out and have some fun for the next couple months. I guess I win either way.

Tempo

I got in a 4 mile tempo in 21:56. It was completely effort based, I didnt check my watch until after I finished. I started with 5:46 and finished with a 5:08, so I at least gradually squeezed it down.

I am happy with the effort. I would obviously have loved to run it faster but the plan for the week is just to hit peak mileage and put a good effort in at the rockville twilight race on saturday night.

Tomorrow will hopefully serve as a recovery day with two easy runs planned. Thursday medium with two run as well. Friday easy, Saturday race, Sunday long.

Long Run

I ran for an 1:50 tonight in dc. It was somewhat hot but the sun was going down throughout the run which helped out. I think this might be last run of this duration because I think it is a little longer than what I can currently handle. From now on I probably wont go much past 100 minutes.

The run went fairly well. I ran out for a little over 55 minutes and almost made it to maryland. Im pretty sure I made it over 17 miles, but I am just going to say I hit 17 for the day. I would say that I spent a little over half of the run under 6:10 pace. I ended up struggling at the end, but I never really hit the wall which is nice. I think at the end I might have slowed down to 6:30 pace, which isnt that bad considering how long I went.

No Workout

I had planned to do 3x3 mile today with 5 minute recovery. I got through the first one which was above 16:30 and I called it quits. My legs felt heavy and I didnt think it would do me any good to run a pace I could run on a medium day.
The next planned workout is Sunday. Hopefully I can get in an up tempo 13.

Sweat

I ran a medium 8 today in some new Brooks shoes that I got at Superfeet University. The pace was slow, but the effort was definitely medium. I think the shoes has something to do with the pace. They are definitely the firmest shoes I have ever trained in and I think it stressed my muscles in a way that they arent used to being stressed. My legs are still a little beat up from Sunday, but I should have felt better than I did. Ill blame the shoes for the lack of recovery.

Workout/Long Run

I did my first combo workout long run today. I didnt get in as much mileage I had planned but I am happy with how the workout turned out.
After a 2 mile warmup, I did 4x1 mile with one minute recovery. The mile times were: 5:18, 5:23, 5:17, 5:25. The 1st and 3rd miles had a slight downhill for the first half mile, where the 2nd and 4th had a slight uphill the last half mile.
I followed this with 33 minutes easy. I had originally hoped to get in 45 minutes but the heat and my muscles would not allow it.
I changed back into my racing flats and somehow managed to get through 3 miles in 16:18.
Given the workout I can say that I am in better shape than I was last week and thats all that I really hope to accomplish as the weeks go by.

More Miles, No Race

So I didnt have any battles along the Potomac today, thats always a good thing. I just took it nice and easy on both of my runs. Wait I took it fast and easy, which at times can be nice and easy. I ended up getting a total of 12 in 2 runs.
Tomorrow will probably be more of the same, with 8 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon. Hopefully this will be followed by a night out...I havent had one of those in some time.

Another Day, Another Race

I got worked today by some guy who was running to the pentagon. I passed him and then he picked it up significantly to pass me back. He ended up turning off the mt vernon trail a half a mile later. This makes the second straight loss I picked up.
Overall I felt really good today. I got in a little over 10.5 today in 2 runs. I am definitely not hitting the original 75 miles as I had planned after only getting in 9 miles the first two days. Tomorrow.

Race Report

I ran the Yorktown Freedom Run 5k this morning and finished up with a 15:23 for 2nd place. Going into the race, I thought I had a pretty good shot at winning. I was still running side by side with the eventual winner going up the final hill with 800 to go and just didnt have it in the end.

The first mile I felt kind of queezy but that slowly went away as the race went on. I felt good but not as relaxed as I should have been. I ended up coming through in 4:52, a few seconds back of the guy who ended up getting 3rd. He ended up pulling away and I had almost given up on catching him. But I decided to really go after it the next mile and ended up running 9:40 for 2 miles. At this point I felt like I was running really quick and I knew unless the guy with me died I was going to have to settle for second. I ended up holding it together until we hit the final hill and that was the end of me.

Overall I am happy that I finally got to go out and hit some sub 5 miles and that was the plan going in. The next goal is to run some sub 5 minute miles for an 8k in a couple weeks.

Race Schedule

Depending on how healthy I can stay, here are the races that I plan to do:

July 4 - Yorktown Freedom Run 5k
July 21 - Rockville Twilight Festival 8k
August 18 - NYRR Team Championships 8k
September 16 - Philly Distance Run

That is the plan for now. I seem to have something new that tends to nag every week so none of the races are set in stone.

Long Run

I got in my longest long run ever tonight. It was nowhere near my best but it was 10 minutes longer than I had ever gone before. My goal is to to improve the long run every week for the next few weeks until I can feel fairly strong throughout. Im happy, but 6:30 pace is kind of embarrassing for a long run.
I am also happy that I hit 65 miles for the week in 6 days. I think that is my highest mileage since 2005.

The plan for next week is to hit about 75 with a 5k on the 4th of july. I also have a pretty intense workout planned for this weekend.

Quick Update

Ran a tempo type workout on thursday. I did 2x2 2 miles with 2 minute recovery. Both were just a little under 10:30. I think I could have finished another if it wasnt for the humidity, so I think the workout was a success.
Yesterday I ran a few easy miles and did some drills on the track at Georgetown to work on flexibility.
Ran an easy 8 this morning from the store with some of the guys on the team. It ended up being worth the 7:30 wake up time.
Currently about to get in another easy 4 miles from the place.

Easy/Medium

I did an easy 4 this morning in Williamsburg before I rolled back to Herndon. I followed that up with an easy hour on the W&OD at night. Both runs went well...no stomach problems!
I had a little extra pep in my step for the second run when I looked up the times equivalent to my mile time from the previous weekend. Things are coming along at a pace that I am happy with. I am not sure that I will get into sub 65 pace, but at least I have something to shoot for.

humid as hell

I ran close to 8 miles today at home. I had to come home unexpectedly for a funeral. Today was my first run since the race on Saturday, and I barely even got the run in with the funeral and all. I was glad to get it in because it turned to be a very scenic run. I forgot how nice it was to run back at home.
On the other hand, the humidity was ridiculous. I always forget how humid it is back where I live. I should have know when my elbow started sticking to the door as I neared Yorktown. Even with the humidity, I managed to hit most of the run at a slightly quicker pace as memories of high school flashed back in my head.
I will be back in Herndon tomorrow.

Loudon Street Mile

I decided to hop in a road mile for my this morning in an attempt to get a little money to put towards. It turned out to be a really good experience. The course was a really good point to point, a little up but mostly down. It finished in the middle of the old town mall winchester.
I went out there planning to get into the top 3 because it would have been a nightmare to do all that traveling and come home empty handed. I ended up getting first with a 4:21, which was much better than the sub 4:30 i was shooting for. The race plan didnt really come together until the race started. Once the race started I just ran as fast as my legs could take me and just tried to make it to the next quarter mile marker. There was a little scare on the downhill in the third quarter when 2 guys started to pass me, but I ended up tucking in behind them and just taking off the second I saw the finish line.

Tuesday Long Run

I got my long run out of the way early this week. Time wise, it was my longest run ever! Well it was the longest by about 5 seconds. It was still a bit of distance off of my longest run, which was done on much hillier trail.
The run went well considering the heat index was in the mid to high 80s. I started the run a little after the 7, so as I went a long I had less and less sun to deal with. I had been struggling with long runs in the heat so I was only running 15 minutes out and then heading back to the car to get a gel and some water. This turned out to be a great idea as I never hit the wall like I had been doing on pretty much all of my previous long runs.
The first 30 minutes I was running 6:20-6:25, the second 30 was 6:09-6:12, and then I hit a little over 22 minutes in under 5:50 pace. I finished up with a jog until I hit a 100 minutes. I was happy with how the run turned out. The rest of the week is going to stay fairly easy until I hit up a street mile on saturday a.m.

Hot

I struggled a little today but it could have been much worse. It was around 90 when I ran, but I was fortunate enough to wear a heart rate monitor. I was definitely running slower than 7 minute pace because I was just trying to follow what my heart was trying to tell me. I started out slow and stayed slow even though there were some times when I wanted to pick up the pace. There would always come a time after my I wanted to pick up the pace where I feel like absolute crap...thank you heart rate monitor. On a normal day I would have started out slow, picked it up and would have been destroyed by the heat.
I did manage to get in some drills and some strides in up on the turf. So I had a good day overall. I got in about 8 total and I took it fairly easy.
The whole goal for this week is to take it easy and give my body some time to adapt to the stress it dealt with the past few weeks. After this week I am going to raise the mileage up even more and slowly build into some tempo type work at 5 minute pace.

Tempo Friday

I did an okay tempo yesterday. I ran 33:22 for 6 miles and I was fighting my stomach more than anything. My legs felt ok, but my stomach was on fire. I occasionally have stomach problems, it just takes a little experimenting to get past it.

Saturday off!

Beautiful Day

Ran 8 miles from the store today. I was pretty tired from the past couple of days but I was still able to run around 6:10 pace for much of the run in hurricanes. The effort was pretty easy other than the stomach pain that plagued me for the second half of the run.

The runs title comes from what somebody was saying as I ran by on the key bridge. Im not sure if they were actually saying that to me or if they were just on the phone. After this I did my usual mt vernon trail to the bridge that comes after memorial bridge and headed back to the store going just below the white house.

Tempo Tomorrow!!!

Another Thunderstorm

Its storming for the second straight day. This hasnt happened since I lived on the peninsula. Its kind of nice to be inside with the AC on watching rain and high winds.

I am left with the decision if I should add onto my daily total of 6 with another easy 4 tonight. Right now its looking like I am going to take the night off but we will see what happens.

Medium/Hard 10

The plan for this morning was to get in an easy 4 with Rasheed and then get in 6-8 this afternoon. Shane Young ended up showing up and he was going 10, so I decided I would at least go 8 depending on how I felt.
I ended up feeling ok, so I went and did 10. I didnt wear a watch just because I had planned on going just 4. The first mile was easy and then it kind of picked up from there. After we dropped Rasheed off, we ended up running probably closer to 6 min pace until we turned around at 3 miles. From there we probably come back under 5:45 pace, which felt much easier than it would have if I were just running by myself.
I am hoping to get in an easy 4 this afternoon if all goes well.

Easy 6 and the 2008 Trials

I ran an easy 6 today. I got in 4 strides on the turf at georgetown. Overall, I didnt feel given yesterdays effort.

For some reason I decided that I am going to give the 1500 a go next year. The 1500 in the U.S. is getting pretty ridiculous as of late. If you run a 3:37 now, its just kind of like eh...whatever. I just have trouble with giving up on what I started and last spring before the injury I was ready to roll in the 1500.

My hope is to get my operation around the beginning of November which will give me plenty of time to recover the spring season. Maybe I will later change my mind about the 1500, but for now I have been more excited about life in general than I have been in some time.

Turn the page

I had a good 8k tempo this morning. I ran 26:44, but it was unfortunately not fast enough to make any money at the race. After the race, I realized that this is going to be a rough month financially. The only thing I can really do right now is train and hope the improvements come. My plan is to step it up a little bit mentally so I can be ready to go for my next couple races.

Feeling a little bit better

I managed to get in close to 9 miles today in with 2 runs. I didnt feel spectacular on either of the runs but I at least felt better than yesterdays run.
Ive been looking a lot into nutrition for distance runners and I am starting to think that my recent problem has had to do with not getting enough food. I have been eating a good enough amount of food but apparently i should be getting in 700g of Carbs and 120g of Protein; I cant say for sure that I have been taking in that much.
Looking back whenever I have been running around 70 miles in the past, I always had either the dining hall at school or a dining hall at running camp. Now when I eat breakfast, I will eat cereal and a muffin. Thats not that bad but when I was eating at school I would have cereal, eggs, and other things on top of that.
So the next step for me is to make sure I am crushing at least two meals a day from now on. We will see how this new strategy pans out.

Not Good

Felt absolutely terrible today after running 5 miles the previous day. I only got in 3 something for the day and every step sucked. I guess the only thing I can do now is run easy until I start to feel halfway decent.

Weekly Recommendations

Trying something a little different because I know training can get a bit boring after awhile....

Music - Easy Star All-Stars Dub Side of the Moon... A great remix album in my humbled opinion.

Movie - Half Nelson... Great performance by Ryan Gosling. Basic plot with a small twist that creates a wonderful tension throughout.

Book - J. D. Salinger's Nine Stories.... This collection of stories is the most entertaining fiction that I have ever read. I found an eerie connection to many of the main character's socially accepted, yet extremely dark personalities.

Race - Manzano vs. Lomong vs. Smith vs. Brown vs. Rono (NCAA Mens 1500)... This is going to be a great race. Pifer from Colorado will make sure the race goes at 3:42. Manzano and Lomong are the obvious standouts but Smith from Providence has been tougher than expected all spring and Brown pushed Lomong to the end at regionals. Finally you can never count out the defending champion Rono.

Still Recovering

I hate to say it but I think my body is still trying to catch up after the long run from a week and a half ago. I still managed to get in 90 minutes in today at just under 6:20 pace on the W&OD. Early on in the legs just felt stiff and useless. At one point I just decided to run up-tempo and forget about pace. This was after I did the first 3 miles in just under 21 minutes. I ended up paying for this decision on the way back when my legs started to feel even more stiff and useless than they did early on.
Fortunately I took a gel along with and I took that around 50 minutes. I also stopped at an hour to get some water and I felt somewhat better after that. I know I will be hurting the next couple days because I felt the shredded feeling in my legs when I got back to the car. I am hopefully going to attempt to get close to 70 miles this week.

Easy 8

Ran an extremely easy 8 miles on the W&OD trail without a watch. My stomach has been bothering me recently, so I could only run at an easy pace. Hopefully tomorrow it will be feeling a little better since Im going for 90 minutes.
Fortunately the groin felt back to normal after yesterdays painful experience.

5/4

Got in around 7.75 for the day. Did a few 200s on the track at Georgetown at 5:00 pace. I think the day off was actually bad for the groin because thats the worst is has felt in probably a year when I was doing quick stuff on the track.

Day off

I had to take today off and yesterday easy because my legs were trashed. I kept pondering how could my legs be trashed nearing the end of a 75 mile week when I wanted to max out at 85? I think I finally figured out the answer to that question.
It appears that my troubles began last Sunday when I struggled mightily to finish my long run. I knew it was bad and I had originally planned to take it easy until Wednesday. Well I ended up going hard on Tuesday and that was when things really went awry. I didnt feel too bad Wednesday but I should have known it would have caught up to me later.
All that has lead me to taken today off and completely unsure of what kind of mileage I will hit next week.

A Bit Busted

The goal for the day was to get in a medium 70 minute run. On the way out I was hurting bad from the previous runs this week. I had to convince myself to keep going out and somehow I managed to add on at the end to get close to 70 minutes versus the 60 that I was sure I was going to run.
The pace was pretty slow for much of the run, a little under 7 on the way out and probably around 6:30 on the way back. I am hoping that the pace will help my body to recover with just an easy run for tomorrow. We will see how the rest of the week ends up.

Morning 5

Just did an easy 5 after 5 hours of work. Today will be my true recovery day for the week. I will run 7 for my other easy day but that wont have quite the same effect as an easy 5. This week is looking like it might be close to an all time high for me.

Unplanned Tempo

AM - Easy 4

PM - I had originally attempted to do a tempo tomorrow afternoon but I ended up doing one tonight. It happened tonight simply because I was pissed at how slow I was going on my medium 9 miler. I came through 4 miles in low 27s, and after that I just gradually picked it up until I hit 4.5 to 5.5 in 5:30. At that point I realized it was too late to shut it down so I just went with it and I ended up doing 4 miles in 21:33.
The positives for the workout was that I ran it 10 seconds faster than 3 weeks ago, and this time I did it in trainers as opposed to racing flats. My goal is to get the 4 mile tempo down under 20 minutes a few months from now...we will see how that goes.


Clinton and Obama...how will they perform when the pressure is on?
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0507/4155.html

Throwback Monday

I did the typical monday from my days atJMU. I started with an easy 6. Nothing really interesting happened during the run. Except for maybe when I turned around thinking a bike was coming behind me on the W&OD horse trail, but it turned out it was a cop car which was very surprising.

After the 6, I did about 8 strides on the horse trail in the pegasus racers. Unlike my JMU days, I did the full 2 mile cooldown to hit 9 miles for the day.

BonkFest

I ran a rough 15 miles this morning. The first couple miles were a little rough because of stomach pains but I ended up getting through that without much trouble. The next few miles until I turned around at 7.5, I felt great. Then somewhere between 6 and 6.5 to go, I started feeling a little off. From about the 6 to go, I knew there was an inevitable wall coming. At this point, I just started running from one half mile marker to the next without putting out too much effort and at the same time making a concentrated effort to keep the pace decent.
As I concentrated on making it to the next half mile marker, I started to struggle without breaking down. I stopped at every water fountain in hopes that hydrating might help a little (3 water breaks total). Finally the wall arrived with 2 miles to go. At that point, I just ran and didnt think about much else. It got to the point where I couldnt even really feel my legs and they just kind of moved on their own.
I still managed to get in 15 for the day under 6:20 pace, which isnt bad considering how bad I fell apart on the second half of the run.

Miles for the week: 66

Morning 5

Just ran the typical 5 miler from the place. Nothing special occurred. I did feel pretty good for a recovery day, so I shouldnt have too much of a problem hitting 75 next week.

Currently at 51 for the week.

Ten

I did a medium 10 on the canal today. I think I averaged a little under 6 minute pace; which isnt bad considering I finished the run around 12:30. It was good to get out and roll a little on the softer ground.

I got to see some wildlife that I find a little more interesting as I age. The snake in the middle trail wasnt interesting, that was just annoying.

9 miles on the trails

Ran 9 with Ben Cooke today on the trails in Georgetown. The trails in Georgetown are kind of a part of Rock Creek Park, and I think they are really Glover Archibold. I dont know how it works out, but it is pretty nice trail considering it runs straight through the city. You have to cross a couple roads, but for the most part is a single track trail.

I think I am at 36 for the week, which isnt bad for me through thursday.

Recovery

Morning - Easy 4 miles.

Afternoon - Easy 6 miles.


Both runs felt about the same. I didnt feel great and I didnt feel beat up. I guess thats exactly how I would expect to feel at this point in my training. I am starting to get the familiar point when I feel like I am doing too much, but my body quickly adapts and handles the increase in mileage quite well.

Attempted Workout

AM

The plan for the day was to hit off 5x1 mile with 1 minute recovery a little faster than the pace of my 4 mile tempo from a couple weeks ago. I ended up not feeling that great and only getting in about 3 repeats in about the time I wanted to hit. I decided to pull the plug before I started blowing up and running 5:40s, which would have ultimately occurred on the next mile.

I think there are a couple things that I need to correct so that doesnt happen during a more important workout. I definitely need to eat a little before, and I also need to hydrate the day before. I will still try and get out for another 30 minutes this afternoon.

PM

Just got an ran easy 4 after taking a nice nap. I felt good running even though my legs were still feeling beat up from this morning.

Easy 5

Ran an easy 5 miles in H-town with miller. Just resting up for tomorrows workout and the preceding morning run.

I did contemplate the possibility of doing the Philly Distance Run over the Rock and Roll half. The big difference is that Philly is 2 weeks later, but I would have actually have people running the same time I hope to run there. With Rock and Roll, I could actually sleep at home the night before the race. I will think about as time goes on and pay close attention to training to see which one suits me the best.

Too Good To Not Share

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,274138,00.html

Great Quotes: "If I was an extremist, our founding fathers would all be extremists," he said. "Without them, we wouldn't have our independence. We'd be a disarmed British system of feudal subjectivity."

"Zach was stopped April 17 on his way to Bible study"

Reminds me of a made up news story on the Dail Show

The Long Week Is Over

Miles Run: 56
Hours Worked: 53

Only one more day to go at Helly Hansen and then I drop down to full time 5 days a week at the running store. I think I feel will feel a lot more refreshed and will have some much need time off for some 2 a days if I can stay relatively pain free. Unfortunately last nights jog was a little painful in the groin area. I would say the pain was about a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10. Fortunately todays run felt really good; minus the extra 7 minutes I did not plan on running.

I got in a little over 13 for the day. I realized afterwards, that even though I planned to keep it easy, I probably spent half the run around 6 minute pace. I guess thats what happens when you run through a city. I just ran around and ended up getting a little lost until I found myself in Adams Morgan after running through a fairly diverse part of the city. I did have a little patella pain, but thats nothing new to me.

Nothing spectacular happened on the run. One guy in Adams Morgan did say something like "Pick it up, youve got one more mile to go!".

The Week Plan (5/21-5/27)

Ive decided that Im going to take things no more than a week at a time because I have no long my groin will hold. With that being said, here is the plan for next week:

Mon: 5-7 miles easy
Tues: 5-6 x 1 mile w/ 1 min recovery(a.m.)/ 5 miles easy(p.m.)
Wed: 7 miles easy (a.m.)/ 5 miles easy (p.m.)
Thurs: 8-10 miles easy
Friday: 8-10 miles medium
Saturday: 5 miles easy
Sunday: 13-15 miles easy/medium

Weekly Mileage: 66-75

The goal for the week is to get in some good base and keep building up to 85 miles. I also want to get a little bit of tempo work in, hence the 5-6 x mile with 1 minute recovery( jack daniels workout). The goal is for it to be a medium effort, starting in the mid-5:20s and picking up the pace throughout.

If anybody wants to get in on any of the runs, let me know.

Recovery (5.18)

I just did an easy/medium 7 miles around the district today. Actually I kind of ran around the busiest parts of the city. I started at the store and head along the river until I ran through a monument or two. After that I ran through downtown until I connected with M and 15th; which I took back towards the store.

Custis 10...5/17

Ive been thinking about the fact that I didnt have a 10 mile run yet for the area. I mean I could run out and back on the W&OD but that wouldnt be anything special. I guess running out back on the custis trail is somehow much more exciting.
Todays run involved running to the end of the custis trail and then running for about a minute on the W&OD (its nice the two trails connect). I ended up going out on the 4 miles of trail in 26 flat and coming back in just under 24, with the total 10 just under 62 minutes. I was really happy with the run because running 6:15s on custis is similar to getting under 6 on a flatter trail.

The previous day I ran about 8, so the last two days have gone fairly well. I did get a little groin pain in the last few miles of todays run, but it was nothing that really slowed me down. Who knows what the run for tomorrow will end up being. I do know that it will be flatter and it will be in the district.

Morning 5 (5.15)

I headed out at 8 this morning to get in an easy 5. I felt okay but for some reason it felt like a long run. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was barely awake. As usual, I did this run without a watch. There is no real point to doing an easy morning run with a watch when I already know the distance.

Easy 9...5/14

I headed out to the W&OD today around noon to get an easy distance run in. I went out a 4.5 slowly and came back progressively quicker. I didnt wear a watch so I wouldnt get into a battle with the mile markers, so Im not sure how fast I was going but it was most likely around 7 minute pace.

My body felt okay considering I ran a race a couple days ago and I took yesterday off. I probably wont have much time to run tomorrow because I am going to see mono tomorrow when i get off of work at 8! I will plan on getting around 5 in the morning before work.

No More Races....Seriously 5/12

I decided at the last second to hop into the battle of the boulevards race in Arlington today. This turned out to be a major mistake on my part as I realized how out of shape I really am. I think I ended up running in the mid 34s(10k), which is an awful time for a workout for me.

I knew the course was going to out downhill and then turn around and come straight back up, so I attempted to go out at a tempo effort and then crush it up the hill. Well I went out at tempo effort, but I just didnt have it today and I ended up crashing big time. My last 5k was in the 18s.

I guess I needed a day like today to see that its time to train and get my ass into respectable shape.

Custis! 5/10

I hadnt been on the custis trail in quite some time and i was glad to get back to get my good friend. Who would have thought that one of my favorite trails in the d.c. area would be a paved trail that runs along a highway? One of the main reason I like it is because it is rolling and there are some decent hills along the way. Also, even though it parallels the interstate it still feels like you are away from things in the crowded metropolis.

The run...I ended up just running to beginning of the trail from the running store. I am assuming I ran a little under 9.5 total and the pace was probably sub 7, which is actually pretty good for that trail. I was a little tired from yesterdays double, but I just kind of ran and tried to run a little quicker than a recovery jog. It was a good medium effort day and I will make sure to take the next couple days fairly easy, considering im working 10 hours a day.

Weekly Mileage: 31

Tempo 5/9

I decided that I would get in a 4 mile tempo this morning and it went fairly well. I ended up hitting 21:41 for the four miles with splits of 5:26, 5:28, 5:25, 5:22. I ran it completely based on how I felt without looking at my watch until I finished. I stayed fairly strong the entire time and didnt really feel to beat until the last half mile. The last half mile was kind of rough because it was straight shot so you could see the entire straight, and it was also a gradual incline which added to the difficulty.

In the grand scheme of things, I still have 17 weeks until the half marathon and since it takes me awhile to get rolling, today was not really any indication of whats to come. I plan to do this workout every few weeks as a benchmark workout, with the goal of getting down closer and closer to 20 minutes for the 4.

With warmup and cooldown, I got in a total of 8 for the morning. Im hoping to get in a second run later on and possibly a nap before that. Im fairly excited at the moment because I busted out the crock pot to throw together a little chili. This is my first time making chili, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Easy Six 5/8

6 miles (38:41)

I headed out to the W&OD to just go for a run sans parameters and I ended up with an easy 6. A few miles into the run, my foot started to hurt a little and that was when I decided to turn around. After I turned around I picked it up as I came back and finished with a 5:31 for the final mile.

The goal for the tomorrow is to get a 20 minute tempo in. I would also wouldnt mind going for a second run if my foot so kindly obliges(or maybe my groin will flare up tomorrow). I also have enough gas in my car to go for the usual wednesday visit to trader joes!

four 5/7

I just did an easy 4 miles from the place tonight. I got a little light headed which happens randomly sometimes; and I tend to cut runs way short whenever it happens. Fortunately I only planned to go 5, so it wasnt a big deal.
Injury Update: The groin actually felt pretty good, and my foot pain was minimal. The foot thing is kind of an unknown thing...so Im just taking it day by day.

Tempo 5/6

Ran in the Sallie Mae 10k as a tempo run. Overall it was a really good workout. I hit around 33:12 for my total time.
I kind of ran fairly hard just because I never really felt that smooth during the race. My groin was kind of throwing my stride off and I think I was just not wide awake given how early it was.

Rest 5/5

I ended up having to take yesterday off because my foot was hurting when I was just walking around. I also agreed to do a race this Sunday which I will just use as a workout. I am not going to go out and get embarrassed like the previous week.
I am also going to take today off because I do not have the time to get a run in before I go to work. Fortunately I did go down to the fitness center and lifted for a little, so the day was not a complete waste.
The weird thing about today is that I really really want to go for a run but I am just lacking the time and running at midnight tonight is not one of the best ideas considering I have workout at 8 tomorrow.

Tempo 5/3

I had no workouts planned for the week, but I ended up getting a tempo in today. This was a textbook effort based tempo rather than a tempo based on trying to hit a certain time which was really nice. I felt like I was flying without putting any real effort in at all.

The best part about the workout is that I have no idea how fast or how far I made it; I just stopped when I got the urge to stop. So Im anticipating that there will be no more workout until next week when I will try and throw down a 20 minute tempo at a quick pace...and this unfortunately will not be quite as effort based as todays was.

The only bad thing about today was that groin hurt on my cooldown, but at least I got in another run before my groin completely falls apart. I think I ended up hitting over 9 miles for the day in little over 58 minutes.

10 to 7....5/2

7 miles (6:14 pace)

I had thought about doing a medium 10 today but I realized with the mileage that I wanted to hit for the week that it would probably be better just to do 8. Well on the way out I didnt feel great at all. I had that feeling that if I didnt turn around at 3 miles I would suffer from dehydration. I ended up compromising on turning around at 3.5 for a 7 mile day.
Usually when I have a run that doesnt go well, I end up feeling decent either at the end or when I first start. I did not have the good fortune of either today. Early on I felt like I was hurting from dehydration and at the end my groin was hurting the way it usually hurts at the beginning of a run.
Its hard to keep convincing myself but I still believe that running with the pain is still better than not being able to run at all.

Painful Easy Run 5/1

~6.75(no watch)...fairly easy

Well...I like to start these things with well when things go wrong apparently. I was definitely hurting in the groin(sports hernia) more than normal thanks to yesterdays bike fest. Fortunately the whole run wasnt as uncomfortable as the first couple miles. I think I ended up getting 6.75 in for the day and I didnt wear a watch so the pace was all over the place. I started out slow and got progressively quicker until I turned around. Once I turned around I kept things even and didnt pick it back up until the last mile.
I decided to wear the Saucony Hurricanes which from this point on will be referred to as the "the bricks" in an effort to keep the pace slow. As always, they did their job. I am pretty much expecting that I will be feeling a lot better tomorrow in the groin area, which will hopefully allow me to get in a medium 10.

Learning to ride 4/30

Well I decided to give the bike a try today and turned out to be an interesting experience. For the first 20 minutes I rode with one of the brake pads rubbing up against the wheel which made the right much tougher than it should have been.
Once I got that taken care of, I started riding much quicker and it made things tenfold easier. I ended up getting in over an hour(14 miles) after I started thinking I was only going to get in 20 minutes. I also went after a little bit once I got past because I had no idea about what type of effort I could at until some guy went flying by. Next time I will know I can go after it a little bit more. Im not sure if I will ride tomorrow or just run. I am still contemplating a late night run tonight actually. We will see what happens.

Race...No more racing, its time to train

Well I ran a 10k race this morning and did exactly what I set to do. I wanted to go out fast and see how long i could hold it. Well i went out in 4:45/9:35 and then started to hit 5:20s to finish with 31:55.
I was going to race again on saturday but I have decided that I need to start building up for the half and stop running times I should be able to tempo. I plan to bike for a few days and then start building up to 85 if my groin can handle it.

Breaking In... 4/28

I just did an easy 6 in my new racing flats...the Nike Pegasus Racers. I like these shoes because they are basically a lightweight trainer and that is what I need for long tempos and workouts where I am going to be at a hard effort for up to 15 miles. Im not sure if I would race the half in these but depending on how they workout for the faster stuff they might get the nod.
Well tomorrow is the Pikes Peek 10k and I think the plan is going to just go after it from the start. Im 19 weeks away from the half so Im not expecting to be in great shape but at the same time if I want to run sub 5 min pace for 13 miles then I should be able to get the first few miles in 5 min pace.

The Race Pt. 1

I suppose I should actually talk about the race from the past weekend since I finally found the pictures at fotojack.com. I guess they are kind of like the road race version of prettysporty. The race was a 5k in Alexandria and I ended up hitting 15:55.
From when I woke up I knew this was going to be an interesting event. My stomach was an intense amounts of pain and I knew exactly what the problem was but I did not have the time to take care of it.
Next I arrived fairly late and the line for the bus to get to the start was too long for my patience so I decided I would run to the start and I would just run in trainers. At this point my stomach is still killing me and I have to go back to my car and get in my racing gear and start my run to the start.
I was kind of nervous because I had never done the race so I didnt know the course but it turned out that everything was marked well enough that I found my way to the start fairly easily.
Of course when I get to the start the line for the bathroom was outrageous, so the stomach issue was starting to get more and more troubling. Well I decided to jog a little more and see what I could see; and low and behold a park was found. So I headed into the woods and finally took care of business.
Well that was the prerace adventure now about the race...

A Day of Rest 4/25

So I took the day off as of 5:28 p.m. I'm kind of glad I didn't decide to head out when I first got up because my foot start hurting and it got more painful as the day went on.
Its almost a good thing that I took the day off because I am way ahead of schedule. I have recently come to the conclusion that my focus for now is the Rock and Roll Half Marathon on Labor Day weekend.
The plan is to train for a top 10 finish or run 64 minutes; which is not actually all that far fetched. In Jack Daniels book my current 1500 pr is equivalent to a low 65 minute half, and I do not take my pr as correct indication of my highest fitness level. I also know that a half marathon is a completely different race from the 1500, but I have become much better as the years go by at handling the longer stuff.
I guess my outlook is based on the idea that you never know unless you give it a shot.

Daily Run 4/24

10 Miles
60:00 (6:00 pace)
Goal Effort: Medium

So much went wrong on that run its not even funny. The effort I put in was probably equivalent to a 56 minute ten miler.
The run started off well but I felt off almost the entire time. By off, I mean I felt tight in weird places and the tightness really restricted my stride. It was one of those things where the harder I pushed the worse my stride would feel. So I kept on pushing and there was point where I was pushing hard enough that my stride started to feel halfway normal.
Well as you can probably guess something else probably started to happen when my stride started to smooth out. Seemingly at the same time my stomach started to hurt(probably from needing to poo) and I was pounded by dehydration. I knew the weird feeling that I felt was dehydration because all the sweat magically vanished from my body.
At this point I decided I would push the ninth mile and cruise the last mile in. Well as I neared the ninth mile I started to fall apart(surprise, surprise) And of course I decided to push anyways. Well it took about two minutes for me to crack and go into a jog. After this I was like fuck it and just went back after it and started "grinding" for the first time in a long time. This ended up in a 5:30 for the ninth mile. I was pretty much busted when I finished and still managed to cruise a 6:30 to round out an imprefectly perfect 60 minute ten miler.

Hollywoodland 7.2

I was impressed mostly by the actual authentic noir nature of the film. There have been recent films that have claimed to be neo-noir films but most have not really lived up to the billing. Albeit the film was shot in color; it still managed to encapsulate a number of prevalent concepts present in the films of bogart, et al. The films cinematography screamed Chinatown and the lead female was developed heavily from the classic, Sunset Boulevard.
Im fairly particular about the ways films are put together and there were a few parts of the film that dont fit quite as well as they could have. For example, I liked how they connected the two lead males through the way the story was told but I also think they poorly timed the switching from one story to the next at improper times.
Barring a few minor things, I was really impressed by the film. The ending was well set up in my opinion.

Belief Pt. 2

I read an article on cnn that had some interesting questions. For example, what is the meaning of life? Thats a damn good question and I cant give the exact answer. I have never really pondered the question much at all simply because if there is a meaning then it will be shown to me clearly. Until then I have set out some guidelines to live by. First off, I try and do good things. Its a simple concept, and it usually has a positive outcome. Im not sure why anybody else would want to have a life driven by doing evil. After that, I try and put forth an effort to try and see everybody around me happy. So sometimes, actually a lot of times this requires me to put others before myself. If I can try and make people happy and frequently do good things, that I am fine with not really having any specific meaning to my life.
Another question that I found interesting was the question "If the universe had a beginning, then who created it?" I used to ponder this question myself until I thought about how it is a question which any answer will just lead to another question. For example, if you answer God then you cannot just leave it at that. By leaving it at that you are skipping over the question who created God? For me its hard to believe that God has just always existed because it goes beyond our realm of thought. We have an accepted belief system that everything has a beginning and an end. Well this means that for us to believe that something has just always existed we have to create a new belief system just to simply answer a question that really has no answer within our accepted understanding of how everything works.
I know I am throwing around terms and making generalizations about how everything works, but I want somebody to show me something besides God that does not have a beginning and an ending.

Belief Pt. 1

I suppose I am bothered by a specific incident, or else I would not write anything that might be in any way offensive to a potential reader. I have a lot of beliefs about things that tend to start arguments between most common individuals. In certain situations, I tend to listen and imagine what I would say if I were a confrontational person. As with everybody else, I tend to think I am right about my beliefs and everybody else is just confused. Confused is replaced for the typical word usage: wrong.
Well Ill stop stalling and get down to the good stuff. In America, Christianity is the religion. Why is that? What is it about this religion that makes it more correct than other religions. Furthermore, why is there denomination after denomination?
My biggest problem with religion is that gives an answer to questions without really answering questions. And it also gives answers to questions that really do not need answers. Religion also takes credit away from individuals....

BeerRun

So during the day ive been pondering the idea of creating a new website with the title of BeerRun.com. I think the title says it all...this will be a site which will deal in part with beer and in part with running. I feel there is a definite cross-section between the two and there needs to be something to connect them. This site would obviously be based in running but it would also include a serious discussion of beer. I know there are plenty of runners who avoid alcohol completely, but on the other hand I know there are a large number of runners who are equally interested in running and alcohol. Some of the main features of the page would be national race results, running news, beer reviews, message board, pictures, and regional events with possible of an expanding nationally.

Internet!

So we officially have internet at the new place. Its weird how just getting something like the internet can take a load off your shoulders. I could obviously access the internet from other locations, but I still didnt have the stored passwords that I had on my computer. This made paying bills and changing my address a bit of pain. I ended up missing at least one payment, but thats another story for another time.
The idea behind this post is the importance of certain things that are taken for granted. In the last year I had a nice stretch of continually lacking at least one extremely important aspect of my life. It all began about a year ago when I egged my phone and was forced to live for a month and a half without a phone. This was most definitely the worst of the big three. You would be how surpised how much not having a phone can affect your life. Not having the phone was actually worse than the month and a half where I did not have a functioning car. I could actually walk to school fairly easily and more importantly I could call people if I really needed a ride. The worse part of not having a phone was ironically enough when my car broke down and I had to hang out in my car for well over an hour and freezing night.
So back to the original idea of not having the internet... thanks to the previous experiences I realized that not having the internet really wasnt that much of problem. There is free internet everywhere, but free cars and phones are hard to find.

Going Green...

So it seems without any interest in my health, that I have begun to eat well. For instance...today was the first day I used a freezer in the last 3 months. Im not trying to say that I have not used the microwave in the past few months, but I am saying that I have avoided a lot of my old favorites such as hot pockets and frozen pizzas. And actually, avoided is not even the correct word, I have simply just not thought about it. Furthermore, through pure experimentation, I have picked up some "green" foods. Some of these healthy snacks included hummus(which I am never without these days), fruit salads, salad, and random organic snacks.
Im in no way saying that I have given up junk food. I am saying that I have for some reason been attracted to much healthier foods than those I use to previously indulge upon in massive qualities. Maybe one day Ill come to my senses and start eating as many artery-clogging meals as I can consume in a given 24 hour period.