AC's Training Log

64

2011-03-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

Had a great week of training last week. I got in 64 miles, two high quality days in addition to a moderate quality day.
Tuesday:
I met up with a group and did 8 x 1k with 400m recovery in 3:03. It was great to back into pack of runners around the track. It made a big difference for my confidence to finish up the workout with a few K's at or just under 3 minutes.
Thursday:
70 minute run at a moderate pace (6:08). This was on a fairly hill route and I would imagine a flatter course would have been more around 5:45 pace.
Saturday:
5 mile race on a very fast (short?) course. Less than a week after barely breaking 26 for 8k, I managed to run 25:17 for a full 5. For now, I will say I am in 25:17 shape and try to improve my fitness week by week.

Still Learning

2011-02-20T21:09:00.000-08:00

Emotionally high. I was heading into the week atop a peak, renewed with vigor, and ready to really start training. I took the first part of the week easy to help recover from Sundays effort and planned to attack the back half with a tempo and a long run. I went out for the tempo on Friday and by the time I was done, I had fallen. I was quickly reminded that everyday would not be perfect, in quite a cruel fashion.
I headed down to "The Point" (hains point) for a nice 5 mile tempo. After feeling tired all week from the race, I felt like I was floating on the warmup; this was going to be a good day. After some stretching and strides, I got started on the tempo feeling just as good as I had on the warmup. After two miles around 5:30, I picked it up and finished the next mile in 5:18. Unfortunately all was not well. I developed a side stitch in the third mile that would get worse with each step. After about a minute into the fourth mile, I had convinced myself that I would not be finishing all 5. After two minutes, the pain of the stitch was forcing me to go all out to keep the pace tempo worthy. With each right step, my body would bend to the side and I would attempt to convince myself of the futility of the effort; with each left step, I would regroup and convince myself to wait for the stitch to disappear. The stitch stayed and I did not complete the 5. I came close, 4.95 before I broke and called it a day. Of course there is the part of me that would have loved to complete the final .05, but then there is the smarter side that realizes that I am not in any worse shape as a result. In the end, I averaged 2 seconds a mile faster than when I did the same workout two weeks ago. Considering the improvement and the stitch, I am pleased.

Three Years

2011-02-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

Time flies. It really does. Im not sure how I finally made it back to standing behind a timing mat after numerous injuries that hampered my running to the point that I could not build up to a level of fitness where I felt comfortable toeing the line.

From here, who knows what happens next? Im hoping to finish up an entire season of racing and continue onto another. At the moment I am enjoying the accomplishment. The completion of my first real 5k.... in 3 years.

As for the actual race, I was disappointed after I finished. I was hoping for a time unbeknownst to me. I was looking ahead picturing myself in the lead pack. I was looking head anticipating a magical occurrence of a blast of forward thrust to shrink the distance between myself and the leaders more and more until my ultimate victory. Not today, no. Alas, I arrived back at the mats 15 minutes and 44 seconds later strangely feeling both weak and strong, the undertaking of a formerly less foreign task complete. Its funny, right after the race when the air stands still and the world slows and all you can do is smile. Im sure its kind of like the feeling the kid last off the bench on his rec team feels as he catches fire and finishes the losing effort with 8 points and 2 assists. A memory stained that is readily recovered decades down the line.

Later in the day, the disappointment receded and I started to feel like I thought I would. The effort was great, as was the time. I am certain that in just a few weeks I could hold the same pace for twice the distance. As for a few more weeks after that, I am less certain about the time I could run, but I will have the opportunity to figure it out on April 17th.

The disappointment was nice. Looking back on it, I see the fire. I see the hunger that just a couple of weeks ago I thought may never feel again. Its funny that nearly two years ago to the day (2/7/9), a former JMU runner told me to look at this way "whenever you get healthy, you will feel fresh". How right he was.

Splits for the race went something like 5:02, 5:03, 5:04

DNF pt. 2

2011-01-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

DNF? I did a workout this morning and ended up cutting it short. The planned workout was 5x1 mile with 1 minute rest at tempo effort. After a two mile warmup, I jumped into the first repeat (which I was aiming to be around a controlled 5:40) and kept things under control while managing not to peek at the pace. There were a few icy bridges which broke up my rhythm slightly. As I finished I looked down in shock at my first split: 6:11... "oops, i guess that really was like an extended warmup. the next one will be all business". I waited for a minute and took off with a little more oomph for the second mile. I looked down about a minute in and I was at 5:40 pace "uh oh, lets open it up a little". I attempted to pick it up to no avail and my second mile was right around 5:40. At this point, I was doing my best to ignore pace and convince myself the effort was where it needed to be. As I started the next interval, I thought maybe I will finally be warm. After a minute, I attempted to pick it up again and then acid start flowing through my legs similar to the intensity of a western wave or a wayward flame. At this point, I pulled the plug and settled into 7 minute pace. After one final flicker of motivation where I contemplated picking it back up, I let my pride sink from my head through the rest of my defeated frame. After a couple minutes of thinking about retrying the workout, I settled to go at it again the following week.

The reason behind the DNF is that my legs are just fried. Last Thursday and Friday I did 19 miles, then followed that up with a time trial on Saturday (3 miles in 15:46) and topped it off with a 40 mile bike ride on Monday where my body shut down mid ride. I knew I would be hurting from the combo, but I purposely made this a down week and am just realizing I need a few more easy miles to clear out my system.

Silver Lining: I just got in 8 great days of training.

DNF pt. 1

2011-01-21T08:39:00.000-08:00

As I was logging in, I noticed the last post was in May! I thought to myself "really, nothing since May?". That would make it 3/4 of a year since I had any blogworthy running. What has happended since May? A lot of the same injury. At the end of April, I began having issues with my hamstring which then moved to my calf and then a mixture of the two. After a few months of varying degrees of injury, I finally went to see a chirpractor. He quickly diagnosed a sciatica, which conveniently explained how both my hamstring and calf bothered me (basically the sciatic nerve was jacked and it was telling my muscles "to stop working...now!" and "good work haha"). I went to see the chiropractor for a few months and left about 85% healed. During this time, I purchased a bike and resigned myself to possibly turning to biking full time if I was not able to race in the spring. I kept running easy (plus strengthening and increasing range of motion) after I finished up with the chiropractor and surprisingly started to feel better. At this point and time I would say I am between 90-95% healthy.

Forgot to add a video

2010-05-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

Hamstrung

2010-05-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

This current week has been pretty interesting. I have not only felt strong on my runs, but the pace has been noticeably quicker than runs from last month. The only problem is that my hamstring has been tight since Sundays long run. On the second half of my long run, my right hamstring started to tighten up. The next day my left was tight when I was doing strides (which I probably should have cut short sooner). I have done two moderate 10 milers this week and the same thing happened. I felt tight to start, then it loosened up after a couple of miles and then I finsished with it tighening up. The first of the 10 milers, I ran easy and didnt look at my watch until I finished and ended up running just under 65. The second was last night and I felt really good from the start. I gradually picked it up as the run went along and eventually started to ease up when my hamstring started to tighten up. Both of the routes were hilly, the first being a little moreso than the second. Last night was actually impressive because the pace was only 18 seconds per mile slower than a 6 mile tempo I did on the same route 3 weeks ago.

I am anticipating that a week off for the cruise might be just what the dr ordered.

week recap

2010-05-16T12:24:00.000-07:00

There was nothing about last week because it was a planned down week. I took two days off and shortened all my normal runs. I returned to normal base this week. I finished up the week with 60 miles (right on schedule (65,70, down the next 3 weeks)). I had one planned workout and it actually turned out to be a disaster. The plan was to do a 6 mile tempo on a flat surface. The warmup went well, but it was all downhill from there. The second I started to do the tempo, it started to rain. About a minute later, it start to pour. Another minute passed and hail started to pelt me along with very heavy winds. At this point, I contemplated scratching the workout, but I pushed on. The rain eased up as I neared the first mile, which I magically hit in 5:47, but at this point my shoes and shorts were soaked. I slogged on and at one point I started to feel good, but that feeling disappeared after 5 miles and I ended up cutting the workout off just before 30 minutes. The splits for the workout were: 5:47, 5:53, 5:52, 5:23, 5:34.
Finished up the week with a 15 mile long run out at Great Falls.

26:59

2010-05-02T18:42:00.000-07:00

Need I say more...

Finished up the week with 64 miles. Had a nice long run in the heat this afternoon. I went for a 100 min and hit 6:29 pace. Happy with the week that included my first workout in years! I'll be taking it easy next week after back to back 60 mile weeks.

1st workout of 2010

2010-04-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

6:06,5:55, 5:42, 5:48, 5:54, 5:35

The splits from my 6 mile tempo/pickup. I ran up and down 16th st to add a little flavor to the workout, which actually was just supposed to stop a little short of a workout effort-wise, but you know how these things go. Overall pace was 5:50.

Needle In The Hay

2010-04-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

Last week went really well. I didnt do any workouts, but I did get in 60 miles for the week that ended with a 14 mile long run(6:16 pace). I finally decided to go north on Beach Dr to start the run, which made the last few miles much more pleasant than the typical gradual uphill into Sherril Dr collapse. Normally I finish the last mile that includes the hill out of the park in around 7 minutes... Sunday was right around 6 flat.
This week was supposed to the big week! I was supposed to run my first race in decent shape in over two years. I am going to have to skip the race for two reasons. First off, I need to work. Second, things are going well. Why race when I havent done any workouts? Why not toe the line without any excuses (hopefully in near PR shape)? Ive lost nearly 10 pounds in the last couple of months, I feel great and every week feels better than the last. There will a come a time...

(attempted to embed needle in the hay.... miss misery will do)

Late April Update

2010-04-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

I feel bad for the couple of people who occasionally check the blog for updates into my training. Its been a couple weeks since my last post and that normally means that I am injured. I am happy to report that I am still healthy! I did take a down week last week, but I am on pace to hit 60 this week. I might miss a few miles here and there this week because I am heading to The Penn Relays on Saturday.

Whats the plan?

Well I have been debating two big options for this year. One option involves a typical training progression of base, threshold, intervals and a peak. The other option involves a year of base. I have been contemplating, waffling, debating and have come up with mixing the two options. But, I will be focusing more on the second option throughout the year. I will be building up the miles until September, including tempos in June and incorporating intervals in September. I will run races throughout the year, but my heart will be set on track next spring. Dream on...

Last Week

2010-04-06T16:28:00.000-07:00

Last week went pretty well. I managed to hit 55 miles... probably the most I have run in almost two years. I also got in a pretty solid 2 mile pickup. Now that I have made it this far, I need to make sure I start to plan out somewhat of a future schedule, rather than just waiting until just before the week starts to plan my runs. But not too far in the future of course... x bitten, y shy.

Hello. How 'bout that ride in?

2010-03-31T21:05:00.000-07:00

An interesting thing has happened over the past month. I have been feeling a little younger every couple of runs. It feels good to be at a point I havent been at in over two years. I am reminded of a part in once a runner when quenton (i think) is describing how you can never remember how it feels to race until you are actually racing. Well i am finding out the same goes for just running when you are starting to get into shape. The body becomes resilient. You can shift from tired to strong deep into a run. The mundane becomes profound. Ritual becomes life.

Another interesting thing happened yesterday on my run. I ended up with a random blood stain on my shirt. I was getting ready to do some drills before my strides when I realized there an unmistakable red spot on my shirt. After a number of attempts to figure where the blood originated, I gave up and gave credit to my nose (even though I have never had a bloody nose in my life).

Monday I added another mile to weekly pickup for a grand total of 2 miles! I headed down to the canal for a 9 mile run on a nice flat and soft surface. Unfortunately, it was extra soft on Monday as a result of some heavy rain. The run ended up going really well. I managed to hit 10:41 for my pickup after a fairly slow start. It took about 3 minutes before I really got comfortable and fell into a smooth and controlled tempo type effort. I will probably take next week off and move up to 3 miles the following week (sub 16 or bust...).

Slowly

2010-03-10T19:43:00.000-08:00

I am starting to get into halfway respectable shape. I only ran 30 something miles last week to take it easy on my it band. I did manage to add a quick mile to the end of one of my runs, just to see where I was. I ended up hitting 5:37 with a gradual hill or two thrown in. Overall, it was good to get the legs turning over, but I did feel a little more pain than normal with my it band the next day.

I was planning on skipping the pickup this week, but I felt really good yesterday and decided to give it a go. The mile before the pickup, I ran 5:48, so I had a feeling that it would be a good bit faster than last week. I was right, as I came through the mile in 5:14 feeling strong. The best part was that my it band felt pretty good today. Now I just need to keep getting a little stronger each week and I might be ready to race one of these days.

Too Much

2010-02-18T16:37:00.001-08:00

In my last post, I mentioned how I ended up getting a little overzealous during my long run... well, I did. I felt good Monday, but on Tuesday I was limping throughout my run. My IT Band was causing me a good amount of pain and I ended up cutting the run short. I also ended up taking Wednesday and today off to play it safe. I will try and do an easy run tomorrow, but I am not expecting to feel great. Ive been out so long that I am not in any rush to push through an injury; not to mention I dealt with an IT Band injury in college for 6 months. I ended up getting over it by taking a week off, so if it means I just need to take a week off again, I have no problem with this.

Weekly Update

2010-02-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

I think I might have finally reached the point when I can start regularly updating the blog again. I just finished a week of training that was a respectable enough to write about. I havent started doing workouts, but I have been running at a decent pace and a decent distance.
I managed to get in 6 days of running last week even with loads and loads of snow (February record for DC). The total was 50 miles, comprised mainly of running through neighborhood streets at night, carefully avoiding black ice at every intersection. The only real notable run was todays long run. I headed over to Rock Creek for 13.6 in 1:25:41 (6:18 pace). I really didnt think that I was getting overzealous, but apparently that was not the case. I was running a little easier than the start of last weeks long run, but I think I ended up going a little too fast right after I turned around. I think I should have realized that when I hit my first gradual uphill mile in 5:51. Oh well, I kept up and as I neared the end of the run, I ended up stopping at the top of a couple of big hills, therefore turning my long run into somewhat of an interval workout. After the run I checked to see that my second to last full mile was 6:49 (ouch!). Magically(read: thanks to the stopping), I ended up finishing my last .6 at 6 flat pace.

Running

2010-01-11T12:46:00.000-08:00

I have been doing this crazy thing called running recently. Its oddly familiar, like something I did years ago. If I remember correctly, I used to run a lot faster and farther. I guess most importantly I have been running without pain. This has been step 1 of my 3 step process to recovery. The next step involves adding strides (the action that caused my achilles injury late last february) and finally workouts to complete the process.
Recently I have been around 40 miles a week at 6:40-7 minute pace.

A Tale of Two Runs

2009-12-16T15:53:00.000-08:00

As I move closer to a full year of achilles tendonitis, I am still learning a few do's an dont's. I have found some shoes that work well and some excercises that help my feet become more responsive as they hit the ground (helping to relieve some stress off the achilles). I have also found a number of shoes that dont work. Last week I started a run in a pair of these shoes and had to turn around and switch into the good shoes. It would seem as if armed with this knowledge I might be able to progress a little. Fortunately, I have made a little progress. I have run 30 miles the last two weeks and am on pace to run even more this week. Unfortunately, I have had painful runs in the good shoes... hence "A Tale of Two Runs". Even worse, I have had some good runs in other shoes.

The trick over the past few weeks has been to focus on the current week and the next week no matter how well things are going. I have had some definite days where I was feeling great and had to fight off thoughts of 40, 50, 60.... mile weeks. All I can really do is stick with one of my favorite corporate slogans over the past couple of years.... "I am what I am"

Wheres Waldo

2009-09-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

... remember that childhood game? Well thats kind of like my running over the past couple of years. Every so often when I least expect it, I see that striped hat, but more often than not I am just blankly staring into open spaces.
Last month I was starting to feel pretty good, albeit over the course of pretty short runs (30-50 min). Now I am dealing with some slight plantar issues, but I have been on the stationary bike 5 days a week for around 60 min over the past couple weeks.
I am finally heading to PT today, so I am hopeful for the future. The surprising thing is that I have never been really frustrated over the past couple years. I have been good at not letting running take over, but that might be because I have run so little that I havent really built myself up too much.

RITZ....12:56!

2009-08-28T13:26:00.001-07:00

Update

2009-08-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

The achilles has calmed down a bit, which has allowed to attempt a long base phase. I still plan on heading to PT in October since I still have a bump on my achilles. At the moment I am just running 30-40 minutes a day 5-6 days a week. Depending on how I feel, I am going to slowly creep up the durations of the run. At some point I am going to have to start running with people because comebacks are usually slow when its just one person on their own.

Still Injured

2009-07-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

My achilles is still bothering but I have least found a pair of shoes I can run in that minimizes the pain. At the moment I am trying to save a little cash for pt. I was getting treatment until my health plan switched over in june. I have talked to a couple people and it sounds like this injury could take some time to treat, but I have all the time in the world (or at least until I hit my early 30's).

good news bad news

2009-03-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

I went for a short run last night and my achilles was definitely tight. That makes it about a month and a half since it first started bothering me, with about only about 5 runs in that time period. The good news is that the pain was higher up and not at the insertion point anymore. This should make it easier to stretch and massage.

Track 2 : four tet-glue of the world

2009-02-12T12:55:00.001-08:00

I have a massage tomorrow so this warm weather injury mix might end soon

Warm February Mix Track : My Morning Jacket - Dondante

2009-02-11T08:04:00.001-08:00

Enjoy this mix with the windows open and the sound up

Weak Week

2009-01-31T09:54:00.000-08:00

With the ice and some achilles tendonitis, this has been a fairly unproductive week. Recently I have been just running by feel to take it easy on my achilles. I am almost certain this is a result of doing strides in spikes. I can only imagine trying to run a 12k in spikes.
Todays run was actually good....not great. I started off at mid 7 minute pace and finished off just under 6 for an hour long run. My achilles was tight for the first couple miles but slowly warmed up as the run went on.
The plan is to keep taking it easy until I can get back to regular training.

Best Week of Workouts Ever

2009-01-26T10:57:00.001-08:00

No, not this week.... I found the link to my old training log that was poorly converted over to active. So just in case active trainer or cool running uses google alerts, I have to state how terrible the new training log is. I understand that the costs of running the training log was probably too much for the site, but active does not compare to the user-friendliness of cool running. For now I use logyourrun.com.
But back to the actual post, I have tracked down what is most likely my best week of workouts ever. The week started on April 11th 2005(my 22nd bday!). The first workout on Tuesday and we did 3x800 and 3x200. The 800s were followed with full (6 minute) recovery. I am not sure what the pace was originally, but I guess it was something like 2:04 for all by looking at the times. That is a workout that you have to be focused and feeling good for. We ended up running 2:04, 2:03, 1:59. Running that close to 2:00, anybody would start to get a little hungry and try and dip under 2. I remember the workout going relatively smoothly and feeling in control on the final 800.
Side note, I just found a workout that I did solo that started with a 1:57 800 two years prior. The coach was not even on the track for this workout, which makes it even more impressive. But back to the original topic because that is only one workout.
The second workout seemed more intimidating than the 3x800 in the low 2 minute range. The plan was to run a 1000 in 2:30, followed by 8x200, and ending with an all out 500. I was confused by the fact that I would have to run an all out 500 after running a 1000 at my current all out best. The good news was that it was so windy we changed the 500 to a 400. The bad news was that we were still going to run 2:30 with the wind. Fortunately we had teammates who were doing strides that took turns blocking the wind during the 1000. We ended up running 2:29 low for the 1000(a pr for me). My teammate who had run 2:25 indoors, edged me out as he had in every workout that year. We followed that up with 8x200 and then the dreaded all out 400 with nobody to block the wind. I cant remember, but I can only imagine I was barely edged out again even after running a 54 400 .
I wound up running a 3:49(which ended up being my pr) that year, but feeling as everybody does, I should have run faster.

55

2009-01-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

for the week. This week was a step forward from last week in both quality and quantity. The workout was not spectacular, but there will be plenty more workouts, and as long they are better than previous weeks, I'll be happy. In addition to running a touch more mileage, I made a conscious effort to start running faster on the normal runs.

First Workout/Racing

2009-01-23T13:54:00.000-08:00

I finally got in my first workout on Wed night after work. It was somewhat of a rude awakening. I am really out of shape!
I did 4 miles in 22:24(5:36 avg). I chose a difficult route for my workout, that way at least I could blame some of a slower time on the hills. I started in downtown bethesda on the capital crescent and headed down towards georgetown for 2 miles. The first two miles were nice with the downhill: 5:21 and 5:27. I actually felt really good when I turned around, but the uphill got the better of me. My breathing became labored even though I felt like the effort was right and the bottom slowly fell out as the workout progressed. The next two miles were in 5:50 and 5:43. The last mile was a little faster because it flattened out. At least I have an idea where I am, and I realize I have long way to go.

I have a racing schedule lined up, but I am going to wait until about 3 weeks before races to decide if I am going to race because some races have back up races if I am in not enough shape for the primary race. The first race will be George Washington Birthday 10k in Alexandria on February 14th. The goals are 31:45(minimum), 31:30(good), 31:15(!).

52

2009-01-21T12:29:00.000-08:00

miles last week with a crazy long run. Saturday I nearly died after a rough long run. The first 11 miles actually went really well, but running into the wind eventually caught up to me. I did a slow death into the wind and eventually finished up with a 7:30 final miles after running under 6:30 pace the whole way. I spent the next few hours in bed shaking and slighty chilled for the next 4-5 hours.

20

2009-01-17T21:34:00.000-08:00

Guest post...kind of

2009-01-15T09:14:00.000-08:00

Follow this link to see the best track and field athletes of all-time according to orrin

Back

2009-01-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

I took the weekend off from running when I was in NY, Ill get back into this week with my first workout of the year.

The Week Behind/The Week Ahead

2009-01-04T16:07:00.000-08:00

I finished up the week with53 miles. It was another good week, with a good long run and 10 miler with a 3 mile pick up at the end. Todays long run was a little over 13 and the overall pace was under 6:30. Once I start running under 6:15 comfortably, then I know it is time to go. I did a 3 mile pickup in the middle of the week, which is something I picked up from Hudson's book. I usually scheduled workouts with no real easing into the workouts, so the first couple workouts are a shock to the system. With the pickups, I am gradually getting my body ready for tempos later on (2 weeks). The miles were approximately 5:59, 5:53, 5:36. The second mile was the most impressive given where I ran it.
The plan for next week is to take it easy. I will probably only run 6 days as I am heading to new york on Friday to meetup with some old teammates. No workouts, 80 minute long run, 3 days core, and two days of strides.

one week stronger

2008-12-28T16:23:00.000-08:00

I ran a little bit more this week than I have been running recently. I finished up with around 56 miles for the week, with a couple days of strides and no workouts. I am hoping next week will be my final week of just easy running. I need to check out the schedule, which will be pretty much the same as last year before I got injured.

Canal

2008-12-25T11:57:00.001-08:00

The canal is always my secret weapon during base phase. I do a lot of runs on undulating terrain, and as a result my pace tends to be slower on the whole. Every so often I head out to the canal to get a flat run and give myself a better idea as to where I stand. I headed out there today and got in about 9.5 at sub 6:20 pace feeling pretty solid.

Hopefully I will get in 12-13 this weekend and finish up the week in the mid 50s. I still think I am about 2 weeks away from starting tempos.

getting into shape

2008-12-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

I am currently somewhere between in and out of shape. You can tell when you are in shape, when you stop worrying about pace on easy days. When you are out of shape and not quite in shape, pace tends to fluctuate between way to fast and embarrassingly slow.

Yesterdays run was a good example of having to worry about pace, fortunately it showed not in the out of shape way. I ran the first mile in around 6:45, which is actually a quick first mile for me. The second mile was around 6:15, way to fast for an easy run; but nowhere near as bad as the 5:45 for the third mile. I was pretty sure I slowed down after the second mile, but somehow I picked it back up. I had to look at the watch a couple of times because I was pretty certain I read it wrong and had run a 6:45. It is kind of like when you are getting gas and instead of paying $40 to fill up, now you are paying $20 and you have to check to make sure you are using the 93 instead of the 87 or that the pump didnt just stop temporarily. I ended up stopping for a second to slow myself down after the 5:45.

I finished the run around 6:30 pace with 6x100 at AU.

no speed

2008-12-22T19:54:00.000-08:00

I stopped by the AU track to do some strides which I had been hesitant to start because I had some mild groin pain for the past couple of weeks. I ended up doing 4 total and they were pretty pitiful. Granted the wind chill was probably around 10, its still sad to do strides around 5 minute pace.

Workout

2008-12-14T17:47:00.000-08:00

I went into today hoping to get an idea where I was after countless 6 and 7 mile runs at just below 7 minute pace. The past couple of weeks have been in the high 40s and this week finished in the exact same range. I started this year in pain from an old injury, had surgery in may, spent the summer building up, got plantar fasciitis, took two weeks off, now am back just shy of 50 miles of easy running.
The goal was to run just under 34 minutes, and if that didnt happen, I would be happy as well as motivated. I started off with my first two miles in exactly 5:30 (good), but was slightly panicking because I was unsure if I would blow up or not, so I tried my best to relax and keep the pace where it was. The next mile was in 5:34 and I still felt really good, but started to give up on the idea of breaking 34 after the slightly slower split. Around 3 and a half, I was given a gift... I was passed by another runner. This event sort of shook me out of my comfort zone and I ended up picking it up and came through 5:29 for the next mile. I was still not expecting to break 34, but at least I stopped slowing down and felt a first wind. At some point in the 5th mile, I finally felt like a runner again and managed to relax and roll to a 5:22? At this point, I felt great all over except I started to feel something coming up from my stomach and had to slow to avoid getting sick. I picked it back up and this time, it made it up to my throat and I barely managed to hold it in*. This time when I settled down, my legs started burning like crazy and I thought my run was about to completely fall apart. I spent about 10 seconds completely falling apart and fortunately came back to life to finish with a 5:21 to complete a 33:53 10k (goal accomplished).
Overall I am really happy with how today went. I never really strained, minus the near throwing up, which is a good sign for the future. I can probably start doing weekly tempos probably two weeks for now, if all goes well.

*This is not the first time this has happened. This usually happens when I am really out of shape and learning my body again. There was one summer (2002) where every time I did a tempo run I would throw up late in the run or at the very end of the run. You can imagine I was quite nervous heading into the first workout of the year that I would get sick in front of all my teammates, but the mysterious vomiting ended when I returned back to school.

Last week

2008-12-10T07:46:00.000-08:00

I ended up running 48 miles last week in 6 days, thanks in part to two long runs. You can get away with that kind of stuff early on, when there are no workout and just easy runs. I ran 11 on monday to rush into 13 on saturday as a part of a half marathon race. I am still a little beat up as I ran 6 minute pace on saturday, and I usually run much slower for much shorter distances.

Difficult to Lake Fairfax

2008-12-01T17:50:00.000-08:00

Ran from Difficult to Lake Fairfax today and it turned out to be quite the experience. I guess it rained a lot recently and turned the trail into a muddled mess. To give you an idea of just how bad it was, I am going to give a recap of parallel splits(the run was an out and back)
Mile 1/Mile 11: 8:06/7:32
I hate to say it, but the 7:32 was probably the split I was the most proud of the entire run. This was probably the most the difficult mile of all, followed closely by the next mile.
Mile 2/Mile 10: 7:46/7:35
On the way out, I contemplated turning back considering I was just slopping around, and not really getting a run in; but I decided to press on since I was actually having a good time playing in the mud. For those familiar with running in the mud, I should point out that there was a variation of the sticky mud and impossible to gain traction (slippery) mud. Fortunately there wasnt too much of the slippery mud, or I probably would have went a different direction.
Mile 3/Mile 9: 6:40/6:43
This mile provided a false glimmer of hope for the run, as it switched to gravel from the single track that I was on earlier. Pretty much as soon as this mile ended, it switched back over to single track.
Mile 4/Mile 8: 7:04/7:08
This mile was a lot better in terms of traction, but unfortunately (usually fortunately) I ran into some hills which definitely got the best of me at least on the way out.
Mile 5/Mile 7: 7:28/7:06
This mile had a decent amount of gravel, but also a decent amount of elevation change. It turns out that Lake Fairfax is really just one big hill, and the 7:28 shows that. The 7:06 also shows the same thing as the two hills were so steep that I had to gently run down to make sure I didnt kill myself
Mile 6: 6:58
I hopped off the trail and did an out back on the soccer fields at the top of the park to get myself a much needed reprieve from the mud and hills.

Overall, it was a great experience. My legs may not agree in the morning, but its rare to get the chance to play in the mud as you age. I highly recommend it.

11 miles 1:20 (7:17 pace)
Garmin out

43

2008-11-25T08:15:00.001-08:00

...again

fun

2008-11-22T09:14:00.000-08:00

...will explain later

solid 8

2008-11-19T18:40:00.000-08:00

ran a solid 8 tonight down and back up 16th st. pace was around 6:25 according to the map.

Inspiring Story

2008-11-19T09:30:00.000-08:00

Part of an article from the Post about a guy who went from a near death accident to Ironman in a couple of years:

Last weekend, the bike went nowhere, the running shoes sat in the closet and Brian Boyle took a minute to reflect on the season just ended and the lifetime ahead.

Since the near-certainty of death four years ago -- few people who tangle with a moving dump truck survive -- he has competed in two Ironman world championships, the longest one a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bike race and then a 26.2-mile marathon, all on a single day.

He did both races, and halfway through the 112-mile bike leg in Hawaii, he turned at the top of a huge hill and began to race down it.

"I just started yelling, screaming. I let it all out right there, all the agony and emotion. I wasn't Brian Boyle, the sick boy. I was Brian Boyle, the Ironman," he said.

Full Text Here.

Nike's Best of the Best

2008-11-18T13:38:00.000-08:00

"Twenty-three years ago, Nike landed one of the greatest endorsements of all time: rookie basketball player Michael Jordan. The company designed a red and black sneaker for the star, but the shoe was banned by the NBA because it violated color rules. Jordan wore them anyway, racking up $5,000 in fines per game. The publicity that followed scored Nike a major hit: By May of 1985, the company had sold and received orders for $70 million worth of Jordans, and overall company revenues jumped 37%."

Full text here

Kara Goucher

2008-11-18T12:29:00.001-08:00

here

43

2008-11-16T17:59:00.000-08:00

...for the week. All easy days and a long run of 57 minutes.

7

2008-11-13T11:05:00.000-08:00

I did an easy 7 from the house yesterday. I would say it was my best run since I took two weeks off for plantar fasciitis. I know 7 miles isnt much, but I am really excited about running and feeling better daily.

I need to update the links on this site

2008-11-06T21:33:00.000-08:00

My internet viewing has definitely changed since I originally created the list.

Here is a good article about Bush...I agree that things have gotten a little ridiculous

google trends

2008-11-05T19:15:00.000-08:00

I was reading an article about how to kill time now that election is over, and it led me to google trends. Check it out: http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends?sa=X

Not surprisingly Michelle Obama's dress is in the top 25, less surprising is multnomah county elections in at 37.

I guess I should point out running has been interesting recently. Last week was definitely a down week. I took a couple days off and my foot returned to its peak pain, which isnt that bad but it does affect my stride. Fortunately, today was better.

Blast from the past....6/17/08

2008-10-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

A new series for the slow times where I post a random run or workout from when I was young.

6.2 miles 36:56(5:57 pace)

I felt great so I ran fast around town. The run was basically the reverse of what I usually do. Went out through southview

Highlights: Somebody finally saying something when I ran alone. My reaction time is really slow and as a result I could only manage to get a finger up. Hearing somebody bumping Mike Jones as if they actually enjoyed the song....was another highlight.

Marine Corps 2008

2008-10-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

More Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/AllenGCarr/MarineCorps2008#slideshow/5261635747681027346

a few good posts

2008-10-24T12:15:00.001-07:00

Here is a blog I found while I was bored. I am pretty sure he is Deena Kastor's training partner.

Excerpt: Normally I type really quickly, sometimes so fast that people think I’m fake typing because it sounds like I’m just banging the keys nonsensically. But today I’m pecking at the keys with only one finger and it’s taking forever. Why would someone who can type so fast only use one hand? I think the answer to that question is obvious…because my left arm doesn’t bend in the direction necessary to reach the keyboard ever since I broke my elbow four days ago.

http://www.nyrr.org/races/pro/usa_distance/mikemckeeman.asp

Cross Country!

2008-10-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

A picture from where USA XC Nationals will be held. I ran an easy 6 out there yesterday and enjoyed the clear skies and the perfect fall weather. I cant say it will be quite as nice come February, but it will be a great event nonetheless.

RCP...the rest of the pictures

2008-10-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

http://picasaweb.google.com/AllenGCarr/Rcp#slideshow/5258679715640486978

untitled run

2008-10-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

Halfway through my run tonight, I noticed the loudest sound was the ubquitous rock creek just off to my left, followed closely by the sound of a singular set of feet falling to the ground, which were occasionally amplified by impending leaves haphazardly placed by the midly chilling temperatures that have recently arrived in the mid-atlantic. It seemed as if darkness was all that existed, except for the minimal bit of moonlight that provided me with some sense of purposeless direction. Magically, with every step, I learned that there was a tangible reality that existed beyond the pure blackness; and only in my mind was there proof of humanity within the night just behind me. The surrealism endeded aburptly as the sounds of a siren and city buses pierced the temporary serenity that the run had provided. This ...was rock creek at night.

30 minutes + redskins

2008-10-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

I have just been running 30 minutes for most runs, so I will probably try and find other random things to write about until the mileage picks up.

The redskins are now 4-2 after a disappointing loss to the rams yesterday. Fortunately they have a chance to get some momentum back(or completely implode) against the lions and the browns. I am in no way an expert on the sport of football, but I will give an amateur analysis as to why they lost to one of the worst teams in the league. It all starts with the game against the eagles. The eagles served as guinea pigs for future redskins opponents by skewing a well balanced offense towards the run. Unfortunately the eagles werent able to contain the run (200+ yards), but they did manage to keep moss completely out of the game. The rams went for the same thing on defense, and kept moss at bay. This works because it takes away that 20+ yard reception, which can really deflate a defense. Unfortunately moss is only 5'9 (i think) which only leaves short screens and deep play action routes. In addition to getting the redskins to focus on the run, they also forced a couple momentum killing turnovers, which was the second big key to the rams victory considering they only had 200 total yards (redskins 368).
There were some big positives from the loss at least. Portis has been consistent since the giants. Campbell has been looking better every game, staying patient and stepping up into the pocket like a vet and finding his 2nd and 3rd receivers consistently. Finally, the defense only giving up 2oo yards and no touchdowns was pretty impressive considering how many times they had to come back on the field after a momentum killing turnover or with a short field to defend.
The question is what will zorn do next? I think he should stick with what he has been doing all year. They need to stay patient and realize they wont have another game like the last one.

Back after two weeks

2008-10-08T16:41:00.001-07:00

I took two weeks off to try and ward off some plantar fascitis. It was never so bad, that I couldnt run, but I thought it was better to deal with it now rather than in the spring. Unfortunately I cant tell if it is completely healed now, but I am going to just build up the miles and see what happens.

My first run back was actually somewhat eventful, even though it was only 3.6 miles. My first mile was around 7:30, followed by a mile where a group of kids in silver spring commented on how short my shorts were(of course i replied, albeit weakly) and where I was raced by a guy going unbelievably slow until the second I passed him and he picked it up attempting to stay with me, so I picked it up taking what was going to be about a 7 minute mile to a sub 6 minute in just a short hard(all-out) burst, and finishing with a mile just under 7 minutes.

There was an incident last year where I was passed on an easy run by I guy I passed and I have never really gotten past that, so that explains why I wasnt taking any chances today.

rest

2008-09-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

I think most runners, no matter how intelligent, struggle with taking an unplanned day off. I had been fighting it for awhile now, but I have finally decided to let my body recover for a day or two before I get back into building up. I have been dealing with some minor plantar pain recently, so I am resting now to let that recover.
I did a tempo run yesterday as part of an 8k and timed my arrival to the race poorly. As a result, I did not get a chance to warmup, so the tempo was more of a waste than anything. I ended up running 28:30 for 8k feeling tight for pretty much the entire thing.
I am unsure if I will do a threshold workout this week to make up for it or not, but if I am feeling better as the week goes on, I will probably do a workout.

Long Run

2008-09-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

I had the day off, so I decided to head out to Great Falls, more specifically Difficult Run. A few easy days and some nice weather led me to to push it a little bit. I ended up going farther and faster than i have in the current buildup. Before the run, I decided to go 80-85 minutes and hopefully get in 13. I decided during the run, as I approached the 5 mile mark, I would just go for 13. I hit 5 in 32 minutes and picked it up once i hit the flats and turned around in 41:15. I probably got a little too aggressive and am feeling the run all throughout my body as I am writing this.
Easy days to follow.

Flat

2008-09-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

I finished the week with a little over 10 miles for my long run on a hot and humid morning. The past few days I have felt fairly flat and have just been getting the miles in rather than worrying about pace. Even feeling flat, I still felt like I have been getting more and more fit everyday. I ended up with just over 43 miles in 6 days for the week.

49 point

2008-09-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

I managed to get in between 49 and 50 miles for the week. All the miles were controlled as no workouts were planned for the week. I will say that 50 was a noticeable jump from 45 and as a result took monday off from running. I remember last summer too clearly to back and forth and up and down with miles and intensity.
I will probably put off all workouts until next week and hopefully get in 45 easy miles for the week, with a goal of getting a workout in the following week and racing a 5k or 8k the following week.

Repeat

2008-09-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

I did pretty much the same this week as I did the week before. 7 days and 45 miles. Next week 50...

4 mile tempo

2008-08-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

I did a 4 mile tempo on the capital crescent last night in 22:20(5:35) pace. I am happy with the effort as I hit 11 minutes going downhill and 11:20 fighting back up to the start. Overall, I stayed in control but even 5:30s feel somewhat fast to me right now. I think I will skip out on the tempo for next week and just do an uptempo 8 mile run, while increasing the mileage to about 50(this week will probably be around 45 again).

7 days

2008-08-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

I had a successful week last week after hitting my goal of 7 days with a workout thrown into the mix. I only hit 45 miles, but it was more than enough to work my body. I will probably stay at the mileage for the upcoming week and include a similar workout.

Workout 2

2008-08-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

I set out on my second workout since the surgery last night(counting rockville twilighter as my first). I didnt have any written down and decided about an hour beforehand that today was going to be my workout day for the week. The plan was to start out easy and then find a quick, yet relaxed pace and then pick it up until gradually until it started to exceed a tempo effort. I did not use any mile markers or really have a set distance. It was to be a progression run in the most literal sense.

I headed down to the Georgetown and settled on a 6 mile loop that follow the Potomac. I hoped to finish the whole 6 miler before ending the workout, but I ended up about a half a mile short and jogged the rest of the way in. I ended up running the full 6 in 36:44, which is pretty slow for a workout, but I put in a good effort and it was actually really hot. When I was driving to Georgetown, my car read 91 degrees on the dashboard. The second plan for the rest of the week is to run everyday. And then to head into next week and do a workout similar to yesterdays(hopefully a little quicker).

Trance

2008-08-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

I finally made a jump in training, or at least temporarily have stepped up to the next level. Last week I managed to hit 40 miles and the first run of this week was a 7 miler at 6:16 pace. I headed out towards Bethesda on the CCT from the store and felt really stiff through the first couple miles. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldng relax and get into a comfortable rhythm. I eventually got to the point of the trail where it swithces over from asphalt to gravel, and my body shifted into autopilot as I started cruising down near 6 minute pace. At one point I looked back to see if I was down a big hill, because I needed some explanation as to how I felt so good at the current pace, but it turned out if I was going down a hill, it was a very small hill. I was also kind of worried that I was going so quick before I had even turned around, but on the other hand I love the feeling of running some place you have never run, and not worrying about how far you have left or how fast you are going, but simply just going and slipping into a trance like state. I was unfortunately awaken from this trance after I turned around and made it back onto the asphalt. I still managed to keep pace on the asphalt, but it was not nearly as comfortable as on the gravel section.

40

2008-08-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

I hit 40 for the week unexpectedly. After only running 4 days last week, I managed to run 6 and feel pretty good throughout the week. The runs were all pretty pedestrian, but that is fine for now.

4

2008-08-04T13:53:00.000-07:00

I am so out of shape that I am keeping track of how many days I run a week rather than focusing on how many miles I run. Last week I ran 4 days, although I was hoping to run 5. I figured by taking yesterday off that I would be more prepared for this week. The reason I am not running 7 days is because its tough for me to follow a 6 or 7 mile run with a run that is less than 30 minutes. I have always found it kind of pointless to go for run that didnt last 30 minutes, even if it was a second run.

Stiff

2008-08-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

I ran 7 miles yesterday from the store with the running group. I felt ok for the most part, but I also felt really stiff. I went out in around 7 minute pace and came back probably around 6:30 pace. The run was uneventful outside of hearing footsteps from behind about 3 miles in. I of course didnt look back and proceeded to run the next half in 3 minutes. I later found out that it was a guy from the group who started out slower and was trying to catch up to me, not just some random runner on the trail.

2008-07-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

I have been running, just not enough to substantiate an actual blog posting. Today was really no different, a 5 mile run from the house, but it turned out to be a refreshing 5 miles, thanks in part to the sunsetting as I was going through Rock Creek Park. I made an attempt to head back and follow the route I ran in my car, so I could get some pictures, but the sun was was too far west to really get anything great. I did at least head back to the garden that I ran by about 2 miles in. The pictures werent great, but I at least know what time to head back next time. If I can time it right, I will definitely upload those pictures here or at my other blog of choice...limited existence.

End.

Fitness

2008-06-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

Apparently I am way more out of shape than I thought I would be. As a result, I am going to start doing runs shorter than 5 miles when I feel the need. I had decided that I wanted to try and keep the runs at or past 5 miles, and slowly build up from there. Unfortunately my legs arent having any of that 5 mile talk. I ran 6 miles today, but I know tomorrow will probably be a struggle. So if I even run tomorrow, I will ditch the 5 mile stigma that I created.

38 miles

2008-06-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

..for the previous week. I might stay around there or actually go back down closer to 30 for this week.

Control

2008-06-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I went out on a run and started out a little too fast. Instead of slowing down, I ended up keeping the same pace throughout the run, and needless to say it wasnt one of my best runs.
Last winter, before I really messed my groin up, I was running a good bit slower than what I could have comfortably handled on almost all of my runs. I would occasionally pick it up near the end, but the runs would be very very relaxed.
I am starting to make a point to replicate what I did during the previous winter because it had a number of positive effects on my training. The most important thing was that it kept me relatively healthy. The other big thing was that it provided with a lot of fire for when I really needed to go after things. By the time for my first real workout, which was a 5 mile tempo in 26:30, I was ready to go after things. But then of course the race I ran in early January caught up to me, and recovering from harder runs would take me a week.
So the plan for now, is to stay in control during my runs until I feel as if I am ready to start working out. And who knows when that will be?

30 miles

2008-06-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

I hit a little over 30 for the week last week and finished up with a 50 minute long run on Sunday. I am actually a little more tired than i expected, but I am not doing any workouts or races anytime soon, so its not a big deal. I might have to stay at the mileage to let my body catch up or just keep running more and more to see how my body responds.

Short shorts

2008-06-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I finally worked up the courage to run in short shorts from my place. It wasnt as bad as I thought it could be but it was still a little more than I was ready for.
And then today due to lack of shorts available and being so hot, I had to run with short shorts sans shirt. As a result, I had to run a little faster starting out through Chevy Chase so I would look a little less ridiculous.
I think I might actually take tomorrow off, as I have run everyday since Monday and I am starting to feel a little tired. I even managed to lift some weights for the first time in two years today!

6 more...but faster

2008-06-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

I got a little carried away yesterday on the run and now I am actually a little tight because of it. I ended up hitting 6 miles in under 37 minutes and nearly died in the process. I felt really good on the way out but when i turned around at 18:45 and started heading uphill, I started to overheat like crazy. My head and feet were on fire and I was just trying to run in a straight line. I was expecting to pass out at anytime, but somehow I managed to run the second half fast.
I think I might hit mid to high 20's for the week and build up to 50 and then go from there.

6 more

2008-06-04T19:23:00.000-07:00

Last week I absolutely struggled through a 6 miler in 45 minutes and this week I felt as relaxed as I could have felt running 6 in around 40:30. I guess a week from now I may have to develop some sort of a plan if I can comfortably run 6 miles at 6 minute pace.

Hammer

2008-06-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

I have had a couple pain free runs since the surgery. One being a 6 miler which I hammered(relatively speaking) in 45 minutes and one this morning that was 30 minutes. This mornings run was mostly through Rock Creek on Beach Dr, and unfortunately that place is packed on Sunday mornings. As a result I carried my momentum down the big hill into the park and proceed to run way to fast(probably just under 7 minute pace). At one point on the way back, I had to stop out of view of the bikers and other joggers so I could return to somewhat challenging effort vs. the all out war I was waging on my body. When I returned to the hill my goal was just not to walk, and I barely made it to the top without having to stop. I am not sure what my total time was, but I came back a little slower and that is usually a good indicator that I went out too fast.
Next run will be with the group from the store Tuesday.

Run/Jog

2008-05-28T16:45:00.001-07:00

I drove over to Rock Creek today and ran(read: jogged) a couple of miles. I didnt wear a watch and I have no idea how fast(slow) I was running or the total distance. I drove over because I figured less people would see me running if i was in the park versus a busy street. Maybe its just me, but being really out of shape has made really weird about running in the public, as if the general public is going to point out that I am really slow.
I will probably run with the store group tomorrow, that way I can make sure I keep the race controlled and I will be able to go a little further than today.

Update 5/10

2008-05-10T20:02:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day back at work after surgery. They said I should take a week off of work but I decided to go back a couple days after and it was actually not that bad. I ended up not having to taking any of the heavy painkillers, only two advil were needed to make it through the day. I definitely still had the heavy stuff in my system as I wanted to sleep for most of the day, but I made it through 8+ hours successfully.
Overall, I felt the best today by than I have felt since Wednesday. I wasnt sure what to expect as yesterday was the second most painful day after the day of the operation. I think work was good because I was in such a small area, but things changed whenever I would leave the store. I walked to get some food and realized I couldnt help but walk hunched over with my ass sticking out. I am sure it looks pretty ridiculous, but it feels pretty good.
I will say that I have an itch for running, but I am still not in any rush to get back out there. The main reason I am getting the burning desire to run is because I am feeling a lot better than I thought I would be feeling. Who knows, maybe months from now I will be complaining about still being in pain.

Post Op

2008-05-07T16:56:00.000-07:00

Well its May 7th and I am still alive. The surgery is over and it will probably be some time before I see how well it really went. I have a follow up a week from now, so I can talk with the doctor a little bit more about it. I ended up having both sides worked on which is good because I have heard of some people getting one side worked on and then having the other side give them problems later on. In addition to the work on the pelvic floor, I also a received a shot of steroids in both left and right groin, which hopefully will help me get back out there quicker. I am not in a super rush after all the time I have taken off over the last two years, I am just going to take things as the come. Two years ago, I took off for periods of 5 week, 4 weeks, and then a couple months without even doing a couple miles, so however long now wont be an issue.
I am going to try and chronicle the recovery period, so that maybe people deal with this injury later on can get an idea of the recovery process.
As of now I am in pain! Not out of the world pain, but if I do anything to work my abs -- such as bend over or move in bed -- the pain jumps to about an 8 out of 10. I have a prescription for percocet(sp?), so hopefully that will make the recovery process a little bit more pleasurable.
There are a million things to write about, so I will try and post the occasional blog when something arises or returns to my brain. I will say I overheard my roommate say he saw Randy Moss when I was still in a daze. I am not sure why Randy Moss was in a hospital Philadelphia, but I am sure it was more about business than pleasure.

More updates to come....

Surgery

2008-04-09T11:54:00.001-07:00

May 7th...more details to follow

Phone Call

2008-03-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

I got the phone call I was waiting for from the doctor in philly. I wouldnt exactly call it the phone call, but more like a phone call. My insurance is going to cover an MRI, which is not going to show anything if the injury is what I think it is. So now the saga continues as I will be heading to get the MRI on April and then following up with Dr. Meyers, which will lead to checking to see if my insurance company will cover the operation. In the meantime I am going to start running easy again to rediscover the joy of running.

Injury Update 3/12

2008-03-12T13:51:00.000-07:00

I had my doctors appointment in Philly and I would probably say that things arent looking so great. The doctor said the last thing when I saw him over a year ago, but when I mentioned I was on an HMO this time his outlook wasnt too promising. I am currently waiting by the phone to see if my company will cover the operation that I need. The doctor said they have to get a preauthorization from my company when I asked if they would cover it or not. That means probably not, because if they would cover it then he would just say "yeah, its not a problem, they always take care of this operation". It was like when I got a phone call from my mom saying she had to tell me something. If she had good news to tell me, she would have told that she had good news me in the message. I was correct in guessing the news was bad, just like im pretty sure ill be correct in assuming the insurance wont cover me. I will report back when I get the call about what happens next.

Injury Update

2008-02-29T11:35:00.000-08:00

"I bought my mom a car, and spent the rest on PCP"
-Chapelle Show

I finally have an appointment setup with the specialty doctor in Philly to take a look at my groin issue. I saw him over a year ago, but my insurance would not cover the operation for a year and I ended up dropping my insurance once they raised the price and I could no longer afford it. So now I am back to the beginning with an HMO this time around, so it will be interesting to see how that goes.
The appointment is for March 11th, but I have to meet with my PCP first in the Reston/Herndon area. More updates to come following the visit.

New Blog Out Now

2008-02-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

I have done a couple posts on the non-running blog. I guess there is no better time than now to make it public since I am not doing too much running these days. If you would like to be added to the list of contributors, send me and email at allengcarr@gmail.com

Without further ado... New Blog

Retiring

2008-02-18T13:38:00.001-08:00

At least until I get my injury taken care of. I am not a fan of the taking it easy, doing a workout that knocks me out and then taking it easy again. I am a fan of running and enjoying it. This is something that has not been happening since the road mile on new years. I have been having pain in my lower abs in addition to the on and off groin pain I have dealt with for almost two years now. I think it would just be exhausted mentally if I tried to keep at running hard and racing on top of trying to keep an injury under control. I would much rather just be young and enjoy myself through different means. I am in no way retiring from racing for good. I know there are some people who try and take little breaks and end up never getting that competitive spirit back. I can say I am the type of person who is going to be in his 60s hammering out runs. It is something that I cant shake, but I can fortunately temporarily shut it down. I will still be running in more social situations(group runs) and if the weather is really nice. There are no real plans for the next couple months other than to take of my injury first and put competition in the back of my mind. If I have any good running stories, I will make sure to post them, but the blog will probably be fairly dead until I get back after it. In the mean time, I am working on a more random blog that will be launched shortly.

Thanks for reading,

Allen

New Blog

2008-02-15T10:52:00.000-08:00

This blog was getting a big scattered lately, so I decided to create a non-running blog. I am also looking for contributors for the new blog. So if you like to write or have some good stories to tell... email me at allengcarr@gmail.com and I can add you to the list of contributors.

The Plot Thickens

2008-02-14T11:52:00.000-08:00

..or maybe it thins out. I am meeting up tonight with a new friend and her friends in Chinatown tonight. It turns out she was more confusing on the phone than she was on Friday night. So I am sure I will have some form of a story from tonight.

I feel like I am a lot like that rogue trader in France. I kind of know whats going to happen but I keep going full steam ahead when I have a great opportunity to pull out.

Videos

2008-02-13T07:59:00.001-08:00

I tend to stumble across youtube videos on a daily basis and some our funnier than others.

Bad Bartender

Street Valium

John Stewart + CNN + Spongebob

Slow Day

2008-02-12T20:46:00.000-08:00

I was probably only outside of my apartment for 2 minutes total today. It was cold outside and I wasnt really feeling like going anywhere today. I attempted a run, but the wind tunnel outside the front door persuaded me to skip it. I have kind of shut down my competitive spirit until I start to feel decent again on a daily basis. With that spirit taking a break, it is easier for me to take days off from running.
Without running and not leaving the house, what is left to do? I guess I could have titled this one Bored pt. 2. I finished up watching Lawrence of Arabia(which was good but not a movie that will relieve one of a bored state) and I also decided to use the Netflix feature where you can watch movies instantly and watched Grindhouse: Planet Terror (which actually was entertaining enough to wake me up). And recently I found some CD's in my closet. Most of the CDs were junk, but one was labeled Jack Johnson, onelinedrawing, Rilo Kiley, John Mayer. The Rilo Kiley songs are all from the first album and they are pretty damn good.
I am hoping to get a run in tomorrow. I am definitely taking it easy until the race and then taking it easy for some time after the race.

Bored

2008-02-10T18:23:00.000-08:00

I am very bored at the moment. One big indication of that is the fact that I am actually writing this blog. The other is what I like to call double paging. Double paging is when you are getting ready to type in a website and you remember that you were just on that page no more than 5 minutes ago. I am not ashamed to admit that it was my double paging of facebook that brought me here tonight.

Tomorrow will be a big day for me. I ran until my groin caught fire and kept going. About a week and a half ago I did a tempo and the next days run was one was painful from the start to the finish. The next couple days walking around a corner was painful, so I didnt even think about running. The reason I am even hopeful about tomorrow is because the aforementioned tempo was also followed by a second run and a pretty good core workout. This mornings run/workout was not followed by either of the possible previous culprits.

Then there was Friday night. I went out and met up with a good friend of mine at McFaddens as soon as I got off of work. Very early in the night I see this girl who I am pretty sure who was at the house I watched the Super Bowl at. She walks by a couple minutes later and it is her, so I do the whole introduction thing. She is on her way to another bar and so I get back to my group. Ten minutes later I get a call from the Super Bowl party host saying I need to call this number and that her friend is into me. Of course I call the number and end up heading to a bar in Dupont to meet up with this girl and her friends. So I am on the metro heading to Dupont and then I start thinking Dupont/Fuck/Maybe/Whatever. I arrive at the bar and finally find the girl. I would say that she was with a group of about 8 people and as the night went on I realized that they were all gay. I was intoxicated, it was loud, I was out of my element, and it was dark. As a result, I was unable to figure out who was the Friend or if there ever really was a Friend. Unfortunately(or maybe fortunately) there were no clear indications as to who was actually into me. There was a point in the night when she actually explained to me that "my friend, I, we" was the one who was into me; which was of course as confusing as everything else surrounding the situation. I would be happy to leave the night be as a good story, but I am actually somewhat interested in this girl. One thing I remember clearly is that she told me to call her so we could hang out. But that brings up the question of did she say that because she wanted to hang out or because she realized I wasnt gay and wanted to make the situation a little less weird. If there are any other updates on the situation, I will make sure to post about it. I would say next Sunday would be the time a post might appear.

Easy does it

2008-02-08T13:10:00.000-08:00

I did an easy 8 this morning on a new route from the store. I ran down the Capital Crescent and hopped off just below the water treatment plant to make one of my first loop routes from the store. I guess in the last year I have done a lot of runs as out and back and not as many loops as I did back in college.
I felt okay on the run, but not great. As the day has gone I have some minor discomfort in my lower abs, but not nearly as bad as last week. I still am sure I would be struggling if I tried to get a workout in. As a result I might just run easy up until the first planned race of the season.

8

2008-02-06T13:01:00.000-08:00

I ran an easy 8 today without a watch. I felt good for the first 3.5 miles and then my lower abs started to tighten up a little bit. The abs stayed under control for the rest of the run, but I could definitely tell it was liable to cause serious pain if I increased the intensity too much.

I would say that I am not at a point where I could go and put in a high intensity effort, but I will say that I am happy to just get outside and run easy. I will continue to run easy until the tightness is no longer a problem. I will let the 10k in a week and a half be an exception, as I will hop in that for the team and then take whatever recovery I need following that effort. After that, I am going to do whatever my body will let me do.

Minimal Pain!

2008-02-05T13:03:00.000-08:00

I ran a little over 4 miles today with only a little discomfort. I have unfortunately not run since last Thursday due to a lot of pain with just everyday activities. Reading about running today and having the day off left me with no options but to give it a go.
I wouldnt say I felt 100%, but I felt a lot better than I did on Thursdays easy run. I am not sure what happens next, but I am going to be careful and take everything day to day.
I hope to hop into the 10k in a week and a half, but I am not sure if I will be able to workout before then. If not, then that race will serve as an indicator for whether or not I will be able to recover from high intensity efforts.

Striking

2008-02-01T13:47:00.000-08:00

I have a somewhat funny store from this morning. It is probably one of those things that you would have to experience to really think that is was amusing.

It starts with me taking a tour of a gym nearby the store. I was being taken around by a woman whose name I cant remember, but I had met her a few times before in the store. At one point near the end of the tour I ended up talking to the manager who ended up hooking me up with a free membership. So the women who was giving the tour went to the front desk to go make the membership card while I was talking to the manager. I ended up going over to the front desk to get my card, and in addition to women who gave me the tour, there was now another woman who was at the front desk. In all honesty, I would have to say she was an 8 before I heard her talk. After I heard that she had a Russian accent, her rating shot up. This is important to the story.

So when I get up to the front desk, there is an older man there with a smile on his face. Both of the women are also smiling and the one who gave me the tour is repeating the word 'striking'. I have no idea what she is referring to, but I end up realizing that they are trying to figure out what the word means. I am getting ready to blurt out that its when you hit somebody, but she decides to look it up online.

Next comes my 'Ahh' moment... She reads the definition out loud and the guy looks at the Russian women and says "I mean it..."

Definition: attractive; impressive: a scene of striking beauty

"I mean it, you are striking" was his full sentence and he repeated the sentence again for good measure.

This leads me to question who is worse? The guy who said what was on my mind or me who just thought what the other guy said

Tempo 3

2008-01-30T15:57:00.000-08:00

I got in a pretty good tempo today. The goal was to get 5 miles in 26:40 and I ended up running 26:29 for 5.
I would say that it wasn't the smoothest workout, but that will take care of itself over time. I ran 1.5 miles into the wind and then finished up the rest with the wind at my back. It was actually really windy today and I handled the wind well, but I think it threw me off a little bit when I turned and had it at my back. I felt really tight and not really in control. I relaxed a little bit as the workout went on, but I never really felt smooth like late in last year.
The splits went 5:23, 5:29, 5:12, 5:15, 5:08

The rest of the week is just going to be easy running and hopefully a 16 miler on Sunday