It ain't Chinese algebra!

AM: 10 miles around GP.  I finally feel back to normal after TOU.  Now I just need to get my weekly mileage back where it needs to be.

AM #2: 2 hours and 3 pancakes later....I ran around the hospital and Albertsons with Ryan while breaking in a new pair of shoes.  They felt pretty good although there is no way I'd wear them for anything beyond a 10K.  Perhaps they'll grow on me. 

10 miles around GP.  The rain began last night and continued throughout my run.  In a way it was cool--I kinda like it, especially when it's light and misty with fog laying on the hills like it was this morning.  But in a way it's not cool--knowing that 95% of my runs for the next 8 months are going to be wet, cold, really wet, or a combination of the three is a miserable thought...

10 miles this morning.  I ran to the HS and then ran 4x800 with a lap jog between each.  The rest was too long but I figured for my first speed work in a while, I'd let it slide.  Times were 2:44, 2:44, 2:42, 2:40.  Not the quickest workout ever but it's a start.

PM: 3 miles with Ryan.  The rain increased, temperature dropped and both of us weren't dressed accordingly so we called it quits a little early.

AM: 11 miles in GP.  Up to the North freeway exit, past club nw and then back home via the HS and Fred Meyer.  I finished 'Ultramarathon Man' by Dean Karnazes last night.  I don't recommend it.  That pretty much sums up my book review.

PM: 8 miles around Coos Bay.  I ran past some tennis courts with 3 guys playing and apparently in need of a 4th.  They yelled out 'do you play tennis?' and when I said 'nope,' they offered 10 bucks if I'd join them. I kept running but said if they'd make it $20 I was in.  Sadly, no offer came so I kept on going.  I'd rather run anyway...

Nothing today.  My right foot has been bothering me the past week.  It's still been runnable but my stride has changed due to overcompensation so now my calf is tweeked.  I figured they both could use a rest although mentally it was a frustrating day--I don't like to miss a run!

Back at it today.  My foot felt great through six miles, bothered me a bit around mile 7 and then was off and on until I finished.  I can't tell if rest is helping or not.  I run tomorrow and then hopefully the weekend off will get things back to normal.

There was a run (5k/10k) in the town about 45 minutes from here (Jacksonville) but due to a number of reasons, I didn't race it.  I figured I could get nearly the same workout by just heading to the HS track and running some quick laps after a warm up.

10 miles around GP, mostly west of town along Redwood Rd before returning through downtown and ending up at the track at exactly 10 miles.  The morning was perfect; cold enough for gloves but warm enough for short sleeves.  No rain but the fog was so thick that I could feel the mist on my face and had low visibility (<20 ft) during a few sections.  After arriving at the track I stretched a bit and then got started with my solo 5k.

First mile in 5:17 (78, 81, 80, 77).  My goal when I began was for no slower than 80 seconds on each lap.  Not sure why I faltered on the second lap but no biggie.  My average was under goal pace so that was good.

Second mile in 5:15 (78, 78, 78, 79); 10:32 total.  Feeling good, no complaints.

Third mile in 5:12 (77, 78, 79, 75); 15:44 total.  I always seem to slow down on the next-to-last lap/repeat/mile/etc.  It's mental.  I take my foot on the gas and save some for the end.  Lame.  It's something I need to work on correcting.  Final 200m in 35 seconds for a final time of 16:19.

I'm pretty pleased with my 'race.'  I'm pretty sure I couldn't have gone another 3.1 miles.  I didn't want to anyway...  The time was my PR territory just about 18 months ago so to be able to run these splits by myself on a cool October morning, I feel pretty good.  I doubt it means anything significant but the morning wasn't a total waste either. ;-)

4 mile cool down. 

AM: 10 miles in the pouring rain.  Thankfully it was only 55 degrees and not in the low 40's.  I was soaking just 5 minutes into the run and wasn't dressed for the continual downpour.  Heading to Eugene today where the rain is generally even worse.  Blah.

PM: 10 miles on Pre's Trail in Eugene.  I love the soft footing and it seems to really agree with my legs.  Wish I could run on it more often.

Same story as yesterday morning.  Lots of rain but not too cold so it wasn't bad.  Crazy dreams last night that I was back in the Army (basic training) and being treated like garbage from the drill instructor.  Then our base was attacked and we were scrambling for our lives.  And then I got to shower for the first time in weeks.  And then I played basketball in some airport gift shop.  Haha.

I skipped my tempo yesterday and did it today instead.  Started off with 4 miles for a warm up in 7:12/mile and then ran 5 miles in 29:58 for an average of 6:00/mile.  Felt pretty good although 6 min pace felt harder than it should have.  What's up with that?  Could have been only getting 6 hours of sleep last night.  2 mile cool down.

AM: 6 miles around GP.  Back to Eugene tonight so hopefully more miles and then a good night of sleep.  Only 5 1/2 hours last night and that makes two in a row where I'm not getting enough.  Sick kids are no fun...

PM: 9 miles in Eugene on Pre's Trail.  Great night for a run.  Perfect temps, no wind or rain.  Just perfect.

8 miles around Eugene in a new pair of shoes.  They felt good, just as they should.  I ran around campus and saw the Home Depot set for College Gameday.  There were probably 30 guys working at 6 AM getting the final touches put together.  And there were a bunch of ESPN employees staying at my hotel.  I was hoping to see Herbstreit or Corso or somebody but no suck luck...

6 mile warm up with a steady climb to the north freeway exit.  Started a 10 mile tempo near North Middle School.  I ran back into town, past the farmers market and then out along the half marathon course that I'll be running in a couple weeks.  Hit the 5 mile mark and then returned home the same route.  10 miles in 5:46/mile and then 1 mile to cool down.  Felt great throughout.

AM: 12 miles around WalMart, the HS and eventually the hospital.  Cool temps but I was fine with gloves and a t-shirt.  I'm off to Coos Bay so some more miles tonight...

PM: 11 miles for possibly one of my best runs ever. I felt fantastic! It was 75 and blue skies in Coos Bay. Incredible weather for October. I ran 4 miles from the hotel and ended up at the HS. Usually the track is locked up like Ft. Knox but the football team was practicing so I jumped on the track for a few laps. Mile 5 in 6:50, miles 6-8 in 6:46, 6:46 and 6:42. My legs were feeling zippy so I thought I'd see what I could run mile 9 in. VERY surprised to run a 4:57 on my 21st mile of the day. Maybe I was trying to show off for the football players who looked like they were going to collapse as they ran simple 10 yard gassers. 2 miles for a cool down back to the hotel and then City Subs for dinner. What a good day!

12 miles in Coos Bay. I was pretty tired from yesterday so I kept the pace easy throughout. Ran 4 miles around the downtown and then the Pre 10K route past the college and WalMart, then back to the hotel past NBMC.

AM: 11 miles around GP. I'm still feeling the effects of a big Monday but hopefully another easy day will get me back to normal. The fog was thick again this morning. It's pretty creepy in some sections of town when it's pitch black and you can't see more than 10 yards in front of you.

PM: I pulled a Sasha and ran errands around town while my car was getting worked on. First to the bank, then to the running store to sign up for the half marathon, back to the bank and then to the auto shop.

10 miles through town to the north freeway exit, back to the HS, then hospital and home. Fantastic sunrise this morning and with no fog around (which is pretty rare), you could actually see it!

11 miles in Napa, CA.  Perfect weather and I passed a lot of vineyards.  Not much else to say.

9 miles around Walnut Creek/Concord/Pleasant Hill, CA.

Ran around GP.

14 miles tonight in Eugene.  No time this morning before an early departure for Roseburg.

AM: 7 miles

PM: 12 miles and then 6th St Burgers for dinner.  Tasty! 

5 miles in Eugene.  Chilly this morning.  So it begins...

How cool is it that I went to bed sick and this morning it's even worse?  Awesome...

I get sick once every other year, once a year tops.  Bummer that it just so happened a couple days before my last race of the year.  Oh well, so it goes some times.  I woke up and just felt drained; absolutely no energy.  I ate a bowl of oatmeal, 2 bananas and took a shower and felt slightly better.  Still not much energy and my head felt hot/congested.  I debated between the 10k and half marathon.  In fact as we drove to the race, I told my wife that if I hadn't already signed up, I wouldn't run at all today.  This is the perfect reason why I don't like to pre-register and am willing to pay the extra on race-day.

I ran this course in 2008 and thought it was a pretty fair, honest course with just a couple mild rollers.  They modified the start/finish so it was road the whole way, not grass and trail for the first couple miles. a huge improvement.  The gun went off and I took the lead from the start, despite running with 5k and 10k runners.  There were a lot of participants, just not many that want to run 5:15 for the first mile.  Mile 2 and 3 were way off (7:37, 2:58) so at that point I stopped looking at my watch each mile and ignored the overall time until the finish.  I ran everything from 5:15, 5:38, 5:25, etc.  Who knows how many were off?  I just tried to run by feel and survive a race when feeling less than 100%.  I had a lead bicyclist in front of me and that helped keep me company as we ran out past farmlands on a peaceful, quiet road.

I passed the 10k mark still in first and debated calling it a day.  I didn't feel horrible though so I just kept going.  Not much else to say.  The course is great.  The weather was fantastic.  Lots of support along the way.  And it was nice to finally run a race in the same town I live in for a change.  Crossed the finish line in 1:10:42 and I didn't hit the wall in the process.  Final mile in 5:05.  Just wish I would have felt better and had a couple people to push the pace with along the way.

Best part of all was the chocolate milk and soup at the finish.  And my kid walked away with a 25lb pumpkin so he was happy too.  Score for everyone.

10 miles this morning around the hospital and WalMart.  Just a touch sore but nothing like any other marathon/half marathon I've done.

So after having a few days to digest the race on Saturday, I have mixed emotions.  I measured the course online, tangents and all, and found out that it was exactly 13.1 miles.  I was certain it was short.  I even inquired about the accuracy of the course with the RD after the race--it just didn't make sense that I could PR while being sick and running solo the entire race.   Now that I've confirmed that it was a legit course, I'm disappointed that I didn't have an accurate reading on my watch to know that I was on pace to run a PR.  I was in no-mans land with regards to time.  You like to think you give it all you've got in a race, but I'm certain I could have ran a bit faster, even just 20-30 seconds, had I have known what was unfolding.  If nothing else, I wouldn't have made so much small talk with the bike escort about pumpkin patches, golf courses, halloween costumes, etc.  Haha ;-)

It makes me want to find a race in the next 3-5 weeks so I can cash in on my fitness.  Who knows how much longer I'll be able to race well and I want to see what I can do.