It ain't Chinese algebra!

Great run today.  I didn't feel like running any of my usual routes so I put some music in my ears and just ran wherever and however I felt.  It turned out to be a giant loop around the valley.  In a nutshell; north towards the Walkers and then Providence Hospital, west on McAndrews past the mall and to the west Albertsons, south to Stewart, east past Fred Meyer and onto Barnett.  Rather than a straight-shot home, I ran up the Rogue Manor Hill which was just brutal after 12 miles.  Down the other side, past St. Mary's and home for 14.5 miles on the dot.  My body feels good and so does my mind.  It was an enjoyable run and nice to change things up for a change.

White (461)

I was feeling the effects of yesterdays run when I woke up today.  I didn't stretch as I should have and paid the price for it.  Live and learn--I managed ok regardless.  4 miles to the Walkers, 6 miles with my dad and 6.5 miles home with multiple add-ons.  Both of my hip flexors were incredibly tight the last mile but I stretched after getting home and I feel much better.  Cold this morning.  I've been told that Medford is currently 10-15 degrees colder than normal right now.  It could be snowing though so I won't complain.

Boston (148)

6 mile warm up on the golf course loop (including running to the dog park on Barnett) and finishing at St. Mary's High School for some speed work.  I wasn't sure what to expect as it's been MONTHS since I've done official speed training on the track.  Other than some occasional tempo runs and races every-other-month, speed work hasn't existed.

I'm not following any type of training plan leading up to Eugene.  Really just winging it, but that's good enough for me.  I decided to try 8 x 800m and shoot for anything under 2:40.  Not sure why I picked that goal but it seemed 'toughish' but not too grueling for my first workout of the year.  Between each repeat I jogged for 60 seconds (always right at 200 meters).  Splits:

• 2:34
• 2:31
• 2:30
• 2:30

I jogged 2 laps and considered being done.  I even jogged about 10 steps off the track only to talk myself into finishing and quickly return.  Same as above, with 200 meter jog between each one, right at 60 seconds:

• 2:29
• 2:25
• 2:31
• 2:26

Not sure what happened on the 7th one--maybe I just wasn't having much fun at this point.  It was raining, slightly windy and I've decided speedwork sucks by yourself.  Finished off by running 1.5 miles home.

Sinister (298)

8 miles as I ran the St. Mary's and Albertsons loops twice. It was all I could do to hit 8:10/mile. Legs just weren't feeling it this morning. Hopefully I can sneak a few more miles in tonight.

White (469)

4 more miles tonight. I ran to St. Mary's with the dog and then ran 2 miles on the grass barefoot. Feels sooo good. Then home.

4 to the Walker's, 5 with my dad and 4 home.  I was sluggish today.  Usually the morning after some barefoot grass running I feel refreshed but that wasn't the case today.  Just dead tired--must be the end of the week.

Boston (161)

Today was one of the most enjoyable runs I've ever experienced.  My dad and I left Medford @ 7:30 and drove 45 minutes to run around Applegate Reservoir.  We found the trailhead no problem and started out in a casual 8:00/mile pace.  I'm not sure how far we ran together; I'm guessing 10 miles or so on the East side of the lake.  The route was entirely single-track with lots of ups, downs, arounds and everything in-between.  We jumped back on the main road just North of California and headed back towards the dam and our car.  At this point my dad stayed on the highway and I hopped back on the trail for the next 5-6 miles until the dam.  After that it was 1 mile across the dam to the car/finish line.  Maybe we were a little naive before we began, but we didn't drink any water to carry any type of fuel--by the end I was wishing I had some gummy bears, jolly ranchers, etc to keep me going.  All's well that ends well though...  This run may not have been the best training run for Eugene but I don't much care.  We ran just over 2:30:00 so the pace was nothing special but I had a blast.  The course was amazing, just like I was imagining.  90% was ran on single-track under the shade of the trees, the forest on the left and the lake just a stones-throw to the right.  Perfect weather, great course, lots of fun.  I'm seriously considering running the Litha Loop Trail Marathon in Ashland now, most likely in either of the next 2 years when they host the U.S. National Trail Marathon Championships.

Sinister (316)

My highest week ever...