Dragons

I just got back to the house--note the time of the post. It's hard to be really on the ball when it comes to paying 25 dollars for surefire embarrassment, disapointment and discomfort. Plus, parking was a challenge for a guy rolling up right at 6:30 and trying to slip into the Bank of America to get some cash. There were all these cones because apparently there was some sort of...race...or something. Surely Urbanski reads Dragons regularly, so at least he'll know I tried.

It's been quite a streak since I last wrote anything on here. I actually didn't think I'd be getting around to it until maybe later this week but I got some time before I have to leave for the first day of my internship here. The last few weeks have been a bitch, to say the least, and I'll be honest in saying that I don't think I made any progress recently. Quite a few missed days -- coupled with short, slow runs when I have gotten out -- represent the opposite of my January hopes of having a decent schedule down come this, the start of summer. I don't have very good time management to start with so adding in the stress of finals etc pretty much makes a watch completely useless for a couple weeks. I'm more and more impressed when I read about Mike getting slammed at work and still popping out 13 milers (no long runs for me for a couple weeks).

Anyways, I missed the Cinco Race and am now 'focusing' on the Tucson 5000 this Sunday, May 20th. Obviously I am a little short on time to be fixing whatever I've lost since the Spring XC Classic but I am still hoping to be under 18 minutes (let's be reasonable) which almost seems like a reasonable effort considering how sub-par my racing went when I was training well.

Perhaps this summer will have to include some all-comers track meets and Parks and Rec road races so I can, at least, have a little fun out there.


Summer Races -- If we get this, we win in Iraq -- T5K

Well, my grand old tripartite training plan has officially gotten fuzzy. This week I ran, like, a few times. I'm feeling pretty good about my running as it is, but I do nonetheless count on my Mud Run performance being in the range of ugly to fugly. This week a number of persons more sensible than myself joined the bachelor's degree-holding community--congratulations are due--and I was on hand briefly as an auxilliary celebrant. I'm afraid the highlight of the weekend, though, came just a couple of hours ago, when my dad gave me a Dixieland jazz mix tape. I tell you, nowhere else have I heard music so ebulliently affirmative of capitalism without sounding bowdlerized or unintentionally foreboding. I could happily devote my life to investment banking if only I could work for a company that piped a constant stream of Dixieland through the building.

Today, I will be a college graduate and will be quickly thrust into the Corporate world. While graduation usually leads to the beginning of "real" life, it marks the end of the a time where running can be done without much interference. In college, you can train at any time and easily get in mileage and workouts. Plus, if you are afforded the opportunity to compete for your school, traveling to and entering races is not contingent upon the availability of money and, most important, time. Now, the days of doing runs at 10 AM because you slept in till 9:45 on a weekday are gone by the wayside and replaced by the unfortunate training times of before 6 AM and after 6 PM. Oh well, I am still going to continue training.

In regards to my training, I am on a crash schedule to get in shape for the Tucson 5000, Accetta's downtown race, and the Camp Pendleton Mud Run. So, my weekly mileage has increased steadily over the course of the past 3 weeks to the tune of 35, 45, and 55 for this week. I have also managed to fit in a few workouts including two tempo runs and two track workouts. What has been lacking in my program is a long run but I will correct that come next week where I will try and fit in a 15 miler sometime before the 5K.

Hopefully, come next Sunday, I will manage a 5k under 15:40.

Bear Down

This morning I tried, for the third day in a row, to get out and do a run. This morning, for the third day in a row, I was turned back by my foot. I don't know what it is -- but the left foot hurts. It had been sorta noticeable during runs last week but it never seemed like something that was getting worse or required special attention. That is to say, I don't think I was stubborn to try and run through this.

After Monday's being stopped before even being out the door, I tried again last night. Over 48 hours of rest (and worry) for the foot, I thought, would have given it time to work out whatever kink was in it (it doesn't feel like a bone thing -- it feels like an odd cramp thing). I was incorrect and I'm glad I didn't force myself through anything last night.

So, yeah, this is a drag.

Now, apparently, that mouse I caught a couple weeks ago, is back (or there was just more than the one). I've decided to move on from trying to catch it to just straight up poisoning it. What? Mice don't have souls. I'll add it to the list of things going wrong that I plan to make right...with poisoning.

Anyways, I'm sort of pissed that this means I won't be running the 10k race on Sunday. But then again, it also means I won't have to drop $30 I don't have to run a rough ass course that takes a up a chunk of my long run route. I may still go watch though. I'd like to see how people approach this race -- maybe for next year.

So that's the update. We'll let you know how things are coming in a couple days.

J is going to India -- Sidewinders win in bottom of 10th -- 5 de May Race on the 6th