Sunday August 31 (am) - 3M

Easy run with CA to Great Meadows and back.

Day 3M
Week 41M
Summer 506M

Stats:

12 weeks = 84 days
506 miles = 42M/week = 6M/day

Days off = 3
Longest day = 13M (7/29)

Saturday August 30 - 6M

From Concord Academy, ran 3M to Fairyland Pond and back, then added on 3M after practice running the course at a good clip.

Karina's strength workouts will either make me tough as nails or kill me before the season even starts.

Day 6M
Week 38M
Summer 503M

Friday August 29 (pm) - 6M

Ran from Concord Academy, 6 miles along the course, up and down the hills and exploring possibilities for interval workouts through the woods.

Day 6M
Week 32M
Summer 497M

Thursday August 28 (pm) - 7M - RACE

Raced at Fresh Pond (2.45M). I wanted to have a good effort for several reasons:

1) Wanted to see progress after 12 weeks of training and now several weeks of speedwork

2) Wanted to compare this week to two weeks ago

3) Wanted a race-like effort before the USATF-NE 5M Race on Sept. 7

The race met my expectations, and was pretty successful, I thought. Two weeks ago I tried to stick with Terry, Jonathan, et al., and ran a hard but under control 14:13. This week, everyone was racing hard, and although I went out harder, I was languishing in about 7th after half a mile. I think I did a good job of managing the race, and caught several people. I ended up racing the last half-mile with old friend John Blouin, and had enough of a finishing sprint to avoid being caught. Ran 13:51 (5:40 pace), and felt good. We'll see how that translates to the 5M.

Summer training is almost over, as I bear down on 500 miles.

Day 7M
Week 26M
Summer 491M

Wednesday August 27 (noon) - 6M

Ran from work -- down to Horn Pond and around. Felt better than yesterday, and had to hold myself back to be eager for tomorrow's time trial at Fresh Pond.

Day 6M
Week 19M
Summer 484M

Tuesday August 26 (pm) - 6M

Ran from home, almost robotically, the six-mile Johnny Kelley loop. Started slow and felt sluggish and uncoordinated. First mile was about 8:00, but eventually I must have sped up to near 7:00 pace, although it seemed as though the whole run went by in slow motion. Finished in 43:08.


Day 6M
Week 13M
Summer 478M

Monday August 25 (pm) - 7M (Intervals)

Drove around looking for a track, but Belmont Hill was being used by football players, and Belmont H.S. had just painted theirs (what's up with that?). Finally decided to run 800m intervals around the pond in front of Belmont High.

2M warmup + 2 x strides
6 x 800m @2:49, 2:49, 2:47, 2:48, 2:47, 2:45, with approx 1:40 rest in between.

Felt pretty good, all things considered. 10 min cooldown.

Day 7M
Week 7M
Summer 472M

Sunday August 24 (am) - 10M

Felt a little better this morning, with a lingering sore throat but almost no congestion. I had made a date to run with Franca, and we ran a very nice, very leisurely (8:00 mile) 6M through Weston along the Fuller Brook Trail and Aqueduct.

After getting home, I actually decided I felt good enough to run a little more, so I added on four miles at closer to 7:00 pace. I felt better after running than before. Hydrated crazily afterwards.

Day 10M
Week 41M
Summer 465M

Saturday August 23 - Day Off

Only my second day off of the summer, and with the end in sight.

I woke up feeling sick, and also had to face a drive out to Amherst and back. I decided to minimize the stress of trying to get a run in and focus on the trip, and drink a lot of liquids and keep other medicines handy. It was a long day, and I had a headache and sore throat that wouldn't quit.

Day 0M
Week 31M
Summer 455M

Friday August 22 (pm) - 7M

Started to feel like I might be getting sick (headache, scratchy throat) during the day. I haven't had a cold for a long time, but maybe I was coming down with something yesterday, which is why I felt so tired and achy.

Anyway, I was also stuck at work without a car (long story - Loren needed it), and it was getting late, so I caught a bus and rode it to Mass Ave in Arlington, then jogged the 7M or so home at 7:30 pace.

My legs felt fine, but the run probably didn't help my cold (might not have hurt, who knows?)

Day 7M
Week 31M
Summer 455M

Thursday 8/21 (pm) - 6M

Really felt tired on this run. Not enough sleep last night, no energy today. It would have been a good day to take off, but I'm too much in the habit of the daily run to do that. My quads were also very sore, probably left over from Tuesday. Ran the last 4M at slightly over 7:00 pace anyway. Seems to be my pace these days.

Day 6M
Week 24M
Summer 448M

Wednesday August 20 (pm) - 6M

Final NSRP run of the summer. Ran with Terry, Doug, Jamie, and Seb for about 5M at 7:00 pace and then headed back while they added distance.

Felt surprisingly ok after last night's track workout.

Day 6M
Week 18M
Summer 442M

Tuesday August 19 (pm) - 6M - Track

The plan tonight was to run 2.5M of intervals, mixing longer intervals into the workout and keeping everything at 5K pace. If all goes well, next week I'll run 3M of intervals -- almost a normal track workout.

2M warmup + drills + 4 strides

400 @ 85 (to shake things out)
600 @ 2:04
1000 @ 3:29
1200 @ 4:15
600 @ 2:05
600 @1:59

200m recovery between everything, except 400m after the 1200.

1.5M cooldown


Day 6M
Week 12M
Summer 436M

Monday August 18 (pm) - 6M

Easy 6M at Cold Springs with Henry and Ankit. Needed an easy run.

Day 6M
Week 6M
Summer 430M

Sunday August 17 (noon) - 10M

A beautiful day -- sunny, warm, dry, with a nice breeze. There have been so few this summer...

Ran out Comm Ave to Cleveland Circle trying to stay on the grass as much as possible. Felt good for most of the run, but my legs -- especially quads -- were kind of rubbery by the end. I think this has to do with the last three days rather than today. I tried another "ice" bath, but I don't think I'm getting it cold enough.

Day 10M
Week 47M
Summer 424M

Saturday August 16 (pm) - 7M

For the second day in a row allowed myself to be dragged through a quick run by a youngster entirely untroubled by the effort.

Ran 7 miles with Matias starting at Brookline High and heading over to the Arboretum. I'm sure the entire run was at 6:50 pace or better. Tough.

Day 7M
Week 37M
Summer 414M

Friday August 15 (pm) - 5M

I drove to Concord to run with Tyler, but it looked for a while as though we would be swimming instead. The rain was falling so heavily at 5 p.m., that I feared my car would stall out in the deep rivers of water sluicing down Route 2. Once I got to CA, we checked the radar and decided to wait for a while. I think we finally got out the door around 6:00, an hour after we had planned.

And after all that, the run was fine. Wet, but nice. A little fast, perhaps, as Tyler is very comfortable running a minute faster per mile than me, but really it was a very nice run. And as a bonus, David accompanied us on his bike.

Day 5M
Week 30M
Summer 407M

Thursday August 14 (pm) - 7M - Tempo

This was the most encouraging run of the entire summer.

For several days now, I've been doing relatively solid runs: 10M on Sunday, fairly quick daily runs, and a track workout on Tuesday. So it wouldn't have been surprising if I felt really dead-legged tonight, heading over to Fresh Pond for a little tempo work with the boys.

Instead, after a long 2.5M warmup, I felt pretty good. I ended up running the not-quite-2.5M loop in 14:13, running with Tom and Jonathan the whole way. Even felt like pushing a little bit up the hill. Thats better than 5:50 pace. And it was quite humid. and I was wearing normal shoes (not race or tempo shoes).

Last night I tried a cold water bath, I was feeling so good.

Day 7M
Week 25M
Summer 402M (500 is definitely within reach!)

Wednesday August 13 (pm) - 6M

Ran the Johnny Kelley loop at a good pace, averaging about 6:50 for the last three miles, which is especially encouraging since I ran hard last night, and in the past few months that has been a recipe for disaster.

Day 6M
Week 18M
Summer 395M

Tuesday August 12 (pm) - 6M - Track

First real track workout in a long time.

Warmed up for 2M, did a few drills and strides, then ran the following modest workout:

800 @ 2:44, 2' rest
4 x 600 @ 1:58-2:00, 3' rest

Felt fast and slow at the same time. Fast because running at 5:20 pace is, in practice, almost 40s faster per mile than my recent 5K pace (and faster than I have run for a while). Slow because, well, because my brain still thinks I SHOULD be running at < 5:00 pace. stupid brain.

Cooled down about 2M, and felt ok afterwards.

Day 6M
Week 12M
Summer 389M

Monday August 11 (pm) - 6M

An easy 4.5 with Henry, followed by a much harder and much muddier 1.5 around the Cold Springs loop. By the time I finished, the heavens had opened and I stretched in a drenching rain.

Day 6M
Week 6M
Summer 383M

Sunday August 10 (am) - 10M

Ran 10 miles through Winchester with Jon Wyner at about 7:30 pace. Generally felt ok the whole way, although legs were quite tired going up the hills.

Day 10M
Week 41M
Summer 377M

Saturday August 9 (pm) - 7M

Ran at about 4 p.m. in sunshine. Amazing! Felt a little soreness from some of the exercises I did last night while waiting for the rain to subside, so I was pleased to feel fairly good on a seven-mile loop out Washington Street, up Lowell, over to Cold Spring for a loop on the trail, and back via West Newton. Finished in 50:24, running pretty well.


Day 7M
Week 31M
Summer 367M

Friday August 8 (pm) - 4M

This had all the makings of an unwanted day off. I ended up staying later at work than I wanted, and then as I drove home, the lightning started. By the time I was in my running clothes and stretching, the heavens had opened.

I did a bunch of strength exercises at home, which was good, all the while hoping that Ann wouldn't convince me to go out for dinner. Finally, I got out the door for four miles, running the Comm Ave/Chestnut loop. My legs felt a bit stiff from yesterday's small amount of speedier running, but I was mostly ok.

Tomorrow might be a good day to do a long run.

Day 4M
Week 24M
Summer 360M

Thursday August 7 (pm) - 5M

It felt like it was time to get back on the track, so on my way home I stopped at the Belmont Hill school and did a shake out, mini-workout to test the waters. I jogged for a couple of miles, did a few easy drills, and then ran 5 x 400m, trying not to strain and monitoring my right hip for any pain or stiffness.

The first one felt strange and was a slow 83; still, that's faster than I've run for a long time. Over the next four, it felt progressively easier to run fast, and I hit them in 80, 78, 76, 77. Even though my stride opened up and I started running faster, I felt fatigue lifting my right leg, and didn't want to overcompensate and put too much stress on the hamstrings. So I quite at five, and did a light cooldown

We'll see how it feels tomorrow. If all goes well, I'll do a little more next Tuesday, and then try to add a track workout to my weekly schedule.

Day 5M
Week 18M
Summer 356M

Wednesday August 6 (pm) - 6M

Six miles with Liz Gleason from Cold Springs.

Day 6M
Week 13M
Summer 351M

Tuesday August 5 (pm) - 7M

This was a pretty solid run, 7M on the Minuteman Trail.

After a shake-out first mile of 7:50, hit successive miles of 7:09, 7:22, 7:03, 7:01, 7:04 (included long uphill), and finished with a 6:59, plus about 30 seconds for a total time of 51:30.

Legs felt mostly good. Somewhat shocking to realize that only a couple of years ago, I was regularly running the same course in sub 49.

Day 7M
Week 7M
Summer 345M

Monday August 4 - Day off

Entertained cousins Larry and Carla on their East Coast Swing, and didn't manage to get a run in. Too bad -- I felt ok after Sunday's long run.

Day 0M
Week 0M
Summer 338M

Sunday August 3 (am) - 10.5M

After staying up until 2 a.m. eating Hungarian pastries, dancing with Hungarian women, and drinking "Palinko", got up early to run 10 miles through the New Jersey suburbs with Noah. It was a beautiful morning, and we started slowly. After five miles, we picked up the pace and ran the last 5M at about 7:05-7:10 pace.

I jogged an obsessive half mile at the end so I wouldn't have to have an uneven number at the end of the week.

Day 10.5M
Week 44M
Summer 338M

Saturday August 2 (pm) - 5.5M

In Passaic, New Jersey for David Polgar's wedding.

Drove down from Newton with Dan, Noah, Jesse, and Evan, and everyone but Jesse went for a run when we arrived. I ran for 40 minutes with Evan, while Noah and Dan continued to make their run an hour.

I felt better than yesterday, despite the long drive. Plan is for a long run tomorrow; we'll see.

Day 5.5M
Week 33.5M
Summer 327.5M

Friday August 1 (pm) - 6M

Ran my usual 6-mile route -- clockwise -- in just under 42 minutes. It felt a lot harder than it should have. I think it has been a long week and I haven't fully recovered from Newburyport.

Day 6M
Week 28M
Summer 322M

Thursday July 31 (pm) - 4M

This was the closest thing to a "generic" run I've had all summer. I worked late, arrived back home around 7 p.m., and didn't really know if I'd have time or inclination to run at all. I sat down for a few minutes and figured, "well, what else do I have to do?" So I put on my running stuff and jogged out the door with no plan and no expectations. I ended up running about 4 miles without timing it.

Day 4M
Week 22M
Summer 316M

Wednesday July 30 - Day off

Took the day off and went to a Red Sox game instead.

Day 0M
Week 18M
Summer 312M

Tuesday July 29 (pm) - 13M - RACE

Yankee Homecoming 10M race in Newburyport - 62:58 (6:18 pace)

It was lovely evening for running, and even though my time here was slower than last year, considering the last several months and the injury, this was a much better race for me. I warmed up about 15 minutes, then ran fairly conservative splits through the early miles when everyone else was going out fast. Having recently run an 8-miler, I kept comparing splits, and was encouraged to be hitting the miles faster, even though it felt very smooth.

Had a very good last four miles: 6:14, 6:22 (hill), 6:18, 6:10, passing quite a few people.

Day 13M
Week 18M
Summer 312M (Over 300! Aiming for 500 now!!)

Monday July 28 (pm) - 5M

I intended to run only 3M tonight, since I'm racing tomorrow, but ended up doing five slow miles with Matias, Dana, and Henry. Very nice run on a nice evening (for a change) with lively conversation.

Day: 5M
Week: 5M
Summer: 299M

Sunday July 27 (am) - 8M

Easy run with Jonathan and Tom along the Minuteman Trail.

Day 8M
Week 42M (felt like less, somehow)
Summer 294M

Saturday July 19 (noon) - 5M

Five miles very easy with Bob and Ben Chasen in Weymouth, mostly along the paths through the new, as-yet-unused golf course in South Weymouth.

Day 5M
Week 34M
Summer 286M

Friday July 18 - 4M

One of the only times this summer that my run was constrained by having to be somewhere at a certain time. I had it in my mind to run 5-6 but ran into Tom Davis after a mile and talked with him for 5-10 minutes, so could only manage 4 miles.

I needed an easy day. My legs were very weary from Thursday's water-logged tempo run.

Day 4M
Week 29M
Summer 281M

Thursday July 24 (pm) - 6M

This was actually a very hard run. Leaving work at 5:50, I made a late decision to try to get to Fresh Pond in time to run (if not race) the five miler there. Not only did I have to drive there (30 minutes on the best days), I had to get gas for the car, and change my clothes beat the traffic. Luckily, I arrived just as Sue McNatt was arriving with the table. I never did pay my 50 cent entry fee, though.

Started slow, since I had only warmed up with a few hundred yards of jogging and a little stretching, and was immediately left behind by Tom, Terry, and Jonathan. Did I mention it was also raining steadily? After a mile or two I started feeling pretty good, and ran the last 3 miles at closer to a tempo pace. The whole thing was by myself, though. Jogged a mile after it was all over to make six.

Day 6M
Week 25M
Summer 277M

Wednesday July 23 (pm) - 7M

We totally lucked out with tonight's NSRP run. An hour before it was pouring rain, and a couple of hours after it was pouring again. In between, there was a nice break of cool, placid weather.

My run went very well, as I went a little longer and a little faster than usual, covering about 7 miles with Mike W in about 49 minutes.

Day 7M
Week 19M
Summer 271M

Tuesday July 22 (pm) - 6M

This kind of run has been typical of this summer: I felt very sluggish going out the door, and felt like I was just kind of stumbling stiffly along the road for the first half mile of my usual 6-mile loop. Eventually, I felt better but throughout the run felt as though I were moving very slowly, and was conscious of fatigue in my quads and calf muscles -- leftover from the race on Sunday, no doubt.

But then, a huge surprise, I finish and my watch says 41:42, and average of better than 7:00 pace. I'm running pretty fast but feeling as thought it's really slow.

Spent a lot of time stretching afterwards.

Day 6M
Week 12M
Summer 264M

Monday July 21 (pm) - 6M

A nice six mile run from Cold Springs with Jamie and Alistair Wilson, Mike, and others from NSRP. Felt pretty good after yesterdays race.

Day 6M
Week 6M
Summer 258M

Sunday July 20 (am) - 11M - RACE

Ran the Stowe 8 Miler this morning.

Warmed up with an easy 1.5M and a couple of drills, but didn't feel great. My goal for the race was to run at "long tempo" pace of around 6:15 per mile, making sure to not go out too fast. The first mile of the race I felt very sluggish and not at all fluid. Ran a 6:21 split and wished it had been a few seconds faster. Second mile felt a little bit better but was a 6:22. Then a 6:26. After a long downhill, my stride seemed to open a up a bit and the second half of the race went pretty well. I kept running the same pace or a bit faster, and kept passing people. I ran the last mile at 6:04 and felt like it was a good effort, finishing in 50:28 (6:19 pace).

Cool down about 1.5M

Day 11M
Week 38M
Summer 252M

Saturday July 19 (pm) - 3M

Visiting friends Rick and Catherine in Stowe, Vt. and planning to run a race tomorrow, so ran a very easy 3M in the late afternoon after a lazy day of hanging out in Stowe. VERY humid.

Day 3M
Week 27M
Summer 241M

Friday July 18 - 0M run (14M bike)

Got up REALLY early and biked to work, about 14M, not very fast. Was tired anyway.

Day 0M
Week 24M
Summer 238M

Thursday July 17 (pm) - 5M

Drove to Fresh Pond (well, close), jogged for about 1.5M to warm up, and then ran the Fresh Pond Race as a tempo run, aiming for 6:00 pace. My time was 14:47 and Jon Wyner tells me it is actually 2.45 miles, or about 18-20 seconds fast (at 6:00 pace), so I was pretty close.

My legs felt fairly unlively, but I didn't have any real trouble maintaining the pace. I hope I feel better Sunday, though!

Ran an easy 1M afterwards to get back to the car.

Day 5M
Week 24M
Summer 238M

Wednesday July 16 (pm) - 5M

A short 5M with the Newton group. Took it very easy and had a nice relaxing run, with Popsicles afterwards.

Day 5M
Week 19M
Summer 233M

Tuesday July 15 (pm) - 7M

I'm not quite sure why, but when I run by myself as I did tonight, I can't help running too fast. I started out feeling a bit tired, but by the second mile was cruising along at better than 7:00 pace. I ran the River loop, through Lyons Park, past the Watch factory, the river path along the Waltham side of the Charles, and back Albemarle Road.

Total distance was 7M, total time about 49:30. Breathing was fine but had a lot of aches and pains. Overall feeling is I would have been better off with an easier day.

Day 7M
Week 14M
Summer 228M

Monday July 14 (pm) - 7M

Ran 5+ with Cliff and others from Cold Springs, quite slowly, and then a much faster lap of the Park to make approx 7 miles. Legs felt good, and I felt like I could have gone much faster at any point.

Day 7M
Week 7M
Summer 221M

Sunday July 13 (am ) - 7M

IN MAINE

Last day in Maine. Got up early and drove with Ann to other side of the island. She dropped me off at Eagle Lake and I ran the loop around it plus an extra mile, stopping at 51:30.

Legs still felt rather dead. Probably from the combination of activities yesterday. No breathing difficulties, just dead legs, and a little bit of soreness in my right quad.

I kind of missed doing a long run in Maine this year, but I wouldn't have wanted to do anything longer than 7M today.

Day 7M
Week 41M
Summer 214M

Saturday July 12 (am) - 6M

IN MAINE

Finally managed to get up early enough to run before breakfast (finally caught up on sleep). I chose a very easy route out the driveway and along Rt 102, which was very quiet on a Saturday morning. Legs felt quite dead after last two days.

Afterwards, went on a 3M walk with Tim, Kiki, and Ann, and had lunch and popovers at Jordan Pond House. Went kayaking in the afternoon. I think I might finally be getting the hang of this vacation thing.

Day 6M
Week 34M
Summer 207M

Friday July 11 (noon) - 6M

IN MAINE

Ran 6M on Long Pond Rd. in 42:06. Not as hard as yesterday (avoided the really big hill) but I was also feeling tired from that effort. Wouldn't have wanted to go a step farther. Thought about hitting 200m for the summer.

Day 6M
Week 28M
Summer 201M

Thursday July 10 (noon) - 7M

IN MAINE

This was the hardest run I have done in a long time. I ran to Long Pond and back, very hilly course in 48:24 (6:55 pace), working pretty hard on the way back to maintain form on the hills. The big hill up from the Pond and the shoulder of Western Mtn is a killer.

Day 7M
Week 22M
Summer 195M

Wednesday July 9 (afternoon) - 4M

IN MAINE

4 miles on Long Pond Road (out and back)

Legs tired after long drive.

Day 4M
Week 15M
Summer 188M

Tuesday July 8 (afternoon) - 4M

Ran my usual 4M course through the Flowed Meadows, ran a bit extra to make it an even 30 minutes.

Needed an an easy day, as legs were pretty cooked from recent long runs.

Day 4M
Week 11M
Summer 184M

Monday, July 7 (pm) - 7M

Ran 7 miles with Josh Seeherman and others from Cold Spring Parks, heading West and picking up the Wellesley Crosstown trail for about 3/4 of a mile, then back pretty much the same way. This was all at a decent pace, although we slowed the last 1.5 mile. Joes spent most of the time telling me abut research he has been doing in the library about Newton H.S. track history in the 60's and 70's.

Day 7M
Week 7M
Summer 180M

Sunday July 6 (am) - 10M+

Ran 16.4K on the Minuteman Trail this morning with Jonathan, Terry, Tom, and Sean -- out in 40, back in 38+. My legs were tired at the beginning, but the run was at a very forgiving pace and the trail was soft from all the rain.

Day 10M
Week 47M
Summer 183M

Saturday July 5 (pm) - 7M

Surprisingly ok run. I started very slow and felt pretty stiff after yesterday's race. Aftre about a mile, I stopped to talk to Joni who was driving away from Trader Joe's. After a five minute break, I started up again and felt much better! I guess all that circulating blood has loosened everything up. Anyway finished the rest of the run (six more miles averaging better than 7:00 pace and didn't feel like I was straining.

Day 7M
Week 37M
Summer 163M

Friday July 4 (am) - 7M / Race

Woke up at 7:40 and within a half hour was on my way with Ann to Concord for the Minuteman Classic 5M race. My history with this race is that I ran it twice before and went off course both times, so it was a major accomplishment to finish without mishap this year. Actually, the race went quite well and I ran 29:56 for what Jonathan's GPS tells me is 4.94 miles -- still the fastest 5 miles I've run in a while, going all the way back to a year ago at the Wellesley 5 miler.

I went out quite at a conservative pace, putting me in 33rd place at a half mile. Picked off people throughout the race, and caught one guy in the final sprint. Legs felt tired but no real pain or discomfort. All in all, a very encouraging effort.

Day 7M
Week 30M
Summer 156M

Thursday July 3 (pm) - 4M

An easy 4-mile run through Flowed Meadows, with legs still pretty tired from Wednesday's longer, faster run with NSRP.

The run began with dark black storm clouds hovering, and fitful gusts of wind. I just did manage to finish the run and a little cooldown before the thunderstorm hit.

Day 4M
Week 23M
Summer 149M

Wednesday July 2 (pm) - 7M

This was by far the most ambitious run of the summer so far, not because of the distance, but because I ran for the first half with Rex and Ruben, who are 100-mile-a-week, 24:20 for 8K kind of guys, and for the second half with Mike, Jerzy, and Matt, all of whom are young and fit and capable of hammering me into the ground.

And... I tried to keep up my end of the conversation the whole way.

So, 7 miles at about 7:00 pace once we got going. very encouraging.

Day 7M
Week 19M
Summer 145M

Tuesday July 1 (pm) - 6M

Ran the Johnny Kelley loop in 42:02, so the fastest I've done that for a while. Felt stiff starting out, and tight esp. in hamstrings, but loosened up pretty well. Stopped for a few minutes at the statue to talk to Jon Wofsy, who was cycling down Comm Ave.

Day 6M
Week 12M
Summer 138M

Monday June 30 (pm) - 6M - Aqueducts

Ran 6M with Cliff, Aidan, and Will from Cold Springs Park. The run encompassed both Newton Aqueducts and was at a nice easy pace. My legs were stiff at the beginning of the run, no doubt the result of Sunday's 10-miler with Noah, but felt fine by the end.

Day 6M
Week 6M
Summer 122M

Sunday June 29 (pm) - 10M

It might not have been the smartest thing to head out for a long run in the middle of the afternoon of a hot, humid day, but the morning was too busy and Noah was free to run at the same time, so... we left from his house and ran to Wellesley H.S. using several trails - including the Waban Ave trails, Wellesley's crosstown trail, the aqueduct...

Over all I felt good on the longest run I've done for quite a while. We didn't run fast - finished in about 1:16, but my legs felt pretty good the whole way.

Day 10M
Week 46M
Summer 126M

Saturday June 28 (am) - 5M

I met Anna and Kyra at Walden Pond and we ran for a little over 40 minutes, which I'll call 5 miles. It was great to see them, and running on the trails was a welcome change.
I also feel quite recovered from Thursday's long run's journey into night.


Day 5M
Week 36M
Summer 116M

Friday June 2007 (pm) - 5M

I needed an easy day after the last several days of longer, sometimes faster runs, so I chose my standard four-mile loop that includes a stretch along the Charles River by the "Flowed Meadows" of Auburndale. As I expected, my legs were tired and it took a long time to feel comfortable. As I was returning home, I ran into Jess Barton, and extended the run to chat with her. As soon as I started chatting, I felt much better and easily tacked on an extra mile. One of the mysteries of running.

Day 5M
Week 31M
Summer 111M

Thursday June 26 (pm) - 7M

There are some days where you throw training out the window and running is just another way to transport your body from one place to another. Thursday was one of those days. I was signed up to work the Medical tent at the J.P Morgan Corporate Challenge in downtown Boston. I parked at Alewife, and took the subway in to the city. when the event was over -- at about 8:30 p.m. -- I strapped on my backpack and started a very slow shuffle back out to Alewife, about 7 miles with a long stretch along the Boston side of the Charles River.

The pace was pedestrian, but I was still plenty tried by the time I pulled up to the T station almost an hour later.

Day 7M
Week 26M
Summer 106M

Wednesday June 25 (pm) - 6M

A beautiful day to run from Cold Springs. Ran about 6M in 43:45, following the aqueduct to Quinobequin Rd, and back via Waban. Had a good conversation with Sam about injuries and returning to hard workouts.

Day 6M
Week 19M
Summer 99M

Tuesday June 24 (pm) - 6M

After yesterday's excitement, it was nice to run my standard 6-mile loop past the Johnny Kelley statue. I started slow (7:50), but finished with three miles all at sub 7:00 pace. Very little discomfort in the glute/hamstring area, but overall fatigue from last night's longer, harder run with Dave and Noah.

Day 6M
Week 13M
Summer 93M

Monday June 23 (pm) - 7M - Singing in the rain

This was one of those days when it really helped to have other people to run with. Severe thunderstorms hit Eastern mass in the afternoon, and I decided to cancel the group run from Cold Springs Park. I ended up staying at work until quarter to seven, and arriving home at quarter past. By this time it was late, gloomy, and I was getting hungry and feeling tired.

Then David called and said that he was running with Noah in 10 minutes. Did I want to join them? Absolutely! We ran 7 miles from Noah's house, finishing with a pretty solid last two miles up the Firehouse hill. My legs were hurting, but I had breath enough to belt out the lyrics to an Arlo Guthrie song while David expounded on his off theories of education, social inequality, and life in general. Yes, it was a little strange.

Day 7M
Week 7M
Summer 87M

Sunday June 22 (pm) - 4M

No long run for me today. After driving 6 hours back from New York, I settled for a short, fast run out to and along the Charles River ("The Cove"). I must have had a lot of pent up energy, because the final mile was close to six-minute pace.

Day 4M
Week 37M
Summer 80M

Saturday June 21 (am) - 6M

My niece's wedding day. Luckily the ceremony isn't until the afternoon and I got a little bit more sleep last night. I managed a nice 6-mile run through the back roads of the Village of Cazenovia. It was cool when I started at 7:30, very hot as I climbed the hill back to the motel 45 minutes later.

Day 6M
Week 33M
Summer 76M

Friday June 20 (am) - 4M

It's always a challenge to run well when traveling. You don't know the lay of the land, or where your next meal is coming from. Laundry is a bit of an issue, and there's always somewhere else you're supposed to be.

Anyway, I managed to get up early enough to run 4 miles this morning in Cazenovia, N.Y. (where I'm in town for my niece's wedding). The first mile is all downhill. The last is all uphill. I felt wiped out, as we arrived at about 1 a.m. last night. Not sure I would have done this run if I didn't know I'd have to put a "0" in the log if I didn't get it done.

Day 4M
Week 27M
Summer 70M

Thursday June 19 (pm) - 6M

Ran six miles while waiting for Joni and Loren to arrive so that we could all drive out to Syracuse for Anna and Stephen's wedding. Still felt a bit sore from Wednesday, but no major problems. Not sure how the running (and blogging) is going to go over the next few days...

Day 6M
Week 23M
Summer 66M

Wednesday June 18 (pm) - 5M

Ran from Cold Springs with a small group. Ok, but never felt good on this run, for some reason. We intruded on the Brae Burn golf course, running along the edges, and had to keep an eye out for late afternoon golfers -- maybe that was the problem.

Day 5M
Week 17M
Summer 60M

Tuesday June 17 (pm) - 6M

It was one of those days where it helped to know that no matter how late it got, I WAS going to get a run in. It also helped that at 7:30 p.m. there was still over an hour of daylight. Anyway, I ran my usual 6-mile loop, out to Auburndale, up Comm Ave, past the statue of the two Johnny Kelleys, and back through Newtonville.

I spent about twice as long as usual stretching afterwards, as everything on my right side felt tight.

Day 6M
Week 12M
Summer 55M

Monday June 16 (pm) - 6M

Ran from Cold Springs with a bunch of folks watching the sky the whole time. We lucked out, getting our run in before the lightning came.

Again, I felt surprisingly good. I don't quite know what to make of that, since I was expecting to feel tired from yesterday's puddle run.

Day 6
Week 6
Summer 49

Sunday June 15 (am) - 9.5M

Had a good run with Doug and Noah from Wellesley HS to Elm Bank Park and back, about 9.5M (69 minutes). I felt surprisingly good, probably because they kept the pace very moderate. It was raining lightly for most of the run, exept for one 10 minute stretch where it came down a bit harder. The puddles at Elm Bank were outstanding!

Day 9.5
Week 43
Summer 43

Saturday June 14 (noon) - 5.5M

Again with the 0.5 miles!

Actually, I felt very good today. It was pretty hot and humid so I ran very easily and enjoyed a nice run through Newton. I also dropped off a summer training log with Oliver... it was only a little bit sweaty when I gave it to him.

Day 5.5
Week 33.5
Summer 33.5

Friday June 13 (pm) - 6M

Ran my old standard route past the statue of Johnny Kelly on Comm Ave. The whole run felt pretty quick, and I finished the last 3M in 20:40 or so.

Day - 6
Week - 28
Summer - 28

Thursday June 12 (pm) - 5M

Repeated my Tuesday run at Minuteman trail. The temperature was perfect and I had a lot of energy compared to 95-degree Tuesday, but strangely I was 20 seconds slower! Go figure.

Anyway, hamstrings still tight and a bit sore, so lots of stretching after the run.

Being able to start a run at 7 p.m. and finish with plenty of daylight -- priceless!

Day Total 5
Week Total 22
Summer Total 22

Wednesday June 11 (pm) - 6M

Ran from Cold Springs park with Noah and Dan Hamilton. We ran through the park, along the aqueduct, out to Chestnut, and Echo bridge -- then returned the same way. They were very kind to me and didn't push the pace. We finished in about 43:30, so six miles in "Badger miles."

Weather was great, with temps down to about 80 degrees.

Day Total 6
Week Total 17
Summer Total 17

Tuesday June 10 (pm) - 5.5M

Temperature at 6:30 p.m. when I left work was 97 in Boston. I drove to the Minuteman Trail Visitor Center and ran a five-mile out and back loop, adding on a half mile at the end to make it 40 minutes.

I took it easy for most of the way, and although it was hot, running on the trails in the shade and with a slight breeze made it feel fairly comfortable. I didn't have water in the car, so I had to make do with a bottle of Gatorade that had been in the back seat all day.

My right hamstring continues to be sore when I start, but seemed to loosen up alright after a couple of miles.

Profound thought of the day: there's really no reason you would ever want to try hot Gatorade.

Day Total 5.5
Week Total 11.0
Summer Total 11.0

Monday June 9 (pm) - 5.5M

Waited for it to cool down and left the house at 8 p.m. I ran very slowly at first, and never pushed the pace. It was hot, but not too bad and I actually extended the run a little bit at the end.

Day Total 5.5
Week Total 5.5
Summer Total 5.5

First steps...

I started this blog to share my summer training with the runners I coach and anyone else who is interested. I asked the XC runners of Concord Academy to consider running this summer and I threw out this challenge: run 300 miles over the summer and get a t-shirt designed by the well-known Concord Artist Duncan Sherwood-Forbes.

Well, it's always easier to take on big challenges when you have company, so I thought I'd blog about my own attempt to recover from the injury that has plagued me all spring. I'll be starting modestly and trying to build up. Let's do this together.

If you feel inspired, leave a comment about your own running. I'd love to hear from you.