Another week, few more struggles: Mar 14 - 20

SUN
11 miles solo before church around UNR and Rancho. From the training log, "Took six miles for body to warm up but body rolled really well after that...haha." Funny how the tiny pieces of the body will take over forty minutes before they are willing to work well. The massage from yesterday didn't seem to produce the typical "looseness" that usually results. The new massage therapist is nice, but I think I need to stick with the D.C. himself.

MON
10 miles solo along 7th route in AM. Really negative - didn't have fun at all.

TUES
12 miles w/ Ronnie around GHS area in PM. Upper body tight and legs felt pounded by the end. 98% of my runs occur in the morning before school. Does the 36 hour gap and afternoon run (on a day where a morning run usually occurs) really throw the body THAT much out of its groove?

WED
8.5 miles solo around UNR and Rancho w/ 8 barefoot strides. From the training log, "Suckage." And I ran past a frat a mile in and they offered some tasty libations. In response I said, "Save one...I will be back!" They all cheered, but as the run progressed I seriously became excited about stopping on the return route. Sadly in the half hour that occured between passing them and returning everyone left to experience the rest of St. Patty's Day elsewhere.

THUR
9 miles solo along BLC route in AM; 4.5 miles through Rancho w/ Kiwi in PM. Woke up tired so split the day's miles.

FRI
7 miles by Truckee River solo in AM. Knocked out the miles before 8am school start. Awesome to be able to see stars against the still night sky while running. Also scary to run alone through a dark park......I thought a fire hydrant was an evil knome.

SAT
8.5 miles solo in AM w/ 4x200 (36-35-35-35). Nice sunny day - shorts and t-shirt. Had to chuckle when I ran past another run with a long sleever and gloves while I was sweating. Focused the entire run on relaxing the shoulders - worked out really well and provided something positive upon which to focus. After leaving UNR's track I chatted with an old guy, at least seventy-five. He asked me if I ran in any AAU meets. I had to chuckle because while the AAU doesn't really play a prevelant role in running these days this guy probably grew up around the time when they did! Walking and talking with history. Very cool. And the old guy was on his way to workout too. Talk about motivation.

WEEK
70.5 miles - third week in the three week up cycle. Next week is a down week. Overall felt pretty shabby, especially compared to last week. Struggling to have fun as well. Right around the start of this calendar year I started loving the miles (probably the first time in life....keep in mind I started running in 1998). It felt really cool - getting out the door no matter time of day or company, running was fun. From that time until now the funness factor has consistently declined. Why? For now that question exists, but I'm not in a place to jump to conclusions. I'd rather sit on it, aware of it, and talk to a few folks before trying to move back into the land of happiness.

Upcoming week = busy. 12k road race across Golden Gate Bridge Sunday and most likely a 5k at San Francisco State University Friday. I'm excited to 'play' running finally. Plus the races will provide the chance to 'play' with the pain of racing again. It has been a while since I've had to prove I can delve into and sustain the physical process of producing more lactic acid than my body can use as fuel. Goals for Sunday are 1) focus on myself - my pace is my pace and it is okay however fast that pace turns out to be 2) relax the shoulders and 3) no matter what occurs the first five miles, the last two+ are to be a fast, hard effort.

Thanks for reading.