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Dropped $60 bucks on the visit (not counting gas). Another $65 last week for the chiropractor. Plus $150 for 3 pairs of shoes in the last 3 weeks. That's roughly 300 bucks. I need a sponsor.

PM - 1.75 to zoo. Walked around. 1.75 home. Kellogg said I could go for a 2nd run but was freaked that I'd go too fast even though I was running with someone who doesn't consider herself to be a runner. She thought that was funny when I told her that. My run tonight means I'm not doing anything tomorrow.

I did 1600 for 1st one in 4:48 (3:02). Then I decided to do a 1400 since we were going to go faster. 1400 in 4:08.02 (3:36 rest), 1400 in 4:07.62 (3:32), 4:04.98 (3:41). Pretty much on these I was leading us through the first 800 in about 2:20. Then he took over and I just tried to stay close through 1200 and make it to 1400.After the 4th one. Weldon said he wanted to hit 2:17 or 2:18. I knew I could do this but thought it would be tough and thus thought I might stop at 1200. I got real pissed off as my watch didn't start and thus I didn't know how fast I was really going. I knew I was sort of on pace. Weldon hit 800 in about 2:17 but I was fading and maybe did 2:18 (no idea as no watch). Felt down on myself after the workout but again it was hard to analyze. I just know I need to go hard at the end and didn't really do it on the last one. Probably got a good enough workout in though. 3 mile cd. 10 total??

PM - Think I've been overdoing it. Should have done less mileage and followed the plan. I finally refused to go the full 6 Weldon wanted to do and turned back and only did 40 minutes. On beach - maybe 5 miles. Should have done only 30 or 40 m inutes yesterday so I would have been freshm this morning as I knew I was tired.

 Talked to coach Kellogg today about tomorrow's workout. He again said some more encouraging words. I guess I'm going to have to deal with the "pressure" of being half-way decent . I mean when I asked him, "well I don'g know hof fasr to go (as I'll be running with Weldon)." He said, "Just think of yourself as a 29:30 10k guy and go get in a good workout." Of course, he didn't indicated that I could run sub 30 right now but considering the fact that the topic came up when we were debating whether or not I technically set a 10k p.r. during my half-marathon two weeks ago (I didn't as I probably went through in about 32:01 and I've run just under 32 before) that 's not bad. He also said, "I think you could run 24 flat for 5 miles. At least 24:15."

I guess I just gottta get my head together as I should have hit 24:30 the two times I've run but came no where close.

AM - 1:31:20. Yet another good one as we started off slow and came back at a decent pace. Not fast but fast for us. Sub 7.

Weldon's going to roll this fall. His days of lagging behind like a jackass on the easy runs are over. Not to imply that we're hammering these things but it seems to be him more than me that's leading (if you want to call it that considering we're side by side) whereas that normally never happens. He's eating up the mileage like the spring of 2000 where I feel a bit tired.

I also feel a little "off" in terms of the hamstring. The achilles is a little better but still painful but the hamstring is still "there." Not painful but I don't feel smooth when I run. Each step feels a bit out of line or something and I know I'd run faster if it was smooth and effortless.

Weldon asked,, "Why didn't you keep up yesterday (on the buildups)?" as I fell like 2 or someters behind on like the last one. I was like - "We were sprinting. I expect to lose to you. (My dad used to claim we were equally fast in soccer except when we raced eachother and Wejo would win.) I was only somewhat kidding. I mean it is a bit weird. I do feel ifI stay up with him, then he'll think he sucks of something so I may "back off" who knows?" I was just trying to relax on them.

YOu run faster relaxed. Run at 80% for 100% speed - that's what the assistant track coach told Weldon in highschool. Weldon also fondly remembered how the guy told him that he should be a miler because he had a bunch of "hidden speed." Kyle Heffner and John Kellogg used to say the same thing in college. He really ought to try to bust 4:00 for the mile. I hate how all of the shorter distance people think the longer distance people are slow.

I mean in a race-recap of Parkersburgh, a lot was made of how Dan Browne, sub 4 minute miler, was just waiting to pounce on the overmatched Keith Dowling. True, everyone knew Dan was biding his time but it had nothing to do with him being a 4 minute miler. I mean Dowling's run the 1500 in 3:46. That's 4:04. It's not like he's slow. A lot of the better distance guys have that speed (Or at least they better hope they do). Remember people. Rod DeHaven used to be ranked in the 1500.

PM -45 minutes. Barefootand on beach for all but first half-mile and last half-mile.

I was originally thinkiing about only going like 30 minutes so I'll be fresh for tomorow's mile repeats but was running with Weldon and got dragged along. I was thinking the whole time perhaps I should be doing less so on the way back I went very slow nad let him run ahead about 15-20 seconds.

I determined that he needs to see a chiropractor or work on his form as his footprint in the sand reveals that his right foot sprays way to the right (Perhaps it has something to do with the slop of the sand but I doubt it as my prints were fairly straight). I didn't reveal my discovery today to him. I'll wait until after New Haven. I did let him know that I figured somethign out and he said, "I know I'm out of align."

 AM - 45:32. Middle part done on beach barefoot. Kept thinking of the two of us as "Lydiard's boys". DOn't know Lydiard? He's like the father of distance running coaching (don't tell us he's outdated). Started slow faster on way back. 6 miles

PM - 1:31:35. Our "workout" consisted of our staple - 2 sets of 6 x 30-35 second buildups (1minute jog) with a mile jog between. Weldon even commented, "I bet know one would consider this a workout but we do it all the time." I agreed and said, "I don't even consider it a workout."

However, we'll do something similar on Friday with mile repeats on Wednseday before racing Monday.

Long run. Supposed to do 18. Japanese style meaning pick it up as we went along - especially the second half. With Weldon.
How many Johnson's does it take to come up with a course? We spent about 15 minutes before we started running debating where we'd go for exactly 18 miles. Then we started and realized we were talking about going in completely the opposite direction on a certain road.

We chilled for the first bit. Definitely over 7 minutes. Started going at a decent pace. Then started to pick it up after about 61 minutes. Weldon's course ended up being ideal as we were running down a paved bikepath when we picked it up and could measure some miles. People were definitely impressed to see two twins hauling down the bikepath. Running down the bikepath can always be inspiring if done on a weekend as people will often comment if you're going fast.

"Nice pace," we got. "How fast?" was another. Weldon said 5:40 when we were realling going faster. "Wow, that's amazing." So I'm a little vain.

After rolling down the bikepath we headed home and probably slowed a bit. We then had to go up like a killer 3/4 th of a mile hill right before we finished. For some reason, I was thinking 18 miles times 7 minutes (although we averaged way under this) was 1:56 (when it's really 2:06) and thus I told Weldon I wanted to do 2 hours - thinkin gI was doing extra. He kept going in a different direction at about 1:55 and I was about to pick it up when I got really pissed as I realized I'd screwed up my math (and to think I was a math teacher.) This instantly put me in a horrible mood. Instead of thinking I was doing extra, I now felt like a slacker. Oh well. Ran for 2 hrs. Did 4 strides.

It's weird running with Weldon becasue while we always know basically how far we're going to go, it's never on a measure course and thus there's the mentality of "Who's going to be the slacker and suggest we stop first?" I hate this b.s. For example is 13 miles 1:31 or 1:34 etc?

I guess I should be pleased with the run overall. At the end you often get ina bad mood during a long run.
Sidenote: WEldon's getting ready to roll. The one thingI normally do better than him used to be the long ones but he seemed to definitely be pulling me along today.

Times: 1:21.27 (5L34.54)5:25.2, 5:20.75, 2:39 (half mile)and then 13 more minutes hard (till 1:53). Last 7 minutes weren't all that great.

I definitely need a few more long runs if I want to do a good marathon although I'm not focussing on it as much as i n the past.

 AM - 5 miles.
PM 3 mile warmup. Right when we were about to do strides, the sky turned dark and it started to absolutely piss rain. Weldon and I stood there for about 10 minutes and it died down maybe a little but we realized there was no hope. Jogged a lap, did 4 strides and got to it. 1st turn in Lane 1 was underrwater. Pretty much dark out as it was getting late and the clouds were everywhere.

2 miles (rest while weldon continues to run 1 mile ) 2 miles.Starting out sub 5 hopefully get down to 4:50.
Wejo led for 1/2 then me, then him, then me. Break. Me, him, me, him.
2:30.67 ,2:25.61 - decided to get the show on the road (4:56.28),2:25.75, 2:25.25 (4:51.00), break 4:54.49, 2:25.76,2:27.25 (4:53:01), 2:26.03, 2:24.66 (37.33,36.89,36.84, 33.60) then 4 minute break and 2 mile cooldown.

One of my housemates Victoria happened to be up at the track at the workout as we were going. She seemed impressed that we were hammering it in an absolutely downpour. It was sort of reminiscent of the scene in Caddyshack.  Instead of being psyched for doing the workout in these conditions. I became irate with myself immediately upon finishing. I guess Iím just in a negative funk but itís got to stop. Saying I suck will only lead to sucking it up.

I think I was pissed because when Weldon led from 3.5 to 4, it was a bit slower than the 2:25 I thought we should be hitting. It was hard to see the watch but I figured he must be tiring or something. I decided to try to get us back on track but he ended up pushing me my entire last lap which surprised me as I figured he was tiring (he obviously wasn't). I knew he was planning on picking it up the final 800 and I expected to get beat. However, he seemingly destroyed me and once again I just ran like a wimp. I was distracted and not concentrating but if I donít start hammering the end of workouts in practice, then certainly my #1 problem in races (the final miles being a wimp) will continue.

A day later, I once again have a positive outlook on things. This negativity is rearing itís head but I think I go through phases and itís being killed. I just have to work on forcefully thinking positive thoughts. Victoria told me she overheard two guys watching Wejo and me working out. They were timing our laps and were like ìMan theyíre flying. Theyíd better stop after this lap or Iím going to feel like I suck.î We kept going and they left.  Victoria was like, ìOnly if they knew how much longer you guys stayed out there (several miles).î

I should be psyched for having a good workout in Caddyshack like conditions. The finish was poor but focus on the positive!!!

 AM - 6. This is a lie. I was angry as heck that I didn't go to bed until 2 a.m. and that mean's I wouldn't wake up until late and get nothing done during the work-day (for some reason, it's ingrained on me that the day is over at 5 p.m.).  I guess I really need a job. I woke up at noon. Went running at 12:50. 6 miles. I'm starting to get alittle nervous about the right achilles. It still hurts. I've got to be more diligent about icing.

PM - 13 miles around capital with Weldon. Very boring. I was wondering on this run, "How in the hell  do I find the motivation to do this day in and day out." Perhaps it was because we were running at night. Running at night sucks and is boring and depressing. Perhaps it was because my roommates were all eating dinner/drinking beer. Clocked one mile at 7:18. Total time 95:15. Left hammy said hello to me and my right achilles still hurts. I finally motivated and did my hamstring drills/weights for the first time since before the race (Thursday). If I forget again, I deserve to be injured. I think I iced maybe 3 times today. Maybe only twice. I need to do it 5 times.

Only one run. Think I did 90 minutes. Some out if was sub 7 minute pace with Victoria my housemate as she wanted to do a steady state. It was good she was with us as Weldon and I were barely moving.

I would have gone for a 2nd run but Kellogg said for me not to. I'm pretty psyched as I'm not sore at all and I didn't get tired. I remember in February after my last half I was pretty sore (and the course was very flat) and I was tired the day after.

 Much better. Finally, had my head into it a bit. I read some of Running Within during the long as hell drive to Parkersburg and finally started to think positive about running.  I gave myself some time to think about the race. I also got up early, got to the race early and had time to think a little. Next time, I'll have it down pat and get 8 hours sleep instead of 6.

Half-marathon. I was hoping to run right under 67:30, which I think is 5:09 pace. My main goal was to go out conservatively and run strong the final 7 or 8 miles.

The plan worked pretty well. I gave myslef an F and D for my other races. This one deserves a much higher rating as I was pleased.
I started off and felt real good for the first mile. I was planning on running with Darrell General for a while as he always tends to run even splits and come from off the pace and I knew he was in shape as he ran 24:30 for 8k a month ago when I ran well over 25.

I was running with him but was a bit worried as Milena Glusac was right with me for most of the first mile. I wasn't that far off the lead so I couldn't really figure it out.  I realized that Eddy Hellebuyck (who I knew was going to be running smart as he always cashes a paycheck and is a veteran at age 40) was behind me so I calmed down a bit and was psyched to see 5:01 at the mile split. Glusac ran like 5:03 or 5:04. I felt good at that point and while it was a bit fast, I wasn't worried.

I ran with Eddie and Darrell for mile 2. 5:18 but it was uphill (mile 1 was slightly downhill). Eddy started to pull away a bit but I decided to keep the same effort I was doing. I remember thinking mile 3 is an honest mile - this will tell me what I'm looking at, I'm keeping this pace up no matter what the clock says. 5:11.25 made me feel good. I knew mile 4 was downhill 5:01.01 and 5 I did in 5;06.26.

I went through 5 in 25:38.88 or pretty much 11 seconds slower than what I ran for 5miles last week and I felt good and kept going for 8 miles. It just shows how badly I ran last week. I guess I'm just not used to going out too hard and getting into trouble.

I had a few negative thoughts about not making it but tried to stay focussed and they quickly dissipated as I ran my best from like 5-9. Weldon pulled up from behind and helped out as General fell off about mile 8.  I turned to Weldon around 8 or 9 and said, "Don't let me wimp out (at the end as has been my tendency). I feel good."

The 10th mile is uphill as you go back over the bridge into town. It was a bit slow - 5:19.Up until mile 9 (46:24.51), I was right on the 5:09 pace that I needed for 67:30. When I saw that the 10th mile was 5:19, I did wimp out a bit as I remember thinking, "That's o.k. I'm willing to settle for that all the way end as that will give me just of 68:00 - maybe I can get under." Not exactly a warrior attitude that I need but hey my p.r. was only 69:30 set on a pancake flat course in much cooler weather in February.

Looking back, Weldon and I were both wondering why I slowed on mile 10 and 11. I was thinking that perhaps I was getting complacent as I was passing some "names" like Todd Reeser and Teddy Mitchell (2 for 2 - Teddy - it's an inside joke as Teddy claimed my brother had only beaten him once on the roads and now I've beaten him two straight once here and also at cross country nationals (although he hadn't run in 3 months before the race and I barely beat him - that being said, he's a much better runner than me) but I don't think so. I think it was uphill as was 11.The dreaded mountain otherwise known as the 13th street hill comes in mile 12 and I knew it would be slow but the final 1.1 is downhill. Heading up the hill, Weldon turned to me and said (at least I swear he did), "Come on, two 5 minute miles." I was quite pleased with my response as the warrior that I was fearful had died in me seemed to come out as I remember thinking, "O.k. let's try to do that." Although I dind't really expect to run that fast up the hill, I liked how I was willing to not settle and "jog" it in as I've done recently. The only problem was that my "stomach" problem - sharp pain right side under rib cage - suddently came back after close to a 2 year hiatus right after going up the hill (hills at the end of races often cause it) and I was pretty much forced to pack it in to the tune of 20 seconds a mile. After not having been paced at all since mile 1, somehow like 6 or 7 guys came by in the final mile. (Hats off to you guys as normally people don't come back in a half but somehow there were like 7 guys who must have been at least 30 seconds back for along damn while). THus I finished in a modest p.r. of 68:36 which wasn't too bad considering the course was pretty tough and I would have run 68 low barring the stomach problems. I only wish I'd gotten to dig deep at the end as that's what I've been struggling with but all in all it was a much better race.

The 12th mile ended up being a rather slow 5:35 but with the hill that's not all that bad. The last mile should be 5:00 or better but instead I only did 1.1 in 5:56 which is like over 5:20 mile pace which is a joke. Final 8 splits. 5:17.84,5:10.12,5:08.49,5:09.18,5:19.75 (51:44.26) 5:19.82,5:35.52,5:56.50 - 68:36.

All in all, I was very pleased probably because I left (and entered) the race with a much better and postivive frame in mind. My outlook is so much more positive.

I've realized a few things which I'll now summarize: 1) I've got to be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day

2) If I get heatlhy, I think I'm ready to roll some pretty good times this fall. Whenever I'm totally healthy for more than 3 or 4 months, I run well. My p.r. in the marathon went from 2:28 to 2:23 in 4 months after I got the stomach thing figured out before. The only problem is that I've only been healthy for about 1.5 years out of the 4 I've been training seriously

3) I think I'm going to be healthy. Thanks to my great active release guy, my hamstring didn't hurt at all and just last Monday, I thought my season was going to be over because of it -just like it was in February. My achilles hurt quite a bit before and after but I figure that will go away with diligent icing and better shoes.

4) My much better outlook on things continued on the way home as we stopped at the Adidas outlet and I got two pairs of Adidas Boston's for 86 bucks. THe old Supernovas were my favorite as my achilles never seemed to hurt in them but has been killing in my shoes and the Boston's are very similar.

As for the stomach, I'm not too worried as it's too painful to run through and I know how to get rid of it. It was at Parkersburg  2 years ago that the future of my "career" looked bleak. I pretty much hadn't finished a race hard in about a year due to the cramping and I'd just flown to Colorado the day before to see a specialist and he didn't know what was up. Weldon made his first post-collegiate breakthgouh at the race - coming in 6th - and I remember excitedly calling my Mom to tell her the knews. She asked about me and I was like "Oh I dropped out due to the stomach." Her reply was something about "I guess it just wasnt' meant for you to be a runner." Miraculously a physical therapist in DC figured out that my stomach problem really is a back problem (out of align or something) and gave me all these weird stretch to counteract it.  Pretty much instantly it was gone. The only problem is that the weird stretches I currently do for my "tight ass (hamstring)" are kind of the opposite of the ones that I do for my back and thus they probably counteract eachother. I'm not too worried though about the back as I can go see my therapist and he'll figure out how to get rid of it.

So I've got to take pride in the little accomplishments along the way. A p.r. is a p.r. even if I think a 68:36 is a bad split for half of a marathon. (It's sort of weird that the faster I get the higher I set my sights. Just 1.5 years ago, I only cared about running 2:22 and now I think sub 2:20 sucks).  So I'm now taking pride in the fact that I'm at least healthy enough to race (which I never do) and set a modest p.r.  Enjoy the process as you never know where it will end.

I did make a few vows after the race:
Vow #1 - to see the therapist at least every 3 months (and definitley before every major race)

Vow #2 - to see my active release guy every 3 weeks.

All in all, I'd rate my performance as C+ .  It would merit a B of some sort except the stomach.

 Well I'm doing better on the sleep. 8 hours last night although 3:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. probably isn't the most intelligent thing. I guess this shows I need a job. As a result, I didn't get to do my run until after the Pasta dinner in Parkersburgh, WV. We ran into Ohio and back. My right achilles was absolutely killing me. Iced it afterwards. Very worried about it for race.

Didn't do any strides.

 AM - 70 total minutes of running. 9? Miles with 2 sets of 4 x 200 meters in the middle with a 200 jog between each 200 and mile jog between each set. This is my base "speed training" during my offseason base building phase except I normally do sets of 6 x 200. Only did 4 because of the race on Saturday. Kellogg normally has people work out on Wednesday before a Saturday race but that obvously hasn't worked for me and thus he claims I do better running hard two days after my previous workout/race and since my hamstring was bothering me and Keith was working out on Tuesday, we waited until Tuesday and Thursday.

PM - I got dressed and ready to go. Does that count for anything. I was about to head out the door for a 5miler but called Kellogg. He said, I didn't need to do anything. I've been a bit tired this week and it's good that he doesn't allow me to have the excuse of "I'm training through".

I finally got the sleep I've been lacking since last week. 10.5 hours.

hamstring excercises/weights.

2 for 2 for the day!!! What does that mean? It means that I was passed on both of my runs for the day. Weldon and I were passed by a fairly fit 40ish guy this morning. I asked weldon if it bothered him. "No, it just scared me when he came up behind us. What about you?" I thought to myself I ought to yell, "hey do you know your passing someone who's #4 in the country?" No way in hell he would have believed it. I wonder if this guy had ever gottten 4th in the local road race. It didn't look like it really.

During the p.m. run, I was passed by a local highschool team. They weren't running very fast, I was going pretty slow.

 AM - slow run down to mall with Weldon. 91 minutes. 12 miles???

PM - 5 miles.

Not sleeping enough.

 AM - 12 total. 3 mile warmup with Keigh Dowling and Weldon. Our other much, much more famous workout partner was a no show.

6 x 1000. Goal was for them to be at 3:05 except (74, 74, 36) for 3rd and 6th in 2:48 (67 pace).2 minutes rest on easy ones. 3 minutes on fast one.

3:03.76 (2:00)3:02.51 reverse direction by self (2:03.1)2:45.27 (2:58) 3:02.62 (1:59) 3:04.78 (2:04)2:45.92.

The first one didn't feel all that easy and I remember thinking on the 2nd one, no way in hell I'm going to do one of these 7 seconds per lap faster than I'm doing them now. However, i decided I'd lead the 3rd one to motivate myself and i got carried away (i run best when I"m pacing someone on their workouts as I run scared). I rolled out in 30 point and 62 high. Pretty much the first 200 was 3 seconds 2 fast and everything else was about right. On the 5th one, Weldon led it and we were behind pace the whole way till the last 200. One of the intervals, I believe it was the last one was the most evenly paced interval in history according to Keith. I was about 2 yards back on the last one. I was getting tired and I hate being in the back as psychologically its similar to falling off when real

After the first interval I was pretty worried about the hamstring and thought that there was no way in hell I'd finish the workout and figured my season was about to go down the tubes just like it did last February do to the injury. However, it didn't seeem to really bother me. as it warmed up. I ran the 2nd and 4th intervals in the reverse direction and it felt better then. KEith was pretty funny as I asked him if he minded running the other direction and he acted like was asking him to do drugs. He said he'd never even ever heard of anyone doing something like that and that he wouldn't do it the week of a race. I don't blame hiim but I thought it was a fairly common practice.

I've enjoyed working out with Keith. I guess we've only done it twice and he's leaving for altitude soon but Weldon and I enjoy talking about running with him. I wonder what the hell he thinks of me.

I mean Weldon was telling me today "I think I can be in sahpe in time for New Haven (the 20k on Sept 3.)." This is the first race he's planning on racing (it's amazing to me that he thinks he's out of shape. He took one week off from a 28:10). I was like "Of course, you're doing some of the same workouts as Keith Dowling now and we know he's in shape (he just ran 23:30 something for 8k.) Weldon's reply was a classic, "So are you."

Never thought of it that way. It just shows workouts don't matter squat.

Keith, I know you occasionally read this, do you think of me as being a huge headcase or what???

After practice, I went to see my active release guy for my hamstring. I had begged him on Sunday to let me come but he didn't have any openings. He said my hamstring appeared to be o.k., Not any real damage there. He said my problem was that I have a "tight ass" and it's putting pressure on the hammy. Wow ladies,listen up. I' have a tight ass. Not bad.

Felt much better after seeing him.

$65 bucks is a lot but I've got to keep seeing this dude as he keeps me healthy. Once every 3 weeks should be my goal. It had been a month.

PM - 6 miles. hamstring excercises/weights.

AM - cut it short due to hamstring concerns. 11 miles.

Not so worried about the race anymore. While I'm often known as being extremely indecisive, on this run, I deteremined that my hamstring was shot once again and that I was going to stop racing all Fall and train for Boston. Really do it right, get the mileage up, get healthy etc. (Later in the week, I of course, determined my hamstring was better.)

PM - 5 miles.

 With weldon, no watch. Went farther than we planned. Tons of storm damage. DC is a flood disaster area. 14 miles.

Started my new hamstring excercises/weights.