Sun, Nov 9-Sat, Nov 15

Sun Nov 9: AM. Ran the Madison “Marathon” in 2:36:21 (?) ~5:58/mi (?). The race went well, but I am skeptical of the accuracy of the course and/or the timing for a few reasons: 1. I thought my watch’s time was closer to 2:36:40 when I crossed the line. 2. I went through the 24.2 mile marker in 2:25:20 and I’m pretty sure I was slower than 5:30 pace for the last two miles. 3. I don’t think I’m in quite this good of shape. That said, it was still a fine race. I ran a similar race to last year’s marathon, but went a little faster and mostly avoided the wall. The course was almost the same for the first half, but the second half of the course went clockwise around Lake Monona this time, whereas last year it went counter clockwise. I ran the downhill first mile in ~5:28, then ran comfortable 6:05-6:10ish pace till around mile 18. I was feeling good so picked it up to around 5:40 pace till mile 23 when I was greeted by a strong headwind. The wind actually seemed to be at my back for most of the race, but there were a couple miles towards the end when it was definitely in my face. I slowed down slightly, but I think I still managed to sustain 6 minute pace or faster till the finish, even on the last uphill stretch. I’m very pleased with the way it went today and I know I’m going to keep getting better. The weather was beautiful: upper 20s, snow flurries, and a friendly wind (for the most part).

Mon Nov 10: AM. A 35 min run over residential streets and on the Capital City Trail. The sun was rising over clear skies with a temp of 21°.

Tues Nov 11: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was cloudy and 27°. PM. A 45 min run over residential streets and on the Capital City Trail. It was dark and 38°.

Wed Nov 12: AM. A 50 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. Darkness gave way to clear sunny skies, temp 37°. PM. A 50 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was dark and in the upper 40s.

Thurs Nov 13: AM. A 68 min run on the Capital City Trail, the Wingra Creek Path, the SW Path, and over city streets. Darkness gave way to sunny skies, temp of 35°.

Fri Nov 14: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. The sun was rising over clear skies, temp of 36°. PM. A 45 min run around Lake Wingra. It was dark and in the mid 50s.

Sat Nov 15: AM. In Verona, ran 20,000m on the Badger Ridge Track in 1:14:42 (6:15, 6:15, 6:13, 6:15, 6:00, 5:59, 5:59, 6:00, 5:43, 5:44, 5:42, 5:42, 2:50). It was mostly cloudy and in the upper 50s.

Started the week with a 26ish mile race, finished with an upbeat 20k. Mostly ran easy on the days in between.

Watch out the wind doesn't blow your hat away!

Sun, Nov 2-Sat, Nov 8

Sun Nov 2: AM. A 90+ min run with MSRC group on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt and over city and residential streets. It was partly sunny and in the 30s.

Mon Nov 3: AM. A 60 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. Darkness gave way to clear sunny skies, temp of 44°. PM. A 45 min run around Lake Wingra. Clear skies turning dark. Temp around 50°.

Tues Nov 4: No AM run - Worked early. PM. On the Edgewood track, did 2x800m, 2x400m (2:29, 2:30, 72, 71), then ran 45 mins around Lake Wingra. It was sunny and 60°.

Wed Nov 5: AM. A 75 min run on the Capital City Trail and on the SW Path. Darkness giving way to clear skies, temp of 48°. PM. A 45 min run around Lake Wingra. It was dark and around 50°.

Thurs Nov 6: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. Darkness gave way to clear sunny skies, temp of 27°.

Fri Nov 7: AM. A 30 min run over residential and city streets. Darkness gave way to clear skies with a temp of 46°. Resting for Sunday.

Sat Nov 8: AM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was cloudy and 36°. Resting for tomorrow.

I probably over-tapered these past few days. Not used to running only once a day. Hopefully the legs aren’t too rusty for el marathon tomorrow.

Sun, Oct 26-Sat, Nov 1

Sun Oct 26: AM. A 90 min run around Lake Monona. It was sunny and in the low 40s.

Mon Oct 27: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. Clear skies, temp 35°. PM. A 45 min run over residential streets and on the Capital City Trail. Clear skies turning dark, temp in the low 50s.

Tues Oct 28: AM. A 2 hour run on the Capital City Trail and on the Yahara Riverway Trail. Darkness giving way to clear skies, then became more cloudy. Temp of 35°.

Wed Oct 29: AM. Ran 25 mins to the Edgewood track, did 3x800m (2:33, 2:33, 2:31), ran 25 mins back. Darkness giving way to clear skies, temp 41°. PM. A 45 min run around Lake Wingra. Clear skies with a temp of 53°.

Thurs Oct 30: AM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was dark and 37°. PM. A 30 min run over residential streets and on the Capital City Trail. It was dark and in the mid 40s.

Fri Oct 31: AM. A 50 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. Darkness giving way to clear skies, temp of 38°.

Sat Nov 1: AM. In Appleton. Good day to race. Mostly cloudy and around 40°. Ran hard but alas lost (33:51 to 33:45) to Scott Downard in the Houdini 10k. I led for the first five miles, but could hear footsteps closing in. Scott pulled even with me for a minute or two, then broke away in the last half mile. It’s a little frustrating to lose it like that but still it was a solid effort and a nice tune-up for next week.

Sun, Oct 19-Sat, Oct 25

Sun Oct 19: AM. Ran two loops around Lake Monona in 2 hours 50 mins. It rained lightly for the first bit, then stayed cloudy. Temp in the upper 40s.

Mon Oct 20: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. The sun was rising over clear blue skies with a temp of 36°. PM. A 50 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was sunny at first, then became cloudy. Temp in the low 60s.

Tues Oct 21: AM. An 80 min run on the Capital City Trail and the SW Path. Darkness giving way to mostly clear skies, temp of 47°. PM. An 80 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was 45° with periods of light rain.

Wed Oct 22: AM. Ran 25 mins to the Edgewood track, did 3x1600m (5:37, 5:35, 5:25), ran 25 mins back. Darkness giving way to cloudy skies. Windy. Temp in the mid 40s. PM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and over residential streets. It was cloudy and 46°.

Thurs Oct 23: AM. A 75 min run on the Capital City Trail and SW Path. Darkness giving way to partly cloudy skies, temp of 38°. PM. A 75 min run on the Capital City Trail, over trails in Olin Park, and on residential streets. The sun was setting over mostly clear skies, temp in the upper 40s.

Fri Oct 24: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. The sun was rising over clear skies with a temp of 29°. PM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was sunny and 52°.

Sat Oct 25: AM. In Verona, ran 10,000m on the Badger Ridge track in 36:16 (5:59, 5:57, 5:28, 5:59, 5:58, 5:29, 0:82). It was cloudy and in the 30s. AM2 A 45 min run over trails in the Badger Prairie County Park. It was around 40° and raining.

Good week. Probably about 120 miles. Long run on Sunday, doubles Mon-Sat with some faster stuff on Wednesday and Saturday. I might cut back just a little these next couple weeks with the Houdini 10k coming up on November 1 and the Madison Marathon November 9.

October

A strange thought occurred to me while I was sitting here last night. There was a slight rain coming down. Somehow a slight rain coming down in the night in October brings out the thickest of juices from the darkest corners of my noggin. October is a strangely swinging month. The month of October has bugged artists and writers since the beginning of time. Thomas Wolfe wrote endless stuff about October. Ray Bradbury lived in that region of our world known as the October Country… 

that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and midnights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain…

This is the month, October. October is probably the most exciting month. April, on the other hand, is another exciting month in a very different way. But October is here. It really is here. And even with the World Series approaching, I can’t even get interested in it. With the Brew Crew out of it, it’s as though the season is over. Now get outta my way will ya Freddie Freeman! I’ve had enuff of this. I just want to clear the decks. Let’s get it over with and go home! Why don’t you guys just give it to the Dodgers already. They only paid $321.3 million for it. We’ll hear enough of them for the next year on.

For most of the ball season, I listened to the Brewer games on the radio, but I happened to watch their last game on TV. Now I don’t know what it is with the unimaginitive camera men who do TV broadcasts on baseball. I’m serious. Like the other night, when the Dodgers beat the Brewers in that final playoff game "The Shohei Ohtani Show", they didn’t even think to take one shot of the defeated Brewers going into their dugout. This would be unbelievably more dramatic than the Dodgers jumping around all over each other. Everybody knew what they’d be doing. They’d all be hitting one another and hollering and throwing their caps up in the air. But what about these guys who’ve been leading the major league for the past three months? Suddenly down the drain it all goes. Just like that. Not one shot. I kept thinking, let’s take a look at what the Brewers are doing! But not one shot. They didn’t bother to cut once to that dugout.

Another thing that gets me is this whole bit of sticking commercials about the ball players right in the middle of the game. Have you noticed this? Teams have taken to putting commercials in the middle of the game to let you know you’re seeing something great. You know, those things they flash up on the scoreboard. It says: “Mookie Betts is a great player and he has just stolen his seventh base. Hooray for Mookie”. It’s all so silly! Or they might say a thing like: “Sal Frelick playing for the Milwaukee Brewers has hit in three straight games. Sal Frelick is also a great fielder and has not made an error in over two weeks”. It’s as though there is a continuing running commercial even though your head is asleep because the game is so boring and nothing is happening. It’s a continuing running commercial to let you know you’re seeing something great.

I don’t know why I got into baseball. I’m not going to say anything more about baseball. I don’t even want to think about baseball right now.

So I’m sitting here last night and it’s raining and it’s October and all of a sudden it occurs to me what a great thing it is just to be alive at this very moment. All this wild stuff going on—even the stuff that is ridiculous in all its seriousness. There’s a certain amount of excitement about it. I feel sorry for people who continually get bowed down by the troubles of the world. People who feel sad when it rains in October. Or those who get down when their favorite ball team loses. There are some people who don’t seem to realize that trouble is the lot of man and he better even enjoy the trouble that’s happening. I’m sorry, that’s just the way it is and it’s not going to go away. It really ain’t going to go away.  

One of the fascinating things about us nutty humans is we feel that life is like a giant slate, an enormous blackboard. And it’s got all kinds of bad stuff written all over it. We’re all given erasers. We work very hard and we finally get that whole board erased and it will be a clean blackboard. We just got to have a clean slate. Then we can start building a real life. And yet all the while we are constantly being bitten by the hounds of hell, they are nipping at our hocks and we can’t figure it out. We thought we had everything cleared away! The price of gas is going up again. I mean what is all the trouble?!

This world that we live in is one of the most amusing. Certainly, there is no excuse ever to be bored in this existence. That is the one thing you can’t be. If you’re bored you have somehow let the scales grow over your eyeballs and you have allowed the potatoes to grow in your ears. Because really, all you have to do is look around and listen for just any 30 second period of the day and you can’t help but blow a gasket. Sometimes you fall right out of your swinging chair and land on your head just laughing with the way it is.

Like yesterday afternoon, I was walking downtown and I saw a fully grown adult man wearing an inflatable T-Rex costume. And the guy was slowly and very seriously trying to check for an apartment vacancy sign in the window of a business building. The combination of the ridiculous costume, the speed required to maneuver in it, and the utterly mundane task of apartment-hunting made for a very entertaining slice of everyday absurdism. Madison is the capital of weirdos. You can take a stroll through this town any time of the year (not just Halloween season) dressed in a T-Rex costume and no one will blink an eye. Oftentimes I stop at Festival Foods after a run. And I won’t feel out of place in the least walking around the store donning my short running shorts and a sweat soaked t-shirt and ordering a six pack of Staghorn, a Mr. Goodbar, eleven bananas and a tube of tooth paste. Because you can bet that there’ll be at least three other freaks in the store who are ten times stranger than me.

It is easy to find the absurdity in the bazaar, but there are lots of everyday normal things that really amuse me. Some of the most ordinary things in nature can fill me with great joy. Things like watching a couple squirrels chase each other around a tree. Or kicking a rock. I can even let my mind get carried away with the leaves as they blow in the October wind. October is here. It really is here and it truly is a great feeling just to be alive in this crazy thing called life.

“We live in the best of all possible worlds, so hand me a Kent for my left, a Bud for my right, turn on Starsky and Hutch and listen to that soft, harmonious note that is the universe turning smoothly on its celestial gyros.”

~ Charles Everett Decker

Sun, Oct 12-Sat, Oct 18

Sun Oct 12: AM. A 90 min run over trails in the Big Eau Pleine Park, most of it with the old folks (dad running and mom biking). It was mostly sunny early, then became cloudier late in the run. Temp in the 50s.

Mon Oct 13: AM. In Marshfield, A 50 min early morning run over residential streets and on the bike path. It was dark and 53°. PM. In Deerfield, A 40 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was mostly cloudy till the sun came out at the end. Temp of 68°.

Tues Oct 14: AM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was partly sunny and 44°. PM. In Deerfield, A 30 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was lightly raining and in the 60s.

Wed Oct 15: AM. In Deerfield, ran 20,000m on the DFHS track in 1:13:40 (5:42, 5:40, 5:42, 6:10, 6:13, 6:12, 5:44, 5:40, 5:41, 5:59, 5:57, 5:57, 2:58), ran 45 mins at slow pace on the Glacial Drumlin Trail, stopped for about 5 mins to shit, then ran 5,000m on the track in 18:08 (5:54, 5:54, 5:38, 0:40). It rained for the first few miles, then cloudy. Temp in the low 50s. PM. A 40 min run over residential streets and on the Capital City Trail. It was cloudy and 56°.

Thurs Oct 16: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. Darkness giving way to cloudy skies with a temp of 53°. PM. A 35 min run on the Capital City Trail. Getting dark out, temp in the low 60s.

Fri Oct 17: AM. A 65 min run on the Capital City Trail and the Wingra Creek Path. It rained a little early, then became more clear. Temp 62°. PM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was partly cloudy and 76°.

Sat Oct 18: AM. On the Badger Ridge track in Verona, did an 800, 800, 1600, 800, 800, 1600, 800, 800 with half the distance recoveries (2:44, 2:42, 5:24, 2:43, 2:44, 5:22, 2:42, 2:40). It was partly cloudy and in the low 60s. AM2 A 50 min run on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country course. It was sunny and in the upper 60s.

I took off work Wednesday and headed to Deerfield for a longish tempo run (~35k including 25k at a good pace). Saturday’s track session is one I borrowed from Charlie Spedding’s ‘84 Olympic Marathon build-up. The idea is to try to run the 1600s at around the same pace as the 800s. Charlie only ran his reps about a minute per mile faster than me.

Sun, Oct 5-Sat, Oct 11

Sun Oct 5: AM. Blew it! In Baraboo, ran 45 mins in Devil’s Lake State Park in search of a trail that was actually “runable”. All the trails were either too technical (steep-rocky-windy) or too crowded with people to break into a stride. Cut the run far shorter than I’d intended. Spent most of the day just hiking, swimming in the lake, and drinking beers. It was partly sunny and in the 70s.

Mon Oct 6: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. Darkness giving way to mostly cloudy skies, temp of 65°. PM. A 60 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was cloudy with a few sprinkles. Temp of 57°.

Tues Oct 7: AM. On the Cannonball Path with VURG, did a tempo mile then 3x5 mins fast with 3 min recoveries. It was dark and in the low 50s. PM. Ran two loops around Lake Wingra in 90 mins. The sun was setting over mostly clear skies with a temp in the low 60s.

Wed Oct 8: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. Darkness giving way to clear blue skies, temp around 40°. PM. A 75 min run around Lake Wingra and over trails in the arboretum. Left hamstring/groin is a bit achy. It was sunny and around 60°.

Thurs Oct 9: AM. Ran 25 mins to the Edgewood track, did 4x400m (70, 69,70,69), ran 25 mins back. Wanted to do at least a couple more 400s, but hamstring was bothering me. Felt ok otherwise. Darkness was giving way to clear skies with a temp of 36°. PM. No second run- resting leg.

Fri Oct 10: AM. No AM run. Took ice bath. PM. A 45 min run around Lake Wingra. The leg is still a little sore, but better. Hoping to run five miles fast tomorrow. It was sunny and 71°.

Sat Oct 11: AM. In Amherst for the Central Waters River Run 5 mile. Ran it in 27:42 (~5:32/mi) for 1st. I was a little worried about my sore leg going in, though thankfully it didn’t hurt a bit. The race was similar to last year- I led from the start and never had anyone near me. I tried to run the same time but ended up going a few seconds too fast. Oh well. Victory beers tasted good afterwards. Gorgeous day- mostly sunny and in the 50s.

Didn’t hurt a bit.

Sun, Sept 28-Sat, Oct 4

Sun Sept 28: AM. O my God! It’s my birthday! I’m 27 years old! Arghh!!! Eeekk!! Neeyaahghhg!! Good grief!! What’ll I do? Run 27 miles that’s what —There! Ran from New Glarus to Madison, WI in 3 hours 20 mins for 27+ miles. First 4 miles were over rolling hills through the scenic countryside, then on the flat Badger State Trail and SW Path the rest of the way. It was sunny with a temp in the low 50s when starting off in NG and probably close to 70° by the time I made it to Madison.

Mon Sept 29: AM. An 80 min run over trails in the Mendota Lakeshore Nature Preserve and on streets and paths by the University. First 20 mins with the old man. It was sunny and around 60°. PM. An 80 min run around Lake Monona. It was sunny and in the mid 80s.

Tues Sept 30: AM. A 75 min run on the Capital City Trail and on the SW Path. Darkness giving way to mostly sunny skies, temp in the upper 50s. PM. In Deerfield, A 75 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was partly sunny and 80°.

Wed Oct 1: AM. An 80 min run on the Capital City Trail, the SW Path, Monroe St, 5 laps (2000m) on the Edgewood track in 6:55, and on the Wingra Creek Path. Darkness giving way to partly cloudy skies, temp of 57°. PM. An 80 min run around Lake Wingra and over trails in the arboretum. It was mostly cloudy and 77°.

Thurs Oct 2: AM. A 2 hour run on the Capital City Trail and Lower Yahara Riverway Trail. Darkness giving way to mostly clear skies with a temp in the mid-upper 50s. PM. Terry Chambers Concert.

Fri Oct 3: AM. A 75 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path and over trails in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. It was sunny and in the 60s. PM. A 75 min run on the Capital City Trail and on the Wingra Creek Path. It was sunny and 84°.

Sat Oct 4: AM. A 75 min run with the old man on the SW Path, the Wingra Creek Path, and on the Capital City Trail. It was sunny and 67°. PM. A 75 min run over residential streets in Maple Bluff. It was sunny and in the mid 80s.

I’m channeling my inner Mark Nenow— 140+ miles on the week. Only running fast when I feel like it. Which is most of the time.

Sun, Sept 21-Sat, Sept 27

Sun Sept 21: AM. A 75 min run with MSRC on residential and city streets and in Maple Bluff. Dogged most of it with Alex and Tyler. It was partly cloudy and in the upper 60s. PM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was mostly cloudy and in the upper 70s.

Mon Sept 22: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. Darkness giving way to mostly cloudy skies, temp of 58°.

Tues Sept 23: AM. A 45 min run over residential streets and on the Capital City Trail. Darkness giving way to mostly clear skies, temp around 60°. PM. A 50 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was partly cloudy and 74°.

Wed Sept 24: AM. On the Deerfield track, did a 1600, 1200, 800, 400 (5:18, 3:56, 2:32, 71). It was partly cloudy and 55°. PM. A 50 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. Mix of sun and clouds, temp of 68°.

Thurs Sept 25: AM. In Deerfield, A 78 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. Darkness giving way to sunny skies with a temp around 50°.

Fri Sept 26: AM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was sunny and in the upper 50s. PM. In Deerfield, A 30 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and 80°.

Sat Sept 27: AM. In Fitchburg, ran the 3 Sheeps Beer Run 5k in 16:36 (~5:21/mi). I led from the start, but had Samuel Dean dogging me while joggling for most of it. Pulled away a little on the last mile and won by about 12 seconds. Weather was beautiful as usual- sunny skies, no wind and temp around 60°.

I eased back a bit on the miles this week to let my legs recover. Tomorrow I start the Big Push.

Pics from the 3 Sheeps 5K:

Sun, Sept 14-Sat, Sept 20

Sun Sept 14: AM. In Blanchardville, ran about 60 mins over trails in Yellowstone Lake State Park till a bee stung my right upper calf—ouch! Limped to the car, iced the leg, then kayaked in the lake for an hour and a half. The sun was trying to shine thru the fog. Temp in the 60s. PM. A 90 min run over trails in Gov. Nelson State Park and on the streets of Bishops Bay. Leg was still hurting from bee sting earlier but seemed to get better as run progressed. Kayaked about an hour in Lake Mendota after run. It was sunny and around 80°.

Mon Sept 15: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was sunny and 59°. PM. A 35 min run in Tenney Park and over residential streets. It was mostly sunny and around 80°.

Tues Sept 16: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was sunny and 58°. PM. In Deerfield, A 45 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and 82°.

Wed Sept 17: AM. On the Deerfield track, did 5x1600m (5:35, 5:33, 5:36, 5:34, 5:34). It was sunny and 58°. PM. In Deerfield, A 60 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and around 80°.

Thurs Sept 18: AM. A 78 min run on the Capital City Trail. Mostly clear skies, temp around 60°. PM. In Deerfield, A 78 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. The sun was setting over mostly clear skies with a temp in the 70s.

Fri Sept 19: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was mostly cloudy and 64°. PM. In Deerfield, A 40 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was cloudy with a couple raindrops midway thru. Temp of 77°.

Sat Sept 20: AM. Ran four loops around Lake Wingra in 2:49:55 (44:02, 42:54, 43:07, 39:51). It rained for most of it then cleared up some on the third loop. Temp in the 60s. I really wanted to throw in some fast 10,000m reps on the Edgewood track but blast and damn the gate was locked. Would’ve climbed over the top as I’ve done several times before, but the metal fence was wet and slippery from the rain and with all the lightning in the sky, it seemed a bit too risky.

Another solid week of mileage, this time capped off with an up-beat 40k. My right leg recovered sooner than I thought it might after Sunday’s bee sting.

Sun, Sept 7-Sat, Sept 13

Sun Sept 7: AM. In Marshfield, A 78 min run, most of it with the old man, on the bike path, over trails in Weber Park, and on residential streets. It was 41° and a little foggy.

Mon Sept 8: AM. A 45 min early morning run on the Veterans PKWY Trail. It was dark and around 40°. PM. A 60 min run around Lake Wingra and over trails in the UW Arboretum. It was sunny and 70°.

Tues Sept 9: AM. On the Cannonball Path with the Velo UnderRound Group, did a 1200, 1200, 1000, 1000, 800, 800 each around 5:20 pace with half the distance recoveries. Darkness giving way to mostly sunny skies, temp in the mid 50s. PM. In Deerfield, A 60 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was partly sunny and 72°.

Wed Sept 10: AM. A 75 min run on the Capital City Trail, over trails in Olin Park, and over residential streets. It was mostly cloudy with a few sprinkles towards the end. Temp of 55°. PM. In Deerfield, A 75 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was mostly cloudy and in the low 70s.

Thurs Sept 11: AM. A 90 min run around Lake Monona. Darkness giving way to partly cloudy skies with a temp of 58°. PM. In Deerfield, A 45 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and 76°.

Fri Sept 12: AM. A 60 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was foggy and 54°. PM. In Cottage Grove, A 75 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and 80°.

Sat Sept 13: AM. A 90 min run on the Capital City Trail, the Wingra Creek Path, the SW Path, and around Monona Bay. It was partly sunny and 65°. PM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was sunny and 78°.

No races and no real long runs this week, but got in some decent mileage.

Sun, Aug 31-Sat, Sept 6

Sun Aug 31: AM. A 2 hour 45 min run on the Capital City Trail, the SW Path and the Military Ridge State Trail. It was sunny with a temp in the upper 40s at the start and around 60° at the end.

Mon Sept 1: AM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was sunny and around 50°. PM. In Deerfield, A 30 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and in the mid 70s.

Tues Sept 2: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was sunny and 52°. PM. In Deerfield, A 45 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. Cloudy early, then sunny. Temp of 76°.

Wed Sept 3: AM. On the track, did 6x400m, 4x200m (76, 74, 74, 74, 74,74, 35, 34, 34, 34). It was cloudy and 61°. PM. A 30 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was mostly cloudy and 65°.

Thurs Sept 4: AM. A 75 min run on the Capital City Trail and the SW Path. Darkness giving way to clear sunny skies, temp in the mid 40s.

Fri Sept 5: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was partly cloudy, breezy and in the mid 50s.

Sat Sept 6: AM. Ran the Apple Dumpling Half Marathon (Hustler to Elroy, WI). I led from the start and won the race comfortably in 1:14:52 (~5:43/mi). Felt pretty good! I know I could’ve run a little faster had there been someone in front of me to chase after, though it was kind of fun to lead the way. Weather was great - temp around 50°, partly cloudy skies and a slight headwind.

I was busy with work this week so didn’t get as much running or sleep as I would’ve liked, but felt sharp doing 400s and 200s on Wednesday and very fluent when racing a half marathon on Saturday. It was nice to win a race.

Pencils

I like pencils. I like to write in a book with a pencil, then I can carry the book around, I can take it to bed—whatever. Writing with a pencil is so much easier than typing on a computer. I hate typing on a computer. And I’m not a fast typist—I’m a couple-of-words-a-minute typist. If it wasn’t for the typing part of this blogging thing, I would put out a lot more posts. Plus, I like the smell and feel of paper, and I like pencils.

I used to love the smell of pencils at school. The teacher had on her desk a big pencil sharpener, and just the thought of going up to that desk and smelling all that shaved-up pencil—fantastic. Pencils are very sexy. I just love pencils. Pencils and hard-backed books of plain paper.

So, if any woman out there really wants to attract me, she just needs to get some pencil shavings, shave off her underarm hair and stick on pencil shavings instead! Dress like a teacher—with her hair up and glasses. And have a pencil sharpener. A large one.

Sun, Aug 24-Sat, Aug 30

Sun Aug 24: AM. In Marshfield, A 90 min run over residential streets, in Wildwood Park, and in the Donnelly Business Park. First half with the old man. It was mostly cloudy and in the mid 50s.

Mon Aug 25: AM. A 60 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was sunny and 50°. PM. In Deerfield, A 45 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was partly sunny and 68°.

Tues Aug 26: AM. On the Cannonball Path with VURG, did a 1200, 800, 400, 400, 800, 1200 at 5:30-5:20-5:10 pace respectively, followed by 200 all out. It was sunny and in the 50s. PM. A 45 min run around Lake Wingra. It was mostly sunny and around 70°.

Wed Aug 27: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was sunny and around 50°. PM. In Deerfield, A 75 min run—first 40 mins doing loops around the station at shift’s end, the rest on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and 73°.

Thurs Aug 28: AM. Ran to the University and did 5 x Hills at Bascom Hall. It was cloudy early, then became sunny. Temp in the low 60s. PM. In Deerfield, A 30 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was mostly sunny and 75°.

Fri Aug 29: AM. A 60 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. Ran a couple miles with Scott and Alex at ~6:20 pace. It was sunny and 51°. PM. In Deerfield, A 30 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was cloudy and 66°.

Sat Aug 30: AM. In Prairie du Sac for the Cow Shit Classic 10k—It’s poop again! Ended up in the number two spot for the third year in a row at this shitty race. The winner, Marcus, broke away from me on the uphill 2nd mile. Most of the race was spent trying to keep him in my sights. I was gaining on him over the last couple miles, but couldn’t quite reel him in. Finished in 34:20 (~5:31/mi), first was 33:57. Still it was a good effort on not the easiest of courses and not the freshest of legs. The weather was nice: mostly cloudy, not much wind and a temp around 60°. PM. A 50 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was mostly sunny and 72°.

My body (and knee) have been responding well to the recent increase in speedwork. Everyday I’m getting faster. It feels so good to be able to lay it all out there again. Three months ago, back in the throes of injury, I could only dream about running fast and racing. I definitely didn’t think I could get in this kind of shape this soon.

Sun, Aug 17-Sat, Aug 23

Sun Aug 17: AM. A 2 hour 30 min run with mom (biking) on the Capital City Trail and the Lower Yahara Riverway Trail. It was mostly cloudy and in the low 70s.

Mon Aug 18: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was cloudy and 67°. PM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was mostly cloudy and in the upper 70s.

Tues Aug 19: AM. At the Velo with VURG, did 2x1.5 miles fast with 1k recovery on the loop route. It was cloudy and 66°. PM. In Deerfield, A 60 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was partly sunny and 78°.

Wed Aug 20: AM. A 78 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was cloudy for most of run, sun came out a bit at the end, temp around 70°.

Thurs Aug 21: AM. On the DFHS track, did a 400, 400, 800, 400, 400, 800 with half the distance recoveries (80, 79, 2:36, 79, 78, 2:36). It was 62° and foggy. PM. In Deerfield, A 30 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was mostly sunny and 78°.

Fri Aug 22: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was mostly sunny and 62°.

Sat Aug 23: AM. In Marshfield, Ran about 45 mins over residential streets and on the bike path. First few miles with the old man. Darkness giving way to sunny skies, temp of 62°. AM2 In Loyal for Spanky’s Run. Ran the 10k in 34:32 (~5:34/mi). I ran about 5:20 pace for the first 3 miles with the wind at my back, then slowed down significantly while running into the wind on the second half. Finished a distant 2nd to Jared Genteman (33:31). I could’ve run a little faster, but stopped to drink a beer on the home stretch. The knee felt okay the entire way, tho was a bit achy while cooling down afterwards. Overall, a solid race- It’s good to be back! Other than the wind, the weather cooperated: low 60s and mostly sunny. PM. A 55 min run over residential streets in Marshfield, on the bike path, and over trails in the arboretum. It was partly cloudy and in the upper 60s.

A pretty good week of training capped off with a commendable effort at Spanky’s- first time really racing since Nov 10, 2024. If I can continue to train consistently and stay healthy I know I am going to get a lot better.