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.
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: 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: 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.
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: 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: 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.
Sun Aug 10: AM. A 3 hour 15 min run on the Capital City Trail, the SW Path, the Military Ridge Trail, over streets in Verona and a loop around Monona Bay. Ran with Alex for a mile+ near the end. It was raining quite hard at the start, became lighter as the run progressed. Temp around 70°.
Mon Aug 11: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was cloudy and 70°. PM. In Deerfield, A 45 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was mostly sunny and 82°.
Tues Aug 12: AM. A 2 hour run on the Capital City Trail and SW Path. It was 70° and raining. PM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. Not feeling well—pain in my left chest, hurts especially when taking deep breaths. Slightly noticeable this morning but much worse now. It was sunny and around 80°.
Wed Aug 13: AM. A 32 min run on the Capital City Trail. Still having pain in me ribs—sixth intercostal space midclavicular on the left side of chest. Not sure what it is. Some kind of respiratory disease or infection? Pleuritis? Intercostal muscle strain? Bad case of indigestion? Maybe a sadistic enemy of mine is using a voodoo doll on me. I’m not sure but I really hope it goes away soon because it makes running very uncomfortable.
Thurs Aug 14 - DNR - Breathing is painful.
Fri Aug 15: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. Felt tired and a little SOB, but much better. It was partly sunny and 68°.
Sat Aug 16: AM. Ran about 30 mins on the Kent Kretchmar Klassic 5k course +extra, then ran the course as a workout in 17:55 (6:03, 5:17, 5:59, 0:36). It was partly sunny and in the low 70s. PM. A 45 min run over trails in Gov. Nelson State Park. It was raining and in the 70s.
I wanted to put in some big mileage this week, but came down with a freak breathing problem on Tuesday so that sort of ruined that plan. Pretty sure one of my generous patients from work gave me some kind of respiratory infection. Very irritating, but fortunately it lasted only a few days.
Sun Aug 3: AM. A 2 hour 30 min run on the Capital City Trail, the SW Path and on the Badger State Trail. It was sunny and in the 50s-60s.
Mon Aug 4: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was mostly sunny and around 60°. PM. In Cottage Grove, A 45 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and 78°.
Tues Aug 5: AM. A 35 min run on the Cannonball Path and the Military Ridge Trail. Did 5x5 mins fast with 2 min recovery jogs. It was partly sunny and around 60°. PM. In Deerfield, A 90 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and 79°.
Wed Aug 6: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. The sun was shining thru the fog, temp in the upper 50s. PM. In Deerfield, A 75 min joggle on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was partly cloudy and in the low 80s.
Thurs Aug 7: AM. A 60 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was sunny and 69°. PM. In Deerfield, A 75 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and 86°.
Fri Aug 8: AM. A 75 min run on the Capital City Trail and SW Path. It was mostly sunny and 74°.
Sat Aug 9: AM. Joggled the Kent Kretchmar Klassic 5k course twice- first time with the old man at ~8 min pace, second time solo in 19:15. It was sunny and in the low 70s.
Solid hundred+ mile week including a couple joggles. Only ran once both Fri and Sat with dad being in town, but felt very fresh running 26+ miles this morning (Sun Aug 10). I think my fitness is starting to come around.
Sun July 27: AM. A 2 hour run over trails in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, on Lake Mendota Dr and on the ritzy streets of Shorewood Hills. It was sunny and in the 70s.
Mon July 28: AM. A 35 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was cloudy and 74°. PM. In Deerfield, A 45 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and 90°.
Tues July 29: AM. On the DFHS track, did 5x1600m (5:48, 5:48, 5:46, 5:46, 5:46). Rain at the start, then cloudy. Temp of 73°. PM. A 45 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was mostly sunny and 86°.
Wed July 30: AM. In Deerfield, A 78 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was 70° and raining.
Thurs July 31: AM. A 62 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was partly sunny and smokey. Cooler out! Temp in the low 60s. PM. On the DFHS track, did 6x400m (75, 73, 75, 75, 77, 76) - joggled the last two. It was mostly sunny/smokey, temp in the mid 70s.
Fri Aug 1: AM. An 80 min run on the Capital City Trail and SW Path. It was sunny and 53°.
Sat Aug 2: AM. Ran 40 mins on the Monona Lake loop route to Oneida Park, did the Kent Kretchmar Klassic 5k course in 16:54 (5:29, 5:27, 5:26, 0:31), then ran the rest of the way around the lake in about 45 mins. Another really nice morning– sunny and in the low 50s. PM. A 40 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was sunny and 77°.
This was a decent week despite only covering about 90 miles. I got in three 'faster' sessions—repeat 1600s on Tuesday and repeat 400s on Thursday set me up for running a new CR at Kent’s 5k on Saturday. More miles this coming week.
I’ve been pulling a Lize Brittin and not writing anything for a long time. Other than my weekly training posts, I haven’t actually written on here in a while. There have been several times when I’ve started writing something, read through what I’ve written, decided it’s no good, and threw it away. I’ve gotten pretty good at shooting crumpled up wads of paper into the waste basket. Then there are times when I’ll start a piece of brilliant writing, get side-tracked and never finish it. But I started this post and man I’m gonna finish it today! That’s the daylight dreamer wishful thinker’s way.
All right. Here we go. I got a sharp pencil and a clean white sheet of paper. Now… What shall I write about? How about running. This is a running blog after all.
My running as of late has been OK. Over the past few weeks I’ve been building up the mileage and my knee hasn’t been giving me the negative feedback like it always used to. Knock on wood it stays that way. I’m still very much out of shape and the knee still has occasional niggles, but I think I’m trending in the right direction.
In November 2024, I switched from working four 10+ hour shifts to five 8+ hour shifts/week. After recovering from the Madison Marathon on November 10, 2024, I’d planned on upping my mileage. By working five 8 hour shifts a week, I could run 10 miles before work, 10 miles after work, and do a 20+ mile long run on the weekend for a cool 140/week. And still manage to catch at least a few hours of sleep at night. But on the morning of November 25, 2024, some nincompoop driver blew a red light, hit me, severely damaged my right knee and killed my master plan. Or at least massively delayed it. After spending several months on the shelf and many weeks of running on and off, I am finally starting to build up a decent mileage base. I’m still a little scared to really throw down the hammer, but if my knee continues to cooperate, maybe in another month or so I’ll be ready to race. Once again, knock on the wood.
That’s about all I’d like to say about my own running. Come to think of it, there really isn’t much to say about running in general. I mean it’s a pretty simple sport. You just put one foot in front of the other. Frank Shorter supposedly said that if he were to write a book about running it would only be one page long.
It’s really discouraging the way people have over-complicated this great sport with things like GPS watches, carbon-plated “super” shoes, heart rate monitors, hydration vests, energy gels, pacers, pacing-lights, etc, etc, etc… Not to mention cheaters. I have become thoroughly convinced that almost all the top runners and a significant number of college, high school, and even recreational runners are using performance enhancing drugs or blood doping. No foolin’ it’s a f*%ked up world. I confess that I, myself, have over-complicated the sport by occasionally juggling while I run (joggling) or kicking a rock. But hey, I only joggle when I don’t have time to practice my juggling any other time during the day.
Back in January, when I wasn’t able to run at all, I learned how to juggle. Juggling is something I do everyday now and it is insanely fun, but very addictive. Almost as addictive as running or chocolate. With a little help from Tayor Glenn’s wonderful tutorials and watching videos of the Juggling Greats (Anthony Gatto, Michael Karas, Doug Sayers), I have been getting better!
Besides juggling work, life, and running, I have spent a lot of time this summer kayaking on Lake Monona and Lake Waubesa. Sometimes I’ll bring my fishing pole and fish from my kayak, but lately the edges of the lakes have been ridden with algae making fishing difficult. Most of the time I sit in the middle of the lake with a cooler full of beers and my portable radio and listen to the (surprisingly good) Brewers. Or I’ll read a book. It is very relaxing, sitting in a kayak in a lake and just reading. I’m currently working my way through a collection of Graham Greene stories and Cujo by Stephen King. I haven’t touched my piano in a while, but I have been listening to a lot of music. Right now, Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond are banging out some hot riffs. Other music I’ve been jamming out to include Henry Mancini, Bev Kenney, Irma Thomas, Matt Munisteri, Wilmoth Houdini, Gardenia Moon, The Dukes of Stratosphear, and Shel Silverstein. Just to name a few.
I’ve loved Shel Silverstein’s stories, poems, and cartoons since I was a tyke, though it wasn’t until earlier this year that I really delved deep into Shel’s music. Other than Boy Named Sue, (which I think I’d only heard Johnny Cash’s solid, but inferior cover) I don’t think I’d ever listened to him. And wow, what a musician he is! The guy has eight full-length albums covering several types of music—folk, country, hairy jazz, blues, rock—and he does it all as good, if not better than anyone else. My favorite album of his might be the clever and appropriately titled I’m So Good That I Don’t Have To Brag. The album is a recording of live songs with Shel’s entertaining commentary between numbers. Musically it is rather simple with just Shel singing accompanied by guitar and harmonica. But it is filled with that witty satirical humor that is distinctively Silverstein. About ¾ of the way through the set, you get a little taste of melancholy with the song, I Can’t Touch the Sun,a piece that captures that same beautifully tragic feeling he displays so well in his book The Giving Tree.
There is much more I could say about Shel Silverstein and all the other fascinating aspects of my life, but I had intended to keep the topics on this blog mainly about “running”. I’d like to write a few more things and bring this to a more complete conclusion, but why don’t we take a break for now. I think I’ll go make myself a sandwich. I’m gettin’ hungry. Yeah, I could sure go for a BLT or something. I’ll come back later tonight and finish this post. In the meantime, dig this:
Shel Silverstein - Daylight Dreamer:
I started a running blog but then I realized I didn’t have that much to say
Sun July 20: AM. A 2 hour 35 min run on the Capital City Trail and the Lower Yahara Riverway Trail. It was cloudy and in the upper 60s.
Mon July 21: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was sunny/hazy and 58°. PM. In Deerfield, A 60 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and 80°.
Tues July 22: AM. A 78 min run on the Capital City Trail and on the SW Path. It was cloudy and in the 60s. PM. A 45 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was partly sunny and 84°.
Wed July 23: AM. No AM run—heavy thunderstorms. PM. In Deerfield, A 90 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and around 90°.
Thurs July 24: AM. A 68 min run on the Capital City Trail and over residential streets. It was cloudy and 80°. PM. In Deerfield, A 52 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was cloudy with some refreshing rain midway thru, then sunny at the end. Temp in the low 80s.
Fri July 25: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was cloudy and 68°. PM. On the Deerfield HS Track, did 3x3200m (12:32, 12:23, 12:18), then ran 30 mins over residential streets. It was partly sunny and in the low 80s.
Sat July 26: AM. A 100 min run over trails in Gov. Nelson State Park and on the ritzy streets of Bishops Bay. It was foggy with a little rain. Temp around 70°. PM. A 52 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was mostly sunny and 82°.
Building a base. 120+ miles on the week. Knee’s been good.
Sun July 13: AM. A 2 hour 30 min run on the Capital City Trail, the SW Path, and on the Badger State Trail. It was partly cloudy and in the low 60s.
Mon July 14: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was sunny and 64°. PM. In Deerfield, A 45 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and 84°.
Tues July 15: AM. On the Cannonball Path with VURG, did a ¼ mi, 1 mile, ¼ mi, ¼ mi. Ran the ¼’s around 75 secs and the mile ~5:24. It was sunny and around 70°. PM. In Deerfield, A 62 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and 86°.
Wed July 16: AM. A 78 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was partly sunny and 71°. PM. In Deerfield, ran 15 mins on-shift doing loops around the station. PM2 A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was mostly cloudy and in the upper 70s.
Thurs July 17: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. Pooped! It was cloudy and 60°. PM. In Deerfield, A 30 min on-shift run in the DF Business Park and looping around the station. It was partly cloudy and in the upper 60s.
Fri July 18: AM. A 50 min run over residential streets and on the Capital City Trail. Beautiful morning—52° and sunny—but felt beat. PM. A 40 min run around Lake Wingra. It was sunny and in the 70s.
Sat July 19: AM. Ran 42 mins on the Mendota Lake Loop route to Oneida Park, did the Kent Kretchmar Klassic 5k course in 17:34 (5:42, 5:39, 5:36, 0:35), then jogged a mile with Len. It was cloudy with a couple sprinkles towards the end. Temp in the low 70s. PM. In Middleton, A 78 min run over trails in the Pheasant Branch Conservancy. It was partly sunny and 84°.
Been feeling beat the past few days from the recent increase in mileage, being busy at work/lots of driving, and just being out of shape. I need to keep upping the mileage though, as long as my knee tolerates it.
Sun July 6: AM. In Decorah, IA, A 78 min run on the Trout Run Trail and over roads and trails in Palisades Park. It was partly cloudy and 72°.
Mon July 7: AM. A 78 min run over trails in Phelps Park, on the Trout Run Trail, over residential streets + a 1600m on the Decorah HS track in 5:24. It was sunny, humid, and around 70°.
Tues July 8: AM. An 80 min run (first 50 with the old man) over the Luther Cross Country trails, grassy paths in the Decorah Community Prairie, and on the Trout Run Trail. It was partly cloudy and 68°.
Wed July 9: AM. A 55 min run on the Capital City Trail and SW Path. It was sunny and around 70°.
Thurs July 10: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was partly sunny and 64°. PM. A 48 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was cloudy with a little rain at the end. Temp in the mid 70s.
Fri July 11: AM. A 42 min run over residential streets and on the Capital City Trail. It was cloudy and 67°. PM. A 42 min run around Lake Wingra. It was in the 70s and raining.
Sat July 12: AM. Ran the Kent Kretchmar Klassic 5k course three times - 20:25, 18:15, 26:45 (with Leonard). It was cloudy and in the upper 60s. PM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and over residential streets. It was partly cloudy and around 80°.
With a little help from my friends (Brad and Bob), my knee has been making progress. I think! I’ve been doing their recommended physical therapy exercises to help cure my ITBS. The knee still gets occasional niggles when I run, but it hasn’t been getting painful. Most of the time I don’t even notice it at all anymore.
Sun June 29: AM. A 90 min late morning hangover run on the Capital City Trail and Lower Yahara Riverway trail. I think I sweated all the alcohol out of my system. It was mostly sunny and 86° with a dew point of 73.
Mon June 30: AM. A 78 min run on the Capital City Trail and on the SW Path. It was sunny and 66°. PM. A 35 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was mostly cloudy and 81°.
Tues July 1: AM. Ran about 30 mins on the Cannonball Path with the Velo UnderRound Group “Vurg” (Kyle and Johnathan). Did 3x5 mins fast with 2 min recovery jogs, then 5x1 min fast with 30 sec recoveries. It was sunny and in the 60s. PM. In Deerfield, A 45 min run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and 82°.
Wed July 2: AM. A 68 min run on the Capital City Trail, the Wingra Creek Path, Monroe St, and on the SW Path. It was sunny and in the 60s.
Thurs July 3: In Marshfield, A 57 min run with Justin and the old man over residential streets and on the bike path. It was sunny and in the 60s.
MRI today showed a bone contusion and inflammation of the iliotibial band causing iliotibial band friction syndrome (ITBS). I’ll likely need 4-6 weeks of physical therapy, but fortunately shouldn't require surgery.
Fri July 4: AM. A 50 min run with Justin and the old man in Wildwood Park and over residential streets. It was mostly cloudy and around 70°. *Happy 4th of July!
Sat July 5: AM. In beautiful Decorah, IA, A 90 min run on the Trout Run Trail. Lots of good hills. It was mostly sunny and 78°.
The knee’s been okay for the most part. It gets a little achy at times but has remained tolerable this week. The MRI on Thursday showed ITBS. It feels good to finally know what the problem is. Hopefully with some physical therapy exercises, I can get rid of this thing for good.
