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.

Sun, Aug 10-Sat, Aug 16

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-Sat, Aug 9

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-Sat, Aug 2

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.