Sun, May 17-Sat, May 23

 Sun May 17: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. Left hamstring was a little sore. It was cloudy and 57°.

Mon May 18 AM. In Marshfield, A 62 min joggle with the old man over residential streets along with a loop through Wildwood Park. It was cloudy with light rain at times, temp of 60°. PM. A 48 min run in the Donnelly Business Park. It was partly cloudy and 77°.

Tues May 19: AM. Ran 40 laps on the track in 64:06 (6:26, 6:25, 6:26, 5:48, 6:34, 6:35, 6:34, 5:51, 6:43, 6:40). Felt tired. Left hamstring was also acting up a bit. It was 62° and drizzly.

Wed May 20: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and over residential streets. Clear skies, temp in the upper 40s. PM. Ran 3 seconds before a call came in :(

Thurs May 21: AM. At Station 2, Ran 15 mins up and down Walsh Rd until a call came in. No other chances to run (or sleep) the rest of the shift :(

Fri May 22: AM. A 75 min sleep-deprived run on the Capital City Trail, the Wingra Creek Path, 1600m on the track in 5:38, Monroe St, and the SW Path. Tired! It was cloudy and around 60°. PM. A 75 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt and over trails in the Mendota Lakeshore Nature Preserve. It was cloudy and in the 60s. PM2 Joe Jackson Concert at the Orpheum.

Sat May 23: AM. Joggled about 30 mins easy with the old man, then joggled Kent’s 5k course in around 19:15. It was overcast and 51°. PM. A 40 min run over residential streets in Maple Bluff. It was cloudy and 74°.

Another lousy week of training.

Sun, May 10-Sat, May 16

Sun May 10: AM. In Fort Atkinson, A 60 min early morning (3:30 AM) run on the Glacial River Trail. Felt tired, but calf was ok. It was dark and 38°.

Mon May 11: AM. In Fort Atkinson, A 78 min joggle on the Glacial River Trail and over residential + city streets. It was sunny and around 40°. PM. A 52 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was sunny and in the 50s.

Tues May 12: AM. A 78 min run on the SW Path, Monroe St, the Wingra Creek Path and on the Capital City Trail. It was 47° and raining.

Wed May 13: AM. In Verona, did 2x2000m on the Badger Ridge track (8:00, 7:55). Dropped out 800m into the third rep. Left calf was bothering me. It was mostly sunny and around 50°. PM. No second run—rested calf, sipped ice-cold beer and lazed in the sun—all I’ve got’s this “sunny afternoon” (recorded 60 years ago today at Pye Studios).

Thurs May 14: AM. A 45 min run over residential streets and on the Capital City Trail. Calf was ok. It was sunny and 36°. AM2 In Deerfield, A 33 min on-shift run doing loops around the station. It was sunny and in the upper 50s.

Fri May 15: AM. In Deerfield, A 60 min joggle on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. Tired, but got better. Calf was good. It was sunny, breezy and around 60°. PM. A 60 min run over residential streets in Maple Bluff. It was sunny and 81°.

Sat May 16: AM. Joggled 40+ mins to Oneida Park, joggled the Kent 5k course in 19:38 (4 drops, all in the last half mile). Scraped up my left hip diving for a ball- as if that leg isn’t banged up enough already! Fueled up on Coors after 5k, then joggled the rest of the way around Lake Monona in 48 mins. Cloudy early, then became sunny. Temp in the 60s.

My training has been very inconsistent due to injuries (lately my calf has been holding me back) and my crazy work schedule. There’s no way I’ll be able to get into shape by Grandma’s next month. I interviewed for a job at Belleville EMS, but unfortunately they’re only hiring part-time. I’m hoping to get back to 8(+) hour shifts at RBA by July so I can get back to a more consistent training routine and maybe get into respectable shape for Chicago in October. I’ve got a job and I know I can’t complain, but these 24 and 48 hour shifts are killing me.

Sun, May 3-Sat, May 9

 Sun May 3 - DNR - Beautiful out, but didn’t do any running. Legs (particularly my left hamstring) are very sore from yesterday- extra sore due to lack of training in the preceding weeks.

Mon May 4: AM. In Belleville, A 45 min run over trails around Lake Belle View and along the Sugar River. Ran very slowly. Left calf and hammy were quite sore, but seemed to get better. It was mostly sunny and around 70°.

Tues May 5: AM. Ran about 10 mins. Left lower calf/achilles is very sore.

Wed May 6 - DNR - No time to attempt a run on shift

Thurs May 7: PM. At station one, ran in circles on the rooftop patio (30’ by 25’) for 15 mins. Tired and dizzy. Left calf felt ok running clockwise, but became irritated going counter-clockwise. Only chance to run during shift.

Fri May 8: AM. An 80 min run around Lake Wingra and over trails in the arboretum. Felt tired, but legs were okay. It was sunny and in the 50s. PM. A 58 min run over residential streets in Maple Bluff. It was mostly sunny and in the 60s.

Sat May 9: AM. Joggled about 40 mins to Oneida Park, joggled the Kent Kretchmar Klassic 5k course in 21 mins, then joggled on and off for 20 mins till my left calf tightened up. Walked the rest of the way back. Nice morning, in the 50s.

Just like a mad dog I’m chasing my tail in a circle

Sun, Apr 26-Sat, May 2

 Sun Apr 26: AM. A 45 min run over residential streets and on the Capital City Trail. It was partly cloudy and around 60°. PM. A 45 min run over residential streets in Maple Bluff. It was mostly sunny and in the 60s.

Mon Apr 27: AM. Ran about 20 mins to the Edgewood track, did a 1600, 800, 800 (5:45, 2:48, 2:47), ran back. It was cloudy and in the mid 50s. PM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was partly cloudy, windy, and in the mid 60s.

Tues Apr 28: AM. A 78 min run on the Capital City Trail. Darkness gave way to cloudy skies. Windy. Temp of 51°.

Wed Apr 29 - DNR - No sleep, no run :(

Thurs Apr 30: AM. In Deerfield, A 60 min sleep-deprived run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. Sunny at first, then clouded up. Temp in the 40s. PM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was cloudy and in the 50s.

Fri May 1: AM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. Left hamstring was sore + felt tired. It was mostly sunny and around 40°.

Sat May 2: AM. Ran the La Crosse Marathon (as a training run) in 2:47:45. I started off at around 6:40 pace. My left hamstring was a little tight early on, but loosened up around 5 miles in. I made it to the half in around 1:27 and my left hamstring, right knee, and the rest of my body felt OK. From there, I picked it up to about 6:00 pace. At around mile 18-19, my left hammy started tightening up again. I continued on at a fairly brisk pace until mile 23 when my left calf seized up. It felt like it was going to pull or break if I tried to push it at all, so I slowed down to a leisure jog for the last few miles. Despite the late cramping, I made it through without any knee issues so I’ll consider it a success. I’m just hoping my hamstring and calf recover quickly. While it feels good to complete the distance, I think I could’ve run the course about 20 minutes faster if I was in the shape I was four months ago (pre-knee injury). The course was super flat and fast and the weather was just about perfect. Mid 30s at 6:00 AM race start in Sparta, warming up to the upper 40s by the finish, minimal wind, and mostly clear skies.