Final Run in Charlotte

Time: 76:25
Distance: 16.17k
Pace: 4:44
Map

Meagan and I met up with an early morning crew for our last official run in Charlotte. I never felt great, but tried to enjoy being on familiar streets for many weeks or months to come. We wandered through Freedom Park, around the Dilworth neighborhood and ventured into Myers Park toward the end.

Back at the house it was a mad push to finish packing the rest of our belongings. The trailer was well organized until the final 5 minutes when I just started throwing small objects and let them land wherever. I shut the door, made sure it was secure, locked it, and hoped for the best. An eight hour drive was ahead, one nervous cat, and all of our possessions were off to MA.

Breaking from Packing

Time: 69:02
Distance: 15.30k
Pace: 4:31
Map

Meagan, Jeff, Melanie and I all headed up to the Childress Winery yesterday afternoon for the lovely wedding of Brook Starr and Lance Haman. The event was classy and accommodated for the frigid temperatures of an outside ceremony. We ended up staying the night and traveled back to Charlotte this morning only to be dropped off at the U-haul facility to pick up Meagan's VW with a hitch and trailer attached.

The packing started and didn't stop until early afternoon when we decided to get in a run to clear our thoughts. It's amazing how much two people can acquire and how much is absolutely necessary to have. Lots of stuff is being tossed at the dumpster and it's been funny to watch people immediately take home what were formerly our possessions. If we were really savvy the items would have been sold, but time was limited already.

Post Party Uptown Run

Time: 80:36
Distance: 17.47k
Pace: 4:37
Map

This morning a slightly hungover group of CRC runners showed up to the Dowd YMCA to get in a run. The big surprise of the morning had to be Matt Jaskot as he rallied hard from what must have been a rough late night. Meagan and I had our costume/going away party graciously hosted by Rebecca Thomason. Matt came fully in character as Raoul Duke of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Make note to never take Mr. Duke's Wild Turkey or be harassed. It was a great night with many of the close friends Meagan and I have made during our two short years in Charlotte.

Back to the run that brought a small group out to run around Uptown and some of the nearby bike paths. I wasn't feeling great and many of the under-crossings were flooded which made for a slippery stride. I was content to call the run at 80 minutes and get back to packing.

CRC Unofficial Group Run

Time: 74:45
Distance: 16.01k
Pace: 4:40
Map

Meagan and I met up with Megan Hovis, Dan & Val Matena, Bill Shires, Mike Kahn and a couple others at the Old Bell entrance to McAlpine. We ran as a group at a light clip that allowed everyone to chat. Ben wasn't present as his team would be competing later that morning at the state meet. It was good to catch up with Dan who is taking over the Carolinas with TGA. I'll be assisting him in some ways so the transition into the role goes as smoothly as possible.

Double Run to the AG

Time: 48:16

Distance: 11.10k

W/u: 35:53 for 8.20k

C/d: 12:24 for 2.90k

This evening I headed out to get in some extra distance and wound up at the AG. I wanted to run some light strides, but the field was being used for football and parents/fans were crowding the track. I opted to use the outfield of the nearby baseball field which worked quite well. I ran 6 x 110-130m at a solid effort. It felt good to turn over the legs really fast for the first time since working out with Jay in New York. I need to do more strides before it starts to get really cold up north and I don't want to spend the extra time outside.

4 Mile Creek

Time: 64:28
Distance: 15.11
Pace: 4:16
Map

Meagan and I headed out to the Piper Glen shopping center to meet up with Anna Donlan who was interested in trying out a pair of Karhus. Meagan had worked yesterday and was content to run with Anna who would be pushing a baby jogger. Turns out she can clip along with the little one as Meagan said the pace was honest. I started a bit early and got in my 15k out and back on the bike path. I wasn't feeling great until the final 3k when I opened up my stride a bit.

Double Down in Charlotte

Time: 65:55
Distance: 15.62
Pace: 4:13

I arrived in Charlotte and started the long process of packing up our remaining belongings. Little did I know that Meagan and I would be doing this until the moment we left town. It was great being back with MRN who had been in Texas for work and then flew directly to Charlotte. In the late afternoon I laced up the shoes and headed out to the familiar sights of Freedom Park. After a loop o' booty I finished up with some quicker k's now that my legs are starting to feel recovered from Sunday.

Three Ladies' Workout

Time: 86:48
Distance: 18.76k

W/u: 26:31 for 5.37k
W/o: 3 mile tempo, 3 x 400m
C/d: 29:04 for 5.87k

Meagan and Caitlin were joined by Pezz and I for a workout consisting of a 3 mile tempo followed by some quick 400s. I was just tagging along to get in a run this morning and opted to jump in. Since the Army 10 Miler is later this week, the workout was on Caitlin's schedule to get her ready to race at sub-6:00 pace.

Splits:
3:48, 3:38, 3:35, 3:37, 2:47 (761 meters at 3:40 pace),
(5:10 rest)
73.86 (2:24), 72.47 (2:30), 69.21
31:13 total for 7.52k

The first 1k was much too slow as the girls felt like talking about boys, makeup and Sarah's ugly dress. Instead of waiting for the mile marker for all of them to realize they were on pace to run 6:10 (looking for 5:55-6:00), I hit the front and dropped the pace. The talking immediately stopped and the breathing started. I probably kept the pace too hot for the remainder of the workout as we were all much under the intended pace. Oh well.

The 400s were short and easy. It was probably the first time that I've done any sort of speedwork or stride in many weeks. I felt a little awkward at times, but luckily the first 300m are downhill.

Charlotte Evening Double

Time: 50:50
Distance: 11.24k
Pace: 4:31
Map

I arrived back in Charlotte in the afternoon which left plenty of daylight for some more running. I put in an easy 30 minutes with Meagan before heading off toward Myers Park high school. There was a brief stop in there at the AG track where I watched some members of the Omega Sports training group finish up a workout. My legs were left feeling good and ready to run more in the morning.

Distance Trend

Time: 66:39
Distance: 15.53k
Pace: 4:18
Map

I have no issues with running the same loop day after day. I used to be bored doing such things, but when the routine works it's good to stick to it.

Morning 15k

Time: 66:39
Distance: 15.51k
Pace: 4:18
Map

I put in some solo running this morning and got to pick up the pace a bit. I felt good running my morning 15k which I would like to make more standard in the near future. Every morning the minimum would be 15k as it sets up nicely for big weekly distance.

Easy Double Run

Time: 32:29
Distance: 6.65k
Pace: 4:53
Map

An easy double run just to Freedom Park and back with Meagan.

Recovery Time on the Feet

Time: 50:35
Distance: 10.64k
Pace: 4:45
Map

I got in some very easy running with Meagan this morning as she looked to recover from her workout yesterday. I was happy to join on the easy day as I am just getting back to running 100 percent healthy again.

Meagan's Speed Loop Workout

Time: 101:03
Distance: 23.02k

W/u: 24:16 for 5.07k
W/o: 3 x 15 mins w/ 3 mins rest
C/d: 24:22 for 5.01k

Meagan and I warmed up to the Speed Loop for 3 x 15 minutes starting at 6:20 pace and ending at 6:00 pace. The goal was to get used to running at marathon pace and feel controlled with a total of 45 minutes of hard running.

Splits:
3:42, 3:46, 3:48, 3:43 (3:00);
3:46, 3:47, 3:48, 3:36 (5:00);
3:49, 3:46, 3:52, 3:43 for 53:05 total and 12.94k

Those are the 1k splits on each of the 3  sections. Meagan needed a little encouragement after the second one to be able to finish the workout. The pace was faster than prescribed for the first two 15 minute blocks.

Read Meagan's recap here.

Easy Shakeout

Time: 25:17
Distance: 5.02k
Pace: 5:02
Map

I ran an easy shakeout this evening with Meagan along the Sugar Creek Greenway. Nothing crazy.

Medium Loop

Time: 63:17
Distance: 13.87k
Pace: 4:34
Map

Trying to get caught up on the blog after a 3 week lack of posting. Here we go...

Forgotten Sunday Long Run

Time: 66:29
Distance: 15.48k
Pace: 4:18
Map

I flew back from Austin, TX this morning needing to put in some distance. I headed out the door and found 15k on a familiar loop in Myers Park. This is the third respectable run in a row which has me thinking my foot injury is behind me.

US Whitewater Center

Time: ~15k
Distance: ~72:00
Pace: 4:59
Map

Meagan dragged me out to the Whitewater Center to go running with Megan Hovis, Jason Martin and Chris Lamperski. I forgot to start my watch for the first few minutes of the trail as we snaked back into the woods single file. I was a little nervous about running on the trails with my foot but it turned out for the best. Somehow the girls got dropped about 25 minutes into the run and the boys were free to talk about football, beer, guns, and why Mila Kunis would make the perfect wife.

I was happy to have survived the run as the last time out to the Whitewater Center this happened:

April 23rd: Raced a 12k trail race out at the National White Water Center. It had rained the night before so the single track trails were a little muddy. I wore LunarRacers which was quite possibly the worst choice for this type of race (I still think trail shoes suck, except Inov8). I actually threw out the shoes after the race (might have been the pair I won Oklahoma City Marathon with). I fell 3 times during the race after opening up a minor gap on Ben Hovis. We had a bit of a sprint finish to the end, but I prevailed earning a trip for two to any Sandals Resort in the Caribbean. My punishment was that I couldn't walk after the race. My leg shut down and I hobbled up to accept my award with a walking stick Ben found me in the woods.

I was tempted to run a little extra but called it a day upon returning to the parking lot. I was smart and brought a change of clothes with a towel. I got a quick shower before hanging out with Karin by the zip lines while waiting for the girls and Chris to finish up their runs.

Medium Loop

Time: 63:26
Distance: 13.78k
Pace: 4:36
Map

I don't really remember this run, but based on the pace it was with Meagan. Based on the distance my foot was feeling better.

Ms. Dullard

Time: 61:01
Distance: 13.22k
Pace: 4:37
Map

I think Meagan was tired of running Medium Loops and wanted a slight change of scenery which brought us into the Dilworth neighborhood. Big change right? She was convinced that if we ran from our house, across Freedom Park, around the 2 mile Speed Loop and back that it would be at least 9 miles. We were trying to calculate it carefully so that I keep my foot in check and not get carried away.

My Garmin while occasionally inaccurate can still hold its own. We had only covered 5k when we hit Rebecca's house (Meagan was calling those warm ups 4 miles) and then we added on the 2 miles around the popular tempo loop. A confused MRN couldn't figure out how this run takes her 70 minutes on occasion and that there is no way it was only 8 miles. She thought of every factor that could make the run longer than it was trying to convince me that she doesn't overestimate her distance. After 30+ minutes of confusion she realized that she normally runs all the way through Freedom Park to meet Caitlin before continuing back to Dilworth. Mystery solved for the dullard.