Solo Hungover Run

Time: 44:48
Distance: 10.04 km
Pace: 4:28/km
Map

Just like the title suggests, I headed out the door after Meagan headed on to Boston to run with friends. I groggily shuffled out the door to put in a 10km run before heading off to the Marblehead YMCA to help out with a race packet pick up. I didn't feel too fantastic for the first 4-5km, but then I was able to run with some fluidity. Meh... pretty much sums up this effort. It also doesn't help that I have a bit of a cold.

Before Tri-Mania

Time: 41:03
Distance: 10.21 km
Pace: 4:01/km
Map

I arrived early to the Tri-Mania expo and set up all the Karhu goods for the day. There wasn't a consensus on when the expo officially started, so I suited up in my running costume and snuck in 10 km along the Charles River. I finished up on the MIT track which is a nice Mondo service. If it's open to the public, not windy and I'm looking to run a fast workout, I'll consider it next time.

My legs still felt like muck from the last three days of running. I didn't intend to hit an average of 4:01 and was trying to slow down, but the aerobic fitness must be there.

Late Run that Should Have Been Longer

Time: 63:57
Distance: 15.01 km
Pace: 4:16/km
Map

I got out the door late today after hanging around the house all morning and afternoon. That really good wine from last night left me with little interest of heading out the door to run in the wind. When I did finally leave the house I headed south to Marblehead for some distance in the neighborhoods. I never felt great and my stomach was in a bad place for much of the run.

Had I taken the weather forecast seriously and my stomach weren't feeling awful, I would have added on back in Salem to boost the weekly totals. That didn't happen.

Morning Shuffle

Time: 42:40 

Distance: 10.01 km

Pace: 4:15/km

Map

I stuck around the NRFTW post run/race festivities at Engine House a little too long last night. As a result, I was feeling a little groggy this morning as I headed out the door for this run. I shuffled along and just put in some time on the feet. 

NYC West Side Highway

Time: 71:07
Distance: ~16.1 km
Pace: ~4:23/km
Map

I picked up the Karhu CEO from JFK yesterday afternoon and we had a couple of business visits to make in Brooklyn. We finished up and were able to drive into Manhattan just as traffic was picking up and people were leaving work. I just love driving in NYC, the taxis are just so friendly. We made it to his hotel where I dropped him off and then I went to find parking and drop my stuff at a buddy's house.

Earlier in the week there was talk of trying to meet up with some of my teammates from Brown who were in town for business as well. Three members from the class of '06 met up at Brother Jimmy's across from Penn Station. The location allowed Owen to peace out and catch his train back to DC and for me, Craig and Ari (class of '08) to hang out a bit longer and pick at greasy bbq. The Karhu CEO was invited out and he joined us for a burger. The night was young and we were in NYC, but despite my best persuasive tactics, I couldn't convince Craig or Ari to come with us to SPiN New York.

For those of you unfamiliar with SPiN, think basement of a college frat house. Alcohol. Ping pong tables. Bros. Mostly attractive women.

Now, I'm no ping pong (table tennis to acknowledge the politically correct) wizard, but there were certainly plenty of real life Forest Gumps flailing crazy backhands and putting crazy spin on their serves. We were waiting for a table and actually ended up getting bumped further down the list because a "member" showed up who gets preferred status. Eventually a hostess came around and asked if we were on the list. Knowing that we had just been bumped, I said "yes" and then started shouting out popular names like, "John... David... Michael." She asked if I was Mike and I concurred to which she lead us to our table.

We played for an hour or so and then when our time was up were awkwardly invited to join a young couple on their first date who had met on a Jewish online dating site. One can only assume it was JDate.com. It was terribly late to still be out and I had consumed a fair number of beers on the night. I only recap the night because my run the next morning was absolutely horrendous.

I was out the door right at 6 AM and stood around in the freezing cold for my Garmin to find a satellite. It never did until a couple minutes of running north on the West Side Highway bike path. The wind lashed my face for the first 8 kilometers out. It didn't help that I was tired and had a headache due to the late night and pints. The run never felt comfortable but the pace did finally pick up the final 15 minutes, granted I had the wind at my back.

The rest of my nights in New York wouldn't have nearly a negative effect on my training.

Darien, CT Run

Time: 37:21
Distance: 8.28 km
Pace: 4:31/km
Map

After a fun night being a track dork with Pat Price of Writing About Running and drinking good beers,  I found myself in Darien, CT where I would be visiting an account. However, before arriving I got in a few kilometers on a loop that I did when last in town. I didn't feel great, but the weather was fantastic and the route goes by some amazing homes.

McAlpine Buddies

Time: 88:44
Distance: ~12 miles

I returned back to Charlotte just in time to partake in the final moments of the Inside-Out Sports customer appreciation day. Those moments turned into minutes and hours which soon turned into flip cup and keg stands. It was a great time as we all worked hard to kick the Old Mecklenburg Brewery keg. I would post pictures but some others are trying to get into med school, another is a lawyer, and one coaches for a local high school. That's as specific as I'll get. Needless to say it was a great time and made for a slow start to the morning.

I was a little late arriving to Old Bell but I wasn't feeling too bad when I met up with a group of Megan Hovis, Caitlin, John Compton, Jay, Alex and Will around the 400 meter mark. We ran up into the trails near Boyce and did some loops out by the Footlocker course. I started feeling decent about 40 minutes into the run and was able complete a fairly solid end to the weekend.

Tito Makes Town Lake Miserable

Time: 65:53
Distance: ~9 miles

This post really should start the night before because it explains why I ran so slow and felt so miserable. I left for Austin and arrived to my boss' house mid-shindig. He invited over a bunch of his friends, local retailers, vendors and more. There was a keg out back, a bucket of brisket, a pile of tortillas and all the fixins that any good Texan would provide. I was having a good time chatting with Michael from GORE, Scott & Scott and Tyler from Nuun, Matt who reps Chrome, my colleague Lee and many more. Alistair Cragg's dad was even there! I'd like to say it was the who's who of the running world, but it really wasn't. I'm not that big time... yet.

At some point during the night it was revealed that one of the Scotts from Nuun was celebrating a birthday. This could mean only one thing, invite Tito to the party. And by Tito I mean Tito's Vodka. I've never heard of Tito's Vodka and neither have you. It would be one thing if it were Tito's Tequila, but it wasn't. I guess Tito could be Russian, but in my head he's Mexican. This is where the morning run took a turn for the worse.

When I left the house in the morning for a run I knew that Brooks employees were going to be down on Town Lake playing games and stuff. I ran to their various checkpoints and failed at a couple of their games. I really only stopped to catch my breath, drink water and chat with friends. While I was at the last stop I ran into one of the store owners where I started working in the running game. Tim(b0 Slice) Thompson of OK Runner and I caught and I learned that Jerry's Kids and Scotty D would be in attendance for the Indie 5k tomorrow morning. The ringers were coming to town and I had to get serious about this running thing.

New Durham Trails

Time: 60:18
Distance: 7.57 miles
Pace: 7:57
Map

I had an early morning run with George a.k.a. Monk on some new trails in Durham. I like how there is a solid trail system in town, but they all seem to be paved. My most recent run with Monk was out at the White Water Center a few months ago. He told me the story behind his trail name which was earned with a group of guys who run in the area. The rules to earning a trail name are you (a) have to run at least three times, (b) have to tell a joke on a run, (c) have to buy everyone coffee. Pretty cool. Also on the run was Sally (Monk's 11 year old dog) who is also known as Bullet or Ricochet. She ran along side of us venturing off into the woods and then popping out a few meters in front, never falling too far behind. Sally completely ignored the barks of other dogs from behind fences or the ones being walked on a leash. If Meagan and I were ever to get a dog, I would want to be able to run with it and for it to behave like Sally.

Forgotten Watch

Time: ~92 minutes
Distance: ~14.5 miles

I ran with Nick Frank and John Compton this morning at McAlpine. I forgot my watch at home because I was probably still a little buzzed on my way out the door this morning. I left Mr. Garmin on the charging stand and didn't realize my mistake until I arrived at the parking lot.

Last night was fun time with Nick, John, Meagan, Dave & Laura and some others at a cookout. We had many laughs, burgers and drinks while not talking about training. This morning I was just wanting to put time on the legs after some quality days late in the week.

Hunged Over

Time: 65:17
Distance: 10.04 miles

Had a great night with Carmody and some of his buddies last night. We played a few games of pong in the death zone of a backyard that is Hanley's house. Cups everywhere. Couches everywhere. Terrible scene. The one great decision I made last night was to not go out on the town after the games of pong.

I was up and out the door a little after 7 to hit up Town Lake. I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to find a parking spot. The run started out slow and gradually progressed into something respectable. I ended up averaging about 6:30s which means the final few miles were of some quality. I couldn't find my Karhu Fast_Rides which meant I had to run in the Lunar Racers.

Grab the Car

Time: 14:07
Distance: 2 miles

Woke up and had to rush in towards Campus Corner to pick up the car from last night. It was raining pretty heavily and the streets were pretty flooded already. I was worried that the car might have been towed but when I got there all was good. I had to quickly find some tokens in order to get the gate up. Luckily Cafe Plaid leaves a basket of tokens above their delicious baked goods.