Needing to Run Easy

Time: 61:33
Distance: 8.08 miles
Pace: 7:36
Map

I was out on the roads this morning with Scott Cooper and Tony Clement, two OU track athletes. School starts in a few days and the athletes are filtering in from around the country. We took a horrible route up to the GT using Berry Rd. I'm not sure why but these two didn't seem to know the side streets that are much quieter. They were also content to jog on the sidewalk. The pace was really slow and it sounded like neither of them got much sleep, but that's not a great excuse. I got to bed late due to the workout and my back isn't appreciating things. My lower calves are tight as well and I'm not sure if stretching is going to help. I need to use my massage stick several times today in hopes of breaking up the garbage.

The Rain is Coming...

Time: 56:09
Distance: 8 miles

I met Scotty D over at the track for an evening/night run. Just as we were arriving we spotted Aldwyn Sappleton who had just finished his warmup. He's an 800 meter runner and probably does speedwork 5 to 6 days a week. Tonight he had some 2 hundos to run. We also spotted Jessica Eldridge who had a 35 minute run so we invited her along through a spin in the streets. Despite the easy pace my quads were still sore. Once we got back to the track Scotty shed his shoes and put in another 20 minutes on the grass infield. I jogged with him before suiting up for the walk home.

Norman Meanderings

Time: 55:58
Distance: 8.49 miles
Pace: 6:36

I was feeling good back on the familiar roads of Norman this morning. I got out the door and put in just under an hour on a loop that had no particular route. I ran through campus and wandered around the neighboring streets just to kill time. I ran downtown at one point to see if my new apartment had a rent drop slot, couldn't find one and then proceeded to run home. I hit some blazing quick splits of: 7:26, 7:01, 6:39, 6:37, 6:23, 6:33, 6:20, 6:06.

Cold Tempo

Time: 35:46
Distance: 6 miles

I got a call from Connor last night and he wanted to know if I would tag along on an 8k tempo run/time trial. I'm always up for a run, so why not? I was picked up at 7 am in the morning and we headed on over to the track along with Andres Gonzalez. It was quite cold on the track but at least the wind wasn't too real. The goal was to start out at 5:30s and cut down from there? It was too early for me to care and I'm too out of shape to get ambitious about working out.

I had a pathetic warm up of 8:25 around the track while the ESPN Game Day crew was putting down wires on the backstretch. I had a hard time feeling my face but I shouldn't be complaining because Tarpy and Owen have it colder than I. Connor was rocking out in some 1980s jazzercize capris that used to be his ma's. Pretty much this was a big deal.

Splits went as follow:
5:29, 5:24, 5:31, 5:29, 5:25 for 27:21 total.

Connor dropped at 4 miles because he has a "wu-wu." Andres fell back with 1200 to go. I finished solo since I'm a beast and can drop 5:30s. Huge fitness indicator. No cool down. No need.

No Name Bugs Jilane

Time: 54:38
Distance: 8 miles

Scotty D and I met up at the track tonight around 6 pm for a run. My ears were just lowered over at Take 5 for Human Grooming so I was near by and Scotty is usually good for a jog. When I got to the track somebody was rolling out 400s and then I realized it was Sapp. Jessica Eldridge was at the track as well and she had just finished up some 500s. It was a great night for a run and an even better one for a workout. Chilly while standing, but warm when you got moving and, more importantly, no wind. Scotty and I ran down Jenkins, cut across by Lloyd Noble Center and then hit up the neighborhoods. I think the men's basketball team was competing in an exhibition game against the NW Dental School of Arkansas. I might be completely wrong, but there was action at the arena and that's the point.

Scotty and I finished back up at the track with some quicker laps in lane five. Our splits for the last three laps were 1:41, 1:37 and 1:37. Good stuff.

After the run we ended up at NY Pizza for a pitcher of Amber Bock. To our surprise Holly was there with a buddy and we got to talking about our strategy for McNellie's Pub Run. Basically we were discussing how to celebrate our victory and spend our tab.

Tacos al Carbon

Time: 50:29
Distance: 7-8 miles

Gus and I finished up with the first half of the wax job and needed to let the stuff dry for about an hour which gave us a perfect amount of time to go find breakfast. Our first thought was to visit our good customer and friend Lynn Do who owns Sunny Side up along Robinson St. We got sidetracked a bit and made a quick detour to Ozzie's because I had never been there. Well, the place was packed and not with people dressed up like they had been at church. The place was filled with fat people from Norman who were looking for a ton of food at a low price. I wanted to join them, but it didn't happen. Next we went by Sunny Side and the parking lot was spilling over into the liquor store beside it. Maybe Norman is also full of drunks who needed a fix on Sunday morning around 10 am, but I think the Addiction/Ariel wearing Lynn Do was simply making a killing this morning.

Gus and I drove on looking for some other place that could use our business. We thought that McDonald's or Braum's might get it but we instead turned on Porter and spotted a shitty looking diner place with an open sign. Turned out that those wankers forgot to turn off the neon sign because they aren't open on Sundays. At this point Gus and I were getting pretty dejected and we started talking about opening our own breakfast place, it would only be open on Sundays. That's as far as our business plan got.

We took a quick spin through Campus Corner and saw that the place was crazy busy. People were waiting outside of Turquoise to get a seat, Starbucks looked packed and there were no accessible parking places in front of Cafe Plaid. We tossed around ideas of Denny's (woof!) and Ihop (Meagan's dad would approve) but then thought those wouldn't be wise. We figured that since OU played a night game against Nebraska (OU won big. In fact, they put up 35 points in the first quarter and 28 of them were scored in the first 5:33. They were on pace to score 154 points at that juncture...in the first half) a lot of people stayed in Norman and were getting breakfast before driving back to wherever Sooner fans come from. This didn't help our cause.

Gus took a short cut near Lowe's when we spotted a Peruvian restaurant, Mamaveca. They looked open, they probably had huevos rancheros (Gus' order, not mine) and they weren't busy. Mamaveca got our business on this day and I enjoyed the tacos al carbon with steak. It wasn't your typical Sunday breakfast, but it was good nonetheless. Gus and I left pretty full and were ready to finish waxing the floor. It didn't take as long as I had expected and I was still full from the breakfast that was more like dinner. I headed over to Starbucks for the afternoon and read an old Runner's World magazine to pass the time. I was hoping Scotty D would show up because I knew he was all jacked up after watching the NYC Marathon. Looks like he went on a 100 minute run instead. I chatted with Owen and my mom (not at the same time) during my stint at the 'bucks. Soon it was around 4 pm and it was time to head back to the east side of town so I got rid of the t-shirt and put on the headphones.

So that was pretty much my day. The run wasn't that interesting or eventful. I started clipping along Lindsey St. and finished strong. The legs felt good, which is good.

Cutting Shapes

Time: 42:23
Distance: 5.5 miles

This morning I ran over to the OU track to cut a few shapes. I wasn't completely set on the workout that I was going to run but I knew that I needed to put in 6-8 400s around 72 second pace. The warm-up to the track took 14:24.

Target: 6-8 x 400m in 72 with 200m jog.
Splits: 71.54, (60), 71.83, (62), 69.32, (64), 69.42, (2:30).
After the 4th interval I jogged 200m, rested for another 90 seconds and then picked up the pace.
67.01, (30), 66.83, (25), 32.68, (20), 32.77.

I used the two faster 400s to see if I could respond to shorter rest without completely locking up. I finished with a couple 200s because I needed to really cut down the rest to roughly the same about of time it is going to take to drink a sno-cone. This could be rough.

C/d back to the Lodge in 13:02.

Night Run and Some 2 Hundos

Time: 75:53
Distance: 11 miles

I sat around most of the day doing a whole lot of nothing. That's not completely true, but I didn't do much. I read somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 NY Times articles and some of my book about "The Worst Hard Time" during the 1930s. When I finally got motivated to run around 3:40 pm, I also got motivated to eat so I had some toast and oatmeal (at least it wasn't for dinner). That pushed the run back even further and when I finally got out the door it was 6:20 pm. I ran with headphones again for whatever reason and even took a phone call on the run from Kristi. We are grabbing something to eat Monday night after her insurance exam. I felt a little like Dean Karnazes who regularly conducts business on 100 mile runs. Scroll down to the bottom of those results, DK doesn't do too well. Did someone say overrated?

So the run took me on Brooks and over to Sutton Woods. Apparently they have been ripping up the part of Main St. that right where I run to cut across to the park. It looks like a pretty serious project with the possibility of them putting in a roundabout. I'm not sure if the citizens of Norman are ready for a roundabout. If you've had the privilege of driving in Oklahoma, you would know they have a hard enough time merging on the highway. A roundabout is basically a constant merging process. Hell, the roundabout near the Cabazon Outlets just outside of Palm Springs created a cluster.

I made one loop around the trail before heading back. It felt like I was running at a good clip but it could have been the "night time running effect." I ran downtown along Main St. and looked at a few loft apartments above Mister Robert's Furniture. I returned to campus on Jenkins when I spotted that a light was on at the track. I had to see who it was and found that Mitch Henry had just finished his routine. He is still training for the decathlon and will be on the track every evening at 7 pm. At this point in the run I had put 58:30 on my feet but decided to run some 200s. I couldn't pass up the opportunity with the lights.

Splits: 34.01, (61), 33.46, (57), 32.16, (56), 30.26, (52) for a mile in 5:55.

After that I turned of the lights and ran home in 11:28.

Track Workout?!?! WTF!?!?

Time: 45:08
Distance: 5.5 miles

Well, since I'm running a beer mile in a few weeks it's about time that I take to the track and see if I'll be able to run 75 second quarters comfortably. I wanted to start things off with an easy introductory workout to get me back on the track remaining healthy. (On a somewhat related note, Meagan has some sort of bet going with Jilane that I won't be healthy in 35 days. I'm not sure what the terms are, but I threatened to stop running for 35 days to ensure the victory).

I warmed up to the track from the Lodge in 14:31 at a very comfortable pace. I had a 200 meter workout in the back of my mind that I thought would be a good first step for being back on the track.

Target: 8 x 200m in 35s with 200m jog.
Actual: 2 sets of 4 x 200m.
Set I Splits: (58), 35.76, (62), 35.32, (62), 34.40, (60), 33.54. Jogged 400m in 2:06. Rested and stretched for 2:30 and then did a second set.
Set II Splits: (58), 33.96, (59), 33.93, (60), 33.29, (61), 31.69.
17:11 total.

Not a great workout, but certainly not a bad one either. I felt strong and relaxed the entire way. The first couple 200s were a rude awakening and almost embarrassing to think I should be able to run a full 5k at that pace. Anyway, after settling into the workout the legs adjusted to the pace quickly. The second set was easier than the first and I could have done several more. I cooled down back to the Lodge in 13:36.

The next step is cutting a few shapes...

Campus Loop

Time: 29:14
Distance: 4.32 miles
Pace: 6:46

Got up and went out for a run from the Lodge through campus before going to the store. Nothing too excited happened. There wasn't even much of a buzz as I ran through campus about OU being ranked #1 in the current polls.

Boomer! Sooner!

I was working at the store today when a customer who has season tickets overheard that I was going to be tailgating with friends near the stadium. After he left the store OK Runner received a phone call and Mr. Johnson informed me that he had an extra ticket to the game because his son is in the Pride of Oklahoma and gets in for free. He invited me to the game and on his way to the stadium he dropped the ticket off. Sweet!

Normally I wouldn't be too inclined to go sit with a family I barely know when I could watch the game with the 30,000 people outside the stadium on a big screen drinking all the tallboys I could handle and watch the other games on television including #3 Georgia vs #8 Alabama. (I mean I do need to get into beer miling shape). However, I didn't want to offend the customer and, besides, I had given Meagan 10:1 odds on the game straight up. She was willing to bet $5 which meant I was putting up $50 and if I was going to lose, I might as well be witness to the carnage.

I was right outside of the stadium when OU first scored and I could hear 85,000 fans cheering excitedly. The Sooners were up 7-0 only minutes into the game. However, it was soon followed by 85,000 boos as the play was called back. Only a few moments later the 85,000 fans were back on their feet when Sam Bradford hooked up with Manny Johnson for a long passing score. I quickly stashed my belongings under the track bleachers and was ready to enter the stadium.

As an athlete of a big school you are granted the privilege of sitting right behind the band, nearly on top of the field. I knew this was going to be quite different as I trekked up and up and up to section 232. It was hot, I was sweaty and now I was going to have to sit with people I didn't know in the fucking nosebleeds. I had to keep telling myself that the $63 ticket was free. As I took my seat was a little shocked at how little the players looked, but then I discovered that sitting on the south 30 yd line I nearly had a "tv" angle of the field. From our vantage point you could really see the plays develop, players getting open in the backfield, the holes open up in the line and it wasn't that bad.

Not so bad from up here.

After the first quarter the rout was on and the Sooners were on top of the horny frogs 21-3. OU had racked up 222 yards of total offense despite not being able to run the ball. The fans in our section were generally older and more reserved but they knew their football stats. I sat a few seats down from a woman who knew all of the top 25 teams and she knew TCU had the best ranked rush defense in the nation. The second quarter was rather uneventful until the Sooners took over with about 2 minutes to play before half and Sam Bradford, again, passed long to Manny Johnson for another score.

A view of the new scoreboard. (I think the track is getting the old one).

TCU's band. Meagan's pride is out there somewhere.

Since I need to wrap this up, I will only say that I am now $5 richer and Meagan is $5 poorer. OU won 35-10. The game was great and the rest of the night was fun too as it was Coleman's 24th birthday. The night was given an extra boost since Alabama beat Georgia 41-30 which ensured OU being ranked #1 come Monday. A small group of us (Scotty D., Coleman, Kristi, Spenis and Rook) ended up at on the Corner to celebrate. The first four of us started at Brother's and then were convinced to join the other two at Joe's Taverna. Good times all around.

OU Track Time

Time: ~38-39 mins
Distance: 6 miles

This morning I drove over to the OU track where I met Meagan for her workout of 6 x 1.5 miles in 6:15-6:20. Since I didn't want to put too many miles on my hip too early, I decided not to warm up and just start running on her first interval. It felt a little odd having to run 6:15 pace off the line but after 300m I was good to go. Our splits for the first 4 were:
9:23 (6:17 at the mile), 9:28 (6:17), 9:24 (6:17), 9:18 (6:10).

She had 4 minutes of jogging rest between intervals but I opted to do situps instead. Overall, the workout went well. My hip felt good, Meagan ran fast and I caught the bus barely on time. My fastest interval of the morning included a 300m spring from the track to the corner of Brooks and Jenkins to catch the bus to OK Runner. I was hauling ass with my sandals and backpack on, but I managed to maintain my form and flag Rick the Busman down.

NHS Time Trial

Time: 48:44
Distance: 6-7 miles

I headed out the door this morning way too early to meet Scott D at the track because Norman H.S. was running a time trial. We had run into Suzy Rojas, the high school xc coach, on Sunday and she let us know about the workout which perked our interest. I ran about 15 minutes upon arriving at the track and then I stood around and stretched before Scotty showed up. When he arrived he was immediately haggled about not running with the team but he had just woken up and was not prepared to get out there.

Parker Bowles is Norman's top high school runner and he took the pace out with a 71, came through the mile in 5:04 and held on to run two miles in 10:06ish. It was a solid performance and he looks to be in decent form for the coming season. After the workout I ran a few laps on the track with the team and then departed for home which brough the total time to just under 50 minutes. The run was very easy as I'm just trying to build some confidence so that I can resume training as soon as possible.

Getting Back At It

Time: 49:21 (broken up into a pieces)
Distance: 7? miles

This morning I met Scotty D over at the OU track for his workout. Before setting out I was sure to pop a Celebrex, strap on my thigh brace and went at it. I was a little reluctant at first but by 7 mins I was feeling pretty solid. After meeting up with Scotty we jogged a bit around campus before hopping the fence at the track to stretch out. Scotty was planning on doing a hard 3k effort after a few 400m to open up the lungs. I kept myself busy with some lunges, situps and pushups while Scotty cut some shapes.

Dizzle's goal was to run the 3k with splits something like 3:10, 3:07, 3:05. His actual times were more like 3:06, 3:04, 3:06 and looked good while doing it, very relaxed and comfortable despite the wind and humidity. Afterward we jogged a few grass laps on the inside of the track before departing for our respective homes.

I am pleased to note that I ran home pain free.

Medium Long Run

Time: 86:41
Distance: 12-13 miles

Met Jack Tracy at the Duck Pond the morning of game day. OU was taking on Miami at 11 am and people were already paying for parking near the train tracks. We started down Jenkins, to Imhoff, up Chatauqua and over to Pickard. Ran all the way up to Main St. before hanging a right and getting to Robinson, took a right on Brooks and added on a bit to get our time. Jack has cut back his miles significantly but he was still up for a 10 miler. I was able to get a bit extra by running to and from our meeting point. I was suppose to do a workout this morning but it has been postponed until tomorrow.