Yeah, yeah.

I'm Here. Lurking mostly. Although, truth be told, I spend a great deal of time moping as well. It seems getting back into shape is tougher than I expected. To make matters worse, you effers always seem to have good news to report. Big miles, fast runs. Damn you. I kid. I'm happy for you. Well, sort of.
The good news is I'm healthy (minus the quarter-sized blister I tore off the bottom of my foot last week) and I finally had a good run last Saturday - the first of its kind (the good kind) in two weeks. Michelle and I ventured south to Albany last weekend where the terrain was flat, the roads were snow-free, and the sun shone brilliantly. Oh, and there was virtually no wind for my long run. It was glorious. I ran 14.5, which is nice in its own right; however, it was the pace (7:03) that I was most happy with.
I'm not sure if any of you remember, but the last time I offered an update on my weekly mileage totals, the posting highlighted pleasing and linear trends. My mileage was steadily climbing and my average pace was steadily descending. Unfortunately, that trend came to a screeching halt several months ago. More often than not, when I calculate my pace at the end of a week, it averages out to somewhere between 7:20 and 7:30. I know the marathon is still 4 months away and I also know I respond well to workouts and a taper, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't concerned.

Jude?

Jude?

I'm Back and A Difficult One

I'm back from 12 days in New Zealand. Northern Wisconsin decided yesterday to say "welcome home, tim" on my 13 mile run by lovingly providing 14-degree temps and constant winds of 27 mph. Perhaps, hopefully, it was the last of the really unpleasant conditions for this winter/spring training season, because in future I'm hopeful the double blast of cold and wind will split and appear individually rather than in concert. Seems we should be on the slope in the proper direction for that.

The run turned out to be quite a success though, all things considered. Gmaps pedometer said that my mazing of the country roads equalled exactly 12.92 miles and my watch, when depressed as I met my car, read 1:30.58. So 7-minute miles on the nose, 2nd longest run in 5.5 years, biting head (and tail) winds and some pretty decent gradual hills, both up and down. And it felt alright.

I am especially pleased with this effort yesterday because in New Zealand my running mileage took a nasty downward spiral. Turns out when you are traveling with non-runners in their car, you can't just ask them to sit on the roadside for an hour while you go out for a run. Well, to be fair, they would have happily done so, but I wouldn't want to ask them to do it. And 40+ hours of traveling each way added to the difficulty of achieving weekly mileage goals that should have been in the 50s.

Nonetheless, I did get out for 4 runs over 13 days, and I had an excellent 2-day hike between, around and over some mountains that certainly didn't put me in worse shape. The most pleasant run was a reunion with a 10-mile route that I ran daily 13 years ago on study abroad---an outstanding route that I was still able to navigate by memory: first, edge around the rugby fields bordered by towering trees, then zig-zag through an ancient hillside cemetery, float along quietly on the woodchipped trails of the botanical gardens, hit some street running and more gardens, then tread forested trails along a river's edge up to the circumnavigation of a reservoir, and finally trace along steep bluffs that lace the edges of the city to finish with a steep decent thus making the circular route complete. It was great to be back. New Zealand does it right. All 4 of my runs were trail runs through either pastoral farmland or forests, often with views of the ocean.

On a completely different topic, my right leg iliotibial band has been bothering me ever since I had to drive 18 hours RT to Chicago with no cruise control 22 days ago. Stretching has been helpful. I hate stretching. But it turns out I'm not as spry as I used to be, so I best get used to spending 15 minutes a day focusing on flexibility. During the 13 yesterday the IT bands felt pretty good, so I hope to have turned a corner on the problem.

What's next in the training regiment, fellas? When do the, gulp, hard workouts start? And how's everyone else feeling? I start class tomorrow, so maybe Ben and I can run in the Cities, or Jude, perhaps we can meet for a weekend long run?

A Movie for Tim

This should help Tim in planning the assault on the Superior Hiking Trail. It is on Netflix streaming.

Running the Sahara

Crotch Rot USA

I was a little sad to see that the Obama hates BORF graffiti was removed from a building along the Red Line. The more prominent tags serve as landmarks. For example, this inspiring message is how I know I am almost home, sweet home.

Profiles in Speed

Have any of you been contacted by the Washington Post? I wonder when our profile in speed will be featured?

Rolling

I had a great long run yesterday. To the greenway, Calhoun, Harriet, Minnehaha Creek, and back through the neighborhood. Flat, scenic, no snow underfoot. Seventeen miles in one hour and fifty six minutes. I felt phenomenal, very relaxed. If possible, I would like to duplicate that feeling. Here are the ingredients. Ignore 6am alarm, sleep until 8am. Pancake breakfast at 9am (two big pancakes and four medium – this may be crucial, I don’t know). Honey toast, a slice of rye with butter, one banana, and a cup of tea for lunch. Run at 1pm. The belly was a little full at the beginning, but that’s a good thing.

I am not a nose tackle

Before lunch today I visited the county’s health and wellness clinic to test my body fat. This is done by using the Tanita Bioelectrical Impedence Analysis technique, which measures the resistance of an electrical current passing through the body. Muscle tissue has higher water content and conducts electrical currents with less resistance than fat tissue. Without further ado, here are my stats:

Height: 6’ 1”
Weight: 143.5
Body Mass Index: 18.9
Basal Metabolic Rate: 7010 kJ (1676 kcal)
Impedance: 468 ohms
Fat %: 7.3%
Fat Mass: 10.51 pounds
Fat Free Mass: 133.01 pounds
Total Body Water: 97.51 pounds

Yikes! First, I don’t understand how I weigh so little. Second, I didn’t expect my body fat to be that low. In fact, it is below the desirable range, which is 8-20%. This is somewhat disconcerting because marathon workouts have not even begun yet. Fourth meal!

Sports are Fun to Play and Watch

• Based on his ability to jump, Blake Griffin was probably never a distance runner.
• The Timberwolves are bringing back the old Minnesota Muskies uniforms for a five game series. I wish they would permanently retire the strange snarling werewolf logo.
  
• Twins fans are concerned about Mauer, Morneau and Span. It won't matter if they're healthy if the Twins can't pitch.