Training Logs for August and September

(August 12th - September 29th) Ooops!  I seem to have forgotten these important posts.  For some reason, they seem to be more read than most other posts, so I shall not disappoint those of you who like to read them!

There's lots of data that I probably could provide, so instead I'll just give high level overviews...

August 13th - 19th (85 miles): largely spent in Chicago.  The constant theme of my summer and fall is that it's difficult to get your training miles in while traveling extensively; but it's also fun as you get to experience new cities and new trails.

August 20th - 26th (50 miles): back in Albuquerque.  Somehow I managed to come down with a cold not while traveling, but after returning to Albuquerque as I was caught out hiking in a sudden down pour.  What are the chances?

August 27th - September 2nd (68 miles): getting back into my usual pattern, and even trying to get some dedicated time in on the track, but having been away from my ovular love for too long and needing to finish reacclimating to Albuquerque left me hurting after just a handful of 1600s.

September 3rd - 9th (76 miles): one last week of normalcy (except for only one tempo run and no fun on the track) before travel picked up again.  Despite everything, I managed to be fairly consistent with my mileage (when healthy) throughout the summer...but due to travel and illnesses, the speed work seems to have suffered a bit.

September 10th - 16th (80 miles): Vienna and Fussen.  Despite coming down with a head cold one day, I still managed to find a routine of exploring the cities when I had some free time.  I even managed to find a short track to do my circles on.

September 17th - 23rd (63 miles): Stuttgart.  I barely managed to do any running in Stuttgart.  I found myself having a difficult time getting up in the morning early enough to go for a run before it was time to head in to the university.  And, with social events more pressing than runs in the evening, I was hardly left with much of an opportunity to run while there.

September 24th - 30th (52 miles): back in Albuquerque.  No long run due to my next trip, and one day off to taper for the Hot Chocolate 15k.  What an odd, but nice distance...a fifty some minute long race is just fine by me!  Amazingly, despite all of the sporadic training, I still managed to place first in my age group!  Fellow Duke Track Club member Neal Holtschulte took it easy yet still blew us all away with a time of 51 minutes.  That dude is one seriously fast hombre.

Even after a few hundred meters, Neal was sprinting ahead.  From left to right, above, half of Neal, unknown, fellow Dukes Patrick McClernon and Trevor Manzanares, then me.  We really need to have a good sit down with Trevor about proper race attire as that's not a Duke's shirt that he's wearing.  All in all, a surprisingly good turn out from our club members for a random fall race.  Here's another shot from towards the end of the race.  Enjoy!

Next up: Oxford, for reals this time.