Jus' Stuff

- I woke up last Wednesday to find that it was 36 degrees, raining, and windy. I really wanted to go back to bed. But, mile repeats were on the schedule, and I knew that I wasn't going to be able to do them later in the week. So, mile repeats I did. There were about 3 other people in the park. One went to college in Boston and one is a native Alaskan. I think the Texans were at home under the blankets.

Thursday morning, it was 36 and clear. That felt infinitely better.

- The weekend long run was good. I did a little over 13 in 1:42. We started at the mile 4 point of the marathon and essentially ran the rest of the course (though the group ended up back at Stude Park where we started to make it about 24 miles). I quit at the Kroger on San Felipe in the Galleria area, got a latte at Starbucks, and got a ride home. Niiiiice.

- I have this list of non-marathon races that I'd like to do someday. Bay to Breakers, Bolder Boulder, Falmouth, etc. One of them is the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in DC. Registration opened today, and I signed up. It filled up around lunchtime, so I'm glad I did. Now, I just have to scrounge up airfare. Oh, and maybe train a little. They do have a mechanism for turning your bib in if you can't run it, which is nice. I'm registered for the Indy Mini in May, and if I decide not to do both, I won't be out more than the processing fee for whichever one I decide to skip this year (the Mini has a bib-return policy as well). I'd really like to do both, though...

**edit for clarification--I didn't just sign up on a lark, I'm really planning to run the Cherry Blossom. Just have to get some travel arrangements made, and hopefully find a cheap airfare. It is nice to know that I can "opt out" if I absolutely have to, but that isn't the plan. **

- "Language" barriers are an interesting thing. The schedule coach drew up for me calls for 5 x 1100 in 4:00 with 660 recovery tomorrow morning. Now, all along, he's been giving me repeats in yards (the track at MP is 440), and I'm well aware that 220s are half a lap, 440s are a lap, etc. But, for some reason, the 1100 threw me back to thinking in meters rather than yards, and I thought he wanted me to run 2-3/4 laps in 4:00. No way in h-e-double-hockey-sticks I can do that. Luckily, in chatting with Annie last night, she made me realize that it was 1100 yards, which is 2-1/2 laps, not 1100 meters. Oh, uh, right. Whew.

- The Houston Half (US Championships) announced their elite fields last week. Dathan Ritzenhein and Magdelena Lewy-Boulet headline the solid fields.

- The winter weather is kind of refreshing. I just wish we'd stop the fluctuations. This whole "It's 80! It's 38! It's 80! It's 38!" thing is getting old. But the cool temperatures make me a happy transplanted Yankee. And that hot coffee at the end tastes just that much better...

Carpe Viam!