Manny happy returns

In non-running related news, ESPN.com is reporting that Manny Ramirez wishes to return to Boston next year, rather than being traded to Baltimore or the New York Mets. Whether he really wants to stay or we simply just can't ship his ass anywhere, either way it's good news for Red Sox Nation. That's right, good news I say. In an off-season full of trades, resignations, free-agent signings and countless other acts of front-office zaniness here in Beantown, this move (or lack thereof, I should say) could be the glue that holds the Sox together in '06. Am I surprised by any of this? Not in the least. While many are sick and tired of Manny's antics and would be glad to see him go, I've desensitized myself to it. After all, it's just Manny being Manny. Right?

On the running front, nothing too interesting to report. Today was a standard distance day, just an easy 8/5 double to get some mileage in. I was feeling a bit sluggish this morning but bounced back nicely on this evening's little jaunt. Tomorrow night I'll be joining my Reebok Boston 'mates at Reggie for a lil track work, which is always a ripping good time. Seriously.

In terms of my training, I've fallen into a nice pattern over the past 5-6 weeks of steady mileage, good long runs, quality workouts and easier recovery days. Mileage has been three weeks up between 90-95, followed by a down week of 70-75. Looking back at my log, its almost amusing to see how things have taken shape: Sunday, long run/strides; Monday, recovery; Tuesday, shorter intervals; Wednesday, medium long run; Thursday, recovery/strides; Friday, longer intervals/tempo run; Saturday, recovery. Since joining up with Kevin and the Reebok crew, my fitness has really come around pretty quickly. I attribute that to the fact that I'm confident in what I'm doing on a daily basis, but more importantly enjoying it. There's a lot of positive energy among the group and going to practice is motivating in itself. It's been almost two years now since I last competed on the indoor track, so I'm excited about racing again in a few weeks at GBTC and BU and seeing how fast I can go.

Delving deeper into the black hole of training talk, I wanted to post a few links to the logs of a couple lesser-known, but pretty damn good runners from the Boston area that I've trained with at one time or another. Eventually, I'll figure out how to effectively link them on the side of this page for easy access, but until then, give these a click:

Justin Lutz
Nate Jenkins
Ed Baker
Ben Schmeckpeper

I, along with a few other local runners (Terry Shea, Mark Larosa, Jason Bialka, Carly Graytock), the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project athletes, and countless others from around the country, post our logs on athleticore.com. It requires registration, but it's free, so I suggest giving it a whirl.

And that just about does it for this entry...time for me to catch a lil bit of Leno and call it a night. Buenas noches amigos.