Congrats, complimentary books, concentrated easy runs and Castaway look-a-likes

First off, a belated congratulations to my sister Jayme on her new job as the Assistant Technical Director at the Foothills Theatre in Worcester. She's paid her dues and will finally get the chance to utilize her nasty skills in her chosen field. Well deserved.

Next, one of the few perks of my gig as the pseudo-running "editor" at work is the random pieces of complimentary reading material that find their way into my mailbox from time to time. Upon arriving at work last night, I was greeted by a copy of John Brant's new book about the 1982 Boston Marathon, Duel in the Sun - a gift from the publisher, supposedly. To be honest, I don't know the kind folks over at Rodale Press, but a sincere thank-you to them for their generous contribution to my collection of running-related reading material. As for the book itself, it's pretty good so far. A very detailed look into the effects of the infamous 1982 "Duel in the Sun" on the careers (and lives) of Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley. Both men were never the same after that day. It's good stuff, give it a read.

On the running front, no workout tonight. With the longer effort on Sunday and my ankle not taking to kindly to the track lately, its been bumped to tomorrow morning. Kevin said to simulate mile repeats on the roads by doing 5-6 x 5 minutes at about 8K effort with 2 minutes recovery. The plan is to start off a little conservatively and really make sure that I nail the last three repeats. My legs are a bit tired from the recent spike in mileage but should be ready to roll come the mornin'. I was just looking at my log and the last 7 days have totalled 104 miles - haven't been quite that high in a while, but excited to be making the jump in my training. I really think the strength dividends are gonna pay off as I gradually shift my focus towards the longer races.

Today was a 10/5 double with some strides on the Millbury High track midway through the morning run. I was pretty tired when I rolled out of bed and was gonna go short early and longer later, but I ended up feeling better as I went along, so I flip-flopped my plans and went for 67:30. After a pretty low-key day, I got back out around 6:40 this evening and ran very easy for 36:15. My last mile was 6:55 (downhill) and that was definitely the fastest I went the entire run. As I begin to up gradually up my mileage, I've really been trying to focus on taking my shakeout runs very easy in order to enhance recovery from the harder efforts. So far, it seems to be helping, BUT - as crazy as it sounds - easy running can be a tricky art to master!

Random thought as I watch the 11 o'clock news: New Sox infield pickup Mike Lowell looks strangely like a cross between George Clooney and Tom Hanks' character in Castaway. Anyone else with me on this?

And that does it for tonight - I'm gonna try to get to bed early while I have the chance. The week-long work parade commences tomorrow. Take it easy.

Quote of the day:

Distance running at an elite level is a bitch. It is hard work. You have to enjoy being tired all the time. If you expect to achieve at a level that is truly elite, then you can not live like a normal young adult in their 20's. Why? It requires abnormal behavior in order to achieve abnormal goals.
-Kevin Hanson