No more workin' for the weekend

9:47 on a Sunday night, I'm sitting comfortably on my ass watching TV, and it's everything I dreamed it would be. I'm still coming to grips with this abundance of free time and the absence of eight additional hours in my workday, but I think I'll eventually get used to it.

My newfound earlier bed time -- and subsequent pre-sunrise wakeup calls -- have been a bit of adjustment, but I'm enjoying having a little more structure to my sleeping schedule and to be honest its nice to have my main workout done before 9 a.m. In the long run -- no pun intended -- this should make race day early wakeup calls a little more manageable as well.

Speaking of managing things, life in my new position at PR Running is off to a good start. Actually, it's more a continuation of something that was already maintaining a steady rhythm, but I'm enjoying my added responsibilities as Rich's right-hand man and just having an overall good time with a couple of fun co-workers who make the hours go by at a fast clip. When 'work' hardly feels like work, you know you're in a good situation.

As for my running situation, that's looking good right now too. I came off New Bedford pretty well, and my two planned easy days of 5 miles on Monday and Tuesday proved to be a wise decision. By Wednesday my legs were back to normal, but I waited until Friday before kicking the intensity back up again. Greg and I paid tribute to old Stu Thurston today by touring his masterfully designed 30K course around the Wachusett Reservoir, but unfortunately the combination of undulating terrain, brisk pace, nagging cold and poor choice of Magner's Irish cider, pizza, nachos, pigs in a blanket and chocolate-covered strawberries for dinner last night didn't leave me feeling as energetic as I had hoped. I still got in a solid 19-mile run on a tough course so the main objective was accomplished, and that's whats most important. I was just glad to have Greg's company out there and equally as glad to get this one over with.

Well, it's about time I get this entry over with as well and get ready to hit the hay in an hour or so. Until next time, take it easy.

Quote of the day:

If you sit and talk to Steve Ovett you sense immediately for him it was always about winning races. I can’t think why you’d be doing the sport if you’re not trying to win the races. That’s what it is supposed to be about but we seem to have lost a generation who think like that.
- Nic Bideau, coach of Craig Mottram

View from the top

That's Ryan and I in the middle of the pack early on in the race this past weekend at New Bedford. Don't we look snazzy in our fancy new uni's?

And for those of you looking for some new reading material, check out Kevin Tilton's resurrected training blog. He's the nut in the blue CMS singlet just in front of Ryan in this photo.

That'll do it. Really off to bed now.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I'll make this brief because it's currently five past 10 and due to a variety of circumstances, this is now considered "late". Let me explain.

First things first, I've recently made a career change, switched jobs, or whatever you want to call it. My days on the desk at the T&G came to an end this past Sunday night, as I am moving into a fulltime position as Store Manager at the local running stop. Oddly enough, this will be my first full-time job since graduating from college, but even so, I will be working less than the 55-65 hours a week spread across the two jobs I've been holding down awhile now. Gotta grow up sometime I guess.

That being said, this was a difficult decision to make, but I really feel it's the best move for me at this stage of the game. My two-and-a-half years on the desk at the T&G were some of the most enjoyable times of my life and I will really miss performing on deadline with my fellow clowns under the big top on Franklin Street. I'll still be part of the traveling show from time to time, however, as my running column will continue to make its bi-weekly appearance.

As for the running thing, it's been going surprisingly well given the aforementioned hectic schedule. Hopefully these newfound regular work hours -- and absence of 12-15 hour days of going from one job to the next -- will be more conducive to hard training, but more importantly the adequate rest required recover from said hard training. I've fallen into a consistent pattern of 70-80 mile weeks of late which I hope to maintain, perhaps even add a little to, in building up to Vermont City on Memorial Day weekend. Consistency, above all else, is the key.

And while I'm on the subject of running, I've only raced once since Foxboro, that being this past weekend at New Bedford in the annual half marathon held there -- 30th annual in fact. In all honesty, it was my best race since graduating from college, as I crossed the line 8th overall in 1:09:53, a 54-second PR and a good confidence boost 10 weeks out from my 26.2-mile debut. Despite some vicious winds at certain points, I was able to stay confident and run strong the entire way. I'm thinking 2:24-26 isn't out of question at VCM if everything comes together at the right time. The last big race before May 27 will be the Broad Street Run in Philly on May 6, where a fast course and top-notch competition will hopefully bring me across the line in around 51 minutes. I'll also run Doyle's 5-miler on April 22, more as a speed workout than anything else, and maybe another short one if it fits into the schedule. Kevin and I still have some time to iron out the details there.

So, in a nutshell, that's what I've been up to of late. I should have some more time now to contribute to this space a bit more frequently than I have been, but I don't wanna make any promises just yet. Check back from time to time and see if there's anything new staring you in the face. Until I got something else to share, take it easy.

Quote of the day:

To suffer and learn a lesson, one pays a high price, but a fool can't learn any other way.
- Traditional Chinese proverb, and the story of my life

Not there yet

LOTS going on, but little motivation to write about it right now. Keep your RSS feeds ready though, because one of these days this sucker will come back to life -- I promise.

Hope all is well out there in Blogland. Take it easy.

Quote of the day:

Until a man is twenty-five, he still thinks, every so often, that under the right circumstances he could be the baddest motherfucker in the world.
- Neal Stephenson