The Great Awakening

It appears that all the hibernating runners have awaken from their winter slumber and found their way back out on to the roads. I may or may not have gone off about this annual phenomenon in an earlier entry - I'm not totally sure - but I'll refrain from doing so today. Actually, this near quadrupling of the local running population has a positive side to it, namely the reemergence of the masses of BC girls that make their way around the Chesnut Hill Reservoir in Brighton. The only reason this merits mention today is because I'm heading out that way in a little while for a short jaunt with my good pal Oscar. For obvious reasons, we're both looking forward to it. Welcome back spring.

Not much else that I can think to add right now. The Achilles is slowly improving, as is my running. Hopefully I'm finally over the hump and can continue to gradually build back into a normal routine. Hope everyone's weekend gets off to a good start. Take it easy.

Quote of the day:

Nothing says Japan like chafing dishes full of pasta and stacks of Coca-Cola in a room full of identical chairs and numbered tables.
-Max King, from his World XC journal

Split ting head ache

Please forgive my pathetic attempt at combining creativity and humor in the title of this entry. I'm blaming it on the splitting headache which has engulfed my cranium, causing everything housed therein to go out of whack, thus disturbing proper brain function. Hopefully I'll have the problem fixed by tomorrow.

But tomorrow hasn't happened yet, so I should forget about looking ahead at this point and focus on the here and now, which happens to have me seated in the layout chair at work at the present moment. The phones have been ringin' pretty consistently though, so the time's flyin' by tonight, which is certainly a good thing.

My head is also ringing pretty consistently, so I'm gonna cut this here entry short and call it a night. Until next time, take it easy out there in blogland.

Quote of the day:

I could probably work more than I do. Right now, it’s primarily an excuse for being at events and seeing them first-hand. I like doing a good job, and I like working with the others I see at the events, but over the course of a year I probably break even at best, with travel expenses eating up my paychecks. If I was determined, I could send out a few more query letters, do a few more interviews and non-event work, but I lack the motivation to do so.
- Parker Morse, on being a "track writer"

Get sprung

Spring is here, at least for now. Temps hit close to 60 today and much of the same is on tap for tomorrow. In a word, gorgeous. Friday looks even better as the early forecast has us hitting 70. I'll take it for late March. I'm fully aware, however, that things can change drastically at the drop of a hat, so I'll shut up now while we're ahead of the game.

I'll also shut up because I waited till 11:45 to start this entry and since I gotta get up fairly early tomorrow, I really should get my ass to bed. Had a good day of running, easily my best in the last 5 weeks - 42 minutes - some of which with Brendan who I got started on his own running program today. The best news of it all: My Achilles didn't bother me one bit (knock on wood) for the first time since the end of February and as of 11:47 tonight Brendan hasn't died on me, as far as I know, at least. All things considered, I'd say it was a pretty good day.

And that's gonna do it. G'night.

Quote of the day:

Continued signs that I'm lower than whale shit at the moment, on top of the general malaise legs continue to be suprisingly alarmingly sore, esp. right adductor.
-Excerpt from Mark Mayall's 3/11 training log entry

Uphill climb

No, the above title isn't another characterization of my own running situation, well not yet anyways. That connection may inevitably come later on in this entry, but who knows for sure. Rather, this uphill climb refers to the Heartbreak Hill workout that I witnessed my Reebok Boston teammates complete this evening, the old "bottom to top" routine as they like to call it. The crew looked good as a whole and Ryan, Justin and resident Olympian Mark Coogan were anywhere between 1:45-1:50 for all 8 of theirs - nice, quick and to the point. "Coogs" has been working out with us the last few weeks while making a pseudo-competitive comeback as a master's runner. He and Kevin go way back to the Sev days with Nike Boston, and since our program is largely Sev-based and influenced, I suppose Mark decided to start his comeback by going back to what worked for him in the past. The man has run 3:58 for the mile and made an Olympic team in the marathon, so I'm not gonna argue with him. I think he knows damn well what he's doing.

As those of you who know me well can imagine, I was like a kid in a candy store tonight. I got to practice a bit early and Mark was already there, so I was able to pick his brain for a bit. He remembered me as "the kid with all the questions" from three years ago when he was our preseason guest speaker at Stonehill, so that was cool in a dorky runner sort of way. Even though he's past his prime, the chance to train with a former Olympian and listen to his stories and experiences has got me all fired up. Between him, Kevin and the rest of my Reebok teammates, I'm surrounded by a wealth of knowledge and experience that can only benefit me. As if it wasn't the case already, I left practice chomping at the bit to get going again. I gotta be careful to mind my manners until I'm healed and make sure I chew slowly.

Since I wasn't running the workout with my 'mates, I was able to discuss with Kevin what direction to go in with my training and racing plans. He pretty much reiterated what Hodgie told me this past weekend, which was basically to forget about any races right and just focus on getting healthy. It makes plenty of sense - such a simple concept but always a difficult one for my stubborn, competitive ass to accept. I'm getting better though. Kevin made a good point tonight, saying, "The beautiful thing about being a runner in New England is that you can find a race to run 52 weeks of the year. We don't need to rush anything." I guess Roland was in a similar predicament at this time last year and once he got back in the saddle he ended up having a great summer and fall. I'd like to follow a similar path. I just need to keep reminding myself the words of Mr. Miyagi: Patience, young grasshopper.

And that's gonna do it. Time for my nightly dose of Leno and musical guest Augustana, my current band of the week. They'll be in Boston this Thursday night for a free show, but of course I'm working. Go figure. No worries though, they'll be back in the area for four shows during the first and second weeks of April, so hopefully by then I can convince someone to catch them with me in either Boston, Providence or both. Any takers?

Quote of the day:

He made a career out of beating people he had no business beating.
- Kevin on "Coogs"

Making strides

Albeit very slow ones, they're strides nonetheless, which is more than I could say at this time last week. I ran 5 miles today without any major problems, although my Achilles was a bit tight towards the end of the run. I'm having a little trouble discerning whether or not the Achilles itself is really 'tight' or if its 'tight' because I'm consciously thinking about it every time my foot comes off the ground. I think it might be a combination of the two, if that makes any sense. Regardless, tomorrow is gonna be a day off from running just to let the bastard rest. I'm more or less starting from scratch again, so no need to rush at this point. The primary goal right now is to get back into good working order and then go from there.

In other news, I've taken a somewhat perverted interest in looking out for absurd slogans that pop up on the signs in front of churches, many of which happen to be either Evangelical or Lutheran. I've seen so many lately while driving around that I just started writing them down for my own amusement. I'm probably going straight to hell if such a place does indeed exist. Some of my favorites, in no particular order:

* 3 nails + 1 cross = 4-given

* Sign Broken, Message Inside

* Life is fragile, handle with prayer

* This church is prayer-conditioned

* Wrinkled with worry? Come in for a faith lift!

And there's plenty more where those came from, believe me. Emmanuel Lutheran near my house updates theirs every Friday without fail, so I'll be sure to share any new ones that catch my eye before they nearly kill me with laughter. In all seriousness, I've got to find a new hobby.

And that does it for this evening. Gotta finish putting my page together and then it's time to head home. Take it easy all.

Quote of the day:

It's all in the execution. First, you have to have the vision, then you have to believe in it, and then, you can't be afraid to take risks and chances.
- Vin Lananna

Hurts so good

So I ran three miles today, on top of four yesterday, which looks pathetic on paper but is a step in the right direction as far as my current running situation is concerned. Not surprisingly, my legs are rocked and sore as hell from my lack of recent meaningful physical activity. As sad as this may sound, however, it's a welcome discomfort nonetheless. In my own masochistic sort of way, I miss that feeling.

My Achilles itself feels a lot better after a week of not running, but I know I'm not out of the water just yet. I've got to be careful to ease back into things this week and not set myself back any more than I already have. Hmm, that sounds familiar.

In other news, another crazy day at the NCAA Tournament. All the # 1 seeds are done, George Mason is keeping their miracle run alive and my bracket is officially busted. Final Four should be interesting.

Continuing with the basketball theme, CBS aired a feature on "Pistol" Pete Maravich this morning before the day's tourney games got underway. The piece quickly captured my attention, as Maravich is perhaps my favorite basketball player of all time. Back in my high school days, when basketball was the object of my single-minded affection, I would spend hours trying to emulate the Pistol's wizardry with the rock. I watched his Homework Basketball videos as if they were Hollywood thrillers. Maravich was more than just a basketball player, he was a showman who aimed to please those who watched him play. He was a rebel - someone who wasn't afraid to go against the grain and march to the beat of his own drummer. I think that's what made him appeal to me so much. A lot like Pre, in fact. Also like Pre, Maravich died young, so he'll always have that mystique about him. Both true heroes to rebels who like to dream big.

Now for some shameless self promotion. A few things worth checking out:

- Interview with Alan Culpepper has been posted here. Keep your eyes open for one with Meb in the near future.

- Spotlight on one of this blog's loyal readers, Katie G. (or K. Gwyther if you will), can be found in the latest issue of New England Runner. Give it a look if you get the chance.

And due to waiting for the last second yet again, that's gonna do it for this evening. Until tomorrow, take it easy all.

Quote(s) of the day:

I really like the idea of seeing how much the body can stand. My friends back home say that I just like the pain.
- Geoff Smith, British marathon great

Don't wait.
- Good advice from Kemibe

Keeping the streak alive

Phew! Didn't think I'd get an entry in today, though this isn't much of one. Some good news, that being I ran 4 miles this morning relatively Scotch-free. Also spent the good part of my evening catching up with old friends all over the place, hence the reason for just sliding this entry in under self-appointed nightly deadline. And that's gonna have to do it for now. Unfortunately, the previous four lines will have to suffice for this sad entry. I gotta get my ass in gear sooner than later, but now's the time for some shuteye. No quote tonight, so I'll double up tomorrow. G'night all.

Heartbreaker

The run is over, the magic has come to an end, the wheels have fallen off, the bottom finally fell out, (insert your own overused cliche here); yes, the Stonehill College men's basketball team lost in the national semifinals last night, 83-73, to Winona State of Minnesota. Great game, unbelievable atmosphere, just not the desired outcome. Shit happens.

I've got quite a bit more to say, about the aforementioned game as well as a host of other things, but as usual I'm short on time. Crazy night here at work, lots of hockey at the DCU Center as well as Holy Cross hockey pulling off a HUGE upset over Minnesota in North Dakota. The biggest upset in college hockey history, in fact.

With all that being said, its time to sign off for the evening. Plenty of time on my hands tomorrow, at least that's how it looks as of now. Hopefully I'll be able to get in a good entry.

Take it easy all.

Quote of the day:

You can't burn out if you never catch fire.
- Hodgie

Then there were four...

...and Stonehill is one of them by virtue of its 69-59 victory last night over Tarleton State. Helluva game, though the outcome ended up being a lot closer than it should have been. The good guys were up 16 at the half before the Texans (how original) clawed their way back into it late in the game. A few timely rebounds and a couple quick buckets by Lance Clark, however, and all was well in Stonehillville. Now it's on to the Final 4 and a matchup with #5 Winona State, slated for tonight at 8:30. And yes, Sean and I are once again heading back for all the action, as well as pre and post game debauchery.

Besides the game itself, the whole atmosphere was pretty electric, from the pregame alumni/staff reception to the four busloads of Stonehill students who made their way west all the way from Easton, to the tomahawk chops and chants of "Let's go Chieftains" that radiated from the stands. More of the same should be on tap this evening, starting with the unofficial pregame alumni gathering at JT's before heading over to MassMutual Center for all the action and (hopefully) followed by some more postgame fun back at JTs. Should the Skyhawks win again tonight, the championship will be Saturday afternoon at 1 on CBS. In case anyone's wondering, yes, McRun and I will be heading back for that one too, as well as the pregame school-sponsered alumni breakfast, complete with "toast, eggs, homefries....and of course beer and wine, because afterall this is a Stonehill gathering", as Vice President of Advancement, Fran Dillon, so appropriately put it. I knew there was a reason I took out all those loans.

In other news, well there isn't much else. Got back pretty late last night and I'm expecting more of the same tonight. I'm off to the pool in a bit for a little physical activity before running a few errands and heading back out to the Pioneer Valley. Sorry if none of this is exciting to those of you reading this, but it's got me all fired up while also serving as a pleasant diversion from not being able to run. Madness I tell ya.

And that's it for today. Take it easy.

Quote of the day (well last night):

Me and Sean: Fr. Genaro, what time does the pregame fun start tomorrow at JTs?

FG: What time can you guys get there?

Elitist

A deliberately short entry today as I'll be heading to Springfield soon for the D2 version of the Elite 8, starring Stonehill men's basketball. The opponent is Tarleton State, a bunch of behemoths from the Lonestar State, currently ranked 13th in the nation. The Skyhawks check in at #12, so if the numbers mean anything, then it should be a pretty good game. Either way, there's excitment in the air surrounding Stonehill athletics these days, even among the alumni. It's great to see.

In other news, I successfully ended my two days of complete laziness early this afternoon, swimming for 500 meters and pool running for 30 minutes. Believe me, nothing earthshattering about my efforts, but it did feel good to get the blood flowing a bit and stretch the legs out some. Probably more of the same tomorrow, and if all goes well, hopefully a lil run on Friday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

And that's gonna have to do it for now. Gotta run a few errands before meeting up with McRun and heading west on the Pike. Take it easy all.

Quote of the day:

I'm happy to be riding back into this country. It is a kind of nowhere, famous for nothing at all and has an appeal because of just that.
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

More of the same

I think not running, or just not having been very active in general of late, is having a negative effect on my cognitive processes. That, or I'm just getting lazy due to the inactivity, which wouldn't surprise me either. Motivation to do just about anything is at an all-time low.

I haven't done much in the way of physical activity the last two days, minus shooting a little hoops with Brendan this afternoon - which hardly counts because I can't leave my feet or get on my toes. I also haven't done much in the way of writing either, for this blog or otherwise, because frankly I cjust can't sit down long enough to be productive. As of today, the first official day of spring, I've officially acquired Lazy Ass status. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but I better not get used to it.

With that being said, I'm gonna go back to watching women's college basketball, preseason baseball and Iron Chef reruns on the Food Network. It's a sad state of affairs, I know. Hopefully tomorrow morning I can get my ass in the pool for a bit before heading out to Springfield in the afternoon with McRun for some Stonehill men's hoops action. Elite 8 baby!

And that's gonna do it. Take it easy.

Quote of the day:

Everything comes gradually and at it's appointed hour.
- Ovid

Whole lotta nuthin'

That's a pretty accurate summation of my day. I didn't do a damn thing worth mentioning here, believe me. Not to mention that I pretty much shut my brain off at work tonight, thus eliminating any chance of spontanious genius or insight making it's way into this entry. So, that's gonna do it. Until tomorrow, take it easy all.

Quote of the day:

The big thing is believing you can do it.
- Craig Mottram

Fine by me

Some good runnin' down at the New Bedfuuhd 1/2 Marathon today.

A few performances of note:

- Pat Moulton (1:06:25) and Ed Baker (1:08:34). Pretty damn impressive if you ask me. Less than a month after Austin and they're already back at it. Badass.

- Dianna Chivakos (1:21:47). Her debut at the distance and an outstanding one at that! Watch out for this efficient little bitch (inside joke) as she begins to move up in distance.

- Adam Fitzgerald (1:09:35). A well-deserved PR (I believe). If he didn't outkick me in the 5K at that last BU indoor meet, he might be further up on this list.

- Jim Emord (1:09:55). Disgruntled with it, as usual, but nothing to be pissed about. For not having raced in eons, I'd say it was a pretty good day.

I'm sure that I missed a few, but I'm running short on time and my cognitive abilities are waning with each passing minute. My day wasn't all that eventful, but was highlighted by a morning rendezvous with two fine folks from Quinnipiac, who were kind enough to swing by and grab brunch at the Coffee Mug on their way back to that super suburb of New Haven known as Hamden. Afterwards, I went to the pool for a 30 minute run and 500 meters of swimming, just to get some activity in for the day. No good news to report on the Achilles, just trying to let it heal with a goal of being back in good working order by April 1st.

Well, the UConn women just wrapped up their win over Coppin State, so I'm gonna throw the box score into the paper and put a smile on the faces of all the 12-year old Rebecca Lobo-wanabees strewn across Central Massachusetts tomorrow morning. Like they even care. But for the sake of our readership, I'll pretend that they do. After that, time to head home. Back at it manana. G'night all.

Quote of the day:

It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock & roll.
- AC/DC

Atypical entry

A lil deviation from the norm, if you will. Here's 15 (in no particular order) random realizations, suggestions, conclusions, pieces of advice, epiphanies - whatever you want to label them - that I arrived at this evening while sipping my nightly cup of tea...still trying to figure out what got into the tea.

1. Give yourself something to get excited about every day. Make it two or three things if you've got some extra time on your hands.

2. Always have a plan, but make sure to write it down in pencil.

3. Set aside some time in the day strictly for yourself. You deserve it.

4. Find at least one thing in life to be truly passionate about.

5. Down time, even if it's unvoluntary, isn't necessarily a bad thing.

6. Get out, enjoy nature and take in some fresh air. Not only will it clear your lungs, it'll clear your head too.

7. Dream big or don't bother getting out of bed. (On that note, read this article before going to sleep)

8. Never give up on something you can't go a day without thinking about. Along the same lines, believe in yourself, or no one else will.

9. Scare yourself every so often. It will keep you on your toes.

10. When the going seems to be getting rough, remind yourself that it's really not all that bad.

11. Life's one big learning process. Right Driscoll?

12. No regrets. None. Never.

13. Thank you - two words that go a long way. Trust me.

14. Learn to laugh at yourself. The louder, the better.

15. Enjoy life! It's too short not to.

Quote of the day:

If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.
- Jimmy V

Holy hoopla!

Did I mention how much I love this time of year?

Another set of just truly great games today...and it's not even over yet! So far we've got one big upset (Northwestern State), three minor upsets (N.C. State, George Mason and Bucknell), two almost upsets (UConn and Ohio State) and a bunch of close games still in progress (UNC, Kentucky and Texas). I apologize to those of you who come here for a daily dose of running-related commentary, but these games are much more entertaining than anything going on in the running world right now. Take my word for it.

With all that being said, let's talk a little running. Key word here being 'little'. I ran for 37 minutes this afternoon, I'm guessing it was a smidge over 5 miles or so. My Achilles felt pretty good for the most part but I can tell it's not totally healed yet so I've gotta continue to be careful over the next few days. I've taken a fair amount of time off over the last three weeks, but if I don't test the thing every now and then, I'll never know how it's progressing, or regressing, for that matter. As I've been saying for a few weeks now, one day at a time.

OK, enough idle running chat for now. Today is St. Patty's Day, and despite my 25% of maternally-influenced Mickness, I did nothing special to celebrate the holiday. Sad, I know. I had a couple of options in and around Boston, but neither of them materialized, so I went out to dinner with the whole fam damily instead. After working till nearly 2 o'clock this morning, however, the possibility of going to bed early tonight and catching up on some much-needed sleep sounded rather appealing to me.

And right about now, it sounds more appealing than ever, so I'm gonna hit the hay while I have the chance. Hope everyone got their weekend started off right. 'Night all.

Quote of the day:

This weekend is the L.A. Marathon. Last year the winner was a guy from Mexico. Second place, the border guard who was chasing him.
- Jay Leno

Busted bracketology

That pretty much sums up my hoop-filled day and some piss-poor first-round picks on my part. Well, only two actually, so it wasn't all that bad. My big upset (Xavier) slipped away in overtime while the hometown heroes (BC) barely (and thankfully) managed to slip by Pacific in double-OT. My minor upset (UNC-Wilmington) never materialized, though Montana managed to make at least one of my underdog picks look somewhat intelligent. The rest of the day's games went down pretty much as expected, although Indiana caused me some undue anxiety with their last minute win. Such is life in mid-March, I guess. Overall though, a great first day of games.

Moving on, no running to report. Took the day off as planned and did a little workout in the pool, consisting of a 30 minute "run" and 250 meters worth of lap swimming. The Achilles looks and feels better, so hopefully tomorrow I can put together a respectable run.

A few random tidbits before I put an end tomy aimless banter:

- Stumbled upon this on Scott D's website. I don't know about the rest of you, but I got a rousing good laugh out of it.

- Backtracking for a quick second to yesterday's mini-training discussion, check out a few of the articles here from PeakRunningPerformance.com, particularly the piece on Deena Kastor's training by Joe Vigil. Some good stuff there.

And that's gonna do it. Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Quote of the day:

Volume runs, combined with a regular diet of AT runs, are the most important workouts for the development of the endurance component.
-Joe Vigil

Ides of March

Beware! If only my AP English teacher from senior year of high school could see that I actually remembered something from her class, nevermind Shakespeare! And she thought I wasn't paying any attention while I played paper football in the back of the room on a near-daily basis with Grimala and Demake. Ha! Boy did I have her fooled...and I've got the C+ on my record to prove it!

Oh, those were the days. Enough about my past foibles, however, and back to instances of present-day ridiculousness.

- I'm happy to report that I ran a few relatively pain-free miles this afternoon. I covered four loops around Elm Park in 21:30 after my appointment with Dr. Sjogren. That bastard Achilles of mine actually cooperated more than it has of late, which was a nice gesture on his part. The sucker looks almost normal again and I've successfully weened myself off the anti-inflams - both welcome signs. I'm definitely not in the clear just yet, but as long as I'm careful not to do anything too stupid the next few days, I think I might be on the right track to having this thing licked. The plan at hand is to take tomorrow off from running and then shoot for 5 miles on Friday and possibly a little more on Saturday. Hopefully this works out and gets me back on track by next week.

- Driscoll and I had a nice talk about training on the way home from Easton last night and later exchanged a few different articles and logs of mutual interest. The conclusion we came to, in a nutshell: steady doses of strength work are the best recipe for long-term development; occasional well-placed hits of speed, however, are necessary to achieve your maximum potential. Overdose on the speed component, however, and you're likely gonna crash and burn. It's a tricky equation to master, the key is finding the right mix that works most effectively for you. This is hardly revolutionary - it's the same exact message preached by Lydiard and any other fine coach worth his or her salt - but it seems to make much more sense when you can figure it out for yourself.

- Going off the above realizations, this afternoon I started making a long-term training blueprint for the Chicago Marathon in October. Of course, I've got to get back to full strength before I can actualize my plans, but if there's one thing I've got on my side right now, it's a little bit of time - so no need to rush just yet. The plan itself is in it's very rough stages,and I've got a handful of people whose brains I want to pick about a few different things, so I basically started working backwards from October 22nd and outlined some races and key workouts I'd like to hit as I focus on trying to get under the 2:22 standard. Even though it's still very early at this point, I'm pretty pumped about preparing to go after a Trials qualifier in the fall. After all, it's not the destination that matters, it's the journey. Right?

- Speaking of the Chicago Marathon, I found out from Sean this afternoon that his main squeeze Dianna just won a New Balance contest and will also be running in the Windy City on October 22nd. That being said, it didn't take long for Mr. McRun to join in the fun. It will be exciting to tow the line, as well as prepare for the race, with some fellow former Chieftains, as well as a fairly large bunch of bruisers from the Bay State, including (from what I'm told by various sources) LaRosa, Nate, Terry and one or both of the Moulton boys I'm sure. The more, the merrier, as far as I'm concerned.

- I'm also concerned that I'm gonna be pretty tired in the morning if I don't get my ass to bed soon, so that's gonna do it for tonight. Take it easy all.

Quote of the day:

Wow, you really like to beat the hell out of your body, huh?
- Dr. Sjogren

Goin' dancin'

No, not me, so no need to hide the women and children just yet. The dancers I'm talkin' bout play for the Stonehill men's basketball team, 2005 NCAA Division 2 Northeast Champions of the world. They downed UMass-Lowell tonight, 89-80, in front of a packed house at the Bird's Nest, or the hangar, or whatever the hell they're calling Merkert Gymnasium these days. The SkyHawks move on to the Elite 8, starting Wednesday night in Springfield, where they play some hick team from the Midwest. Mr. McRun and I are already planning the mini-road trip to the Division 2 version of the Big Dance, so any former CHIEFTAINS who'd like to tag along with us, feel free to get in touch.

Speaking of Mr. McRun, he and I were joined this evening by Milford's own Mark Driscoll, who had never even been to Easton before tonight! He was there supporting fellow red head and former MHS Scarlet Hawk, Sean Nelson, who had a monster game down low. Hmm, two Milford natives in the building, both of them red heads. Coincidence? Nah.

A few other notable Hill alumni were in attendance, including Fran Guardabascio and....well, make that one other notable alumni, at least. Either way, it was good to be back on campus and catch up with old teammates, friends, coaches, faculty/staff members, etc. I really miss that place, it feels like a second home to me.

No land running to speak of just yet. Maybe tomorrow, but Driscoll may have talked me out of it. The Achilles is feeling and looking a lot better, but I don't wanna push my luck too soon. No need to rush back again at this point.

I did 30 minutes of running in the pool and swam 500 meters this morning, racing the old folks in the water to keep me motivated. It's sad the levels I have to stoop to sometimes to keep myself in the pool, but if I can create a competitive environment for myself, it's somewhat bearable. As much as I hate being in the water, give me someone to try and beat to the wall and I'll nearly drown myself trying to get there before him or her. Funny how that works sometimes.

And that does it. Time to hit the hay. G'night all.

Quote of the day:

I suggest anyone who is reading this and has some running related questions to send them to Hodgie. Chances are you will get some (softened for your benefit) philosophical form of "toughen up there wuss bag, this is how I ran fast, this is how anyone who ran fast ran fast. There is no secret formula. You do it or get out of the way. Good luck!" Which is what everyone needs to hear. Being told to take it easy and put your feet up doesn't get you on a world cross team.
- some good advice, courtesy of Ryan Carrara

Shot in the dark

Where to start? I really don't want to bore anyone with the mundane details of my day, but for lack of motivation and an absence of any other significant excitement for the time being, that's where I'll begin.

I spent 45 minutes spinning my wheels in the pool this morning, throwing in a hard one-minute surge every five minutes to help the time go by a little quicker. I'm not very good at cross training - it's not the actual activity itself that I have trouble mastering, it's the monotony of participating in an activity that I don't enjoy. I'm not gonna kid myself here. In this (hopefully) brief hiatus from running, I don't expect to advance - heck, or even maintain - any level of physical fitness while stuck in the water, but keeping a moderate level of aerobic activity in my schedule does wonders for my sanity, so I'll drag myself in there every so often.

So, you may be asking yourself, after two weeks of limited running that has currently been reduced to some occasional half-ass cross training, what exactly have I been up to? Well, good question, glad I asked it. The short answer is nothing. Seriously. In some respects, I've become quite lazy. I've been staying up later than usual, sleeping till whenever I damn well please, not cross-training like I probably should be and eating exorbitant amounts of food (see yesterday's entry). On the other hand, however, I've also been quite productive, depending on how you look at it. I've been able to meet up with friends I haven't seen in a while, catch up on some long overdue reading and writing projects (not counting this blog, sorry!), look into some future job opportunities and scope out some potential geographic relocations. This may sound like a poor excuse, but these things don't come easy when one is running 100 miles a week!

With that being said, my day (well, night) job needs some tending to. Tomorrow night I'll be heading back to the motherland with my old pal Mr. McKeon to catch Stonehill men's hoops in the D2 version of the Sweet 16. Take it easy all.

Quote of the day:

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
-Mark Twain

The Uncommon Common

a.k.a. the BEST brunch deal this side of the Blackstone River, even though it nearly killed Driscoll, A-Ten and myself this morning. For $5.95, you get your choice of two pancakes or four pieces of Texas-style French toast, three eggs, two slices of toast, three chopped up potatoes and your choice of two sausages patties, six pieces of bacon or ham. Not a bad deal, eh? It should be noted that the pancakes (pictured above) were a foot in diameter, no word of a lie.

Having had brown-sugar and banana pancakes for brunch with Hodge yesterday, I opted for the French toast this morning. I was forced to order an additional chocolate chip pancake afterwards, however, to silence the two haters who questioned the legitimacy of my original conquest. Apparently, four pieces of French toast is equivalent to only one of those mutant pancakes. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't cheating myself.

Moving on, no running to report, which will likely be the case for the next few days. My right Achilles is barely recognizable, which is probably as good a sign as any to bite the bullet, take some time off and let the damn thing heal. Being Sunday, I think I'm gonna use today to rest up and mentally prepare myself for a week in the pool. I'm not excited about the prospect at all, but it's pretty apparent that I was getting nowhere fast trying to half-ass my way through runs this past week. You'd think I would've learned by this point.

And that's gonna do it for now. Time to catch the last of the conference championships and take some early guesses as to how the Big Dance is gonna shape up later this evening. Take it easy.

Quote of the day:

Don't be afraid to take a big step. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps. A person who follows in another's track leaves no footprints. Thus, the task is not so much to see what no one yet has seen, but to think what nobody yet has thought about that which everybody sees.
– Arthur Schopenhauer