Sixty Miles

REPORT: this week there was a major turning point in The War. As dusk settled on Sunday evening, my optimism was the highest it's been all year. This comes on the heals of a 60 mile week; the highest since Christmas.

MORE: On Wednesday, I ran the first workout of the year sans ANY pain and/or discomfort. The workout was nothing to write home about, but it was glorious to run 400s in 66-68 again. I took Thursday off, but that would be the only day off I'd take all week. On Friday morning, I ran 10 from Rosslyn and was able to get in some miles in some places I seldom run, including the Glover Archbold trail, New Mexico Ave, Fox Hall and a magical place called 49th Street down in the hinterlands of Georgetown/Palisades. Finally, I looped back along the Palisades Trail/Towpath.

On Saturday, I met my old college buddy Stump for a run in Patapsco near UMBC. I really miss running here. The trails are far more technical than Rock Creek Park and back in the day, Stump, myself and a kid named Sugar would wage epic battles racing trails up and down hills, through wheat fields, across swinging bridges and asphalt bike paths. One such record is a sub-60 effort for what we believe is a 11 mile loop. Patapsco State Park = tough, hard running for sure. Though, yesterday, the pace was gentleman-like and we spent the majority of the time reminiscing about old times and catching up on new times. We got in about 8.5 before parting ways.

On Sunday, I met a half dozen guys at Riley's Lock for a long run. For some reason (perhaps the nice weather, perhaps due to the confidence built since Wednesday) I was itching to run hard. At 9 miles, I decided to pick up the pace and press on until the end. Jacob, a Newton rep who was along for the fun, went with me and together we hit 5:50 miles for the next 5 miles. Again, no pain.

I got in 60 for the week. This is my highest week of mileage for the year. That, coupled with a workout without pain, bodes well for things to come. I dare not say I am "back" yet, but damn, if I can do this, I am damn near back. Moving forward, I am going to cut out my second day off each week and maintain a 6-day training week, if, of course, my body can handle it.