I just felt like running

In the morning, I went with Fiona to adjust the mile markers in the River City Run course (www.rivercityrun.com).  We had adjusted the finish so that it was off the main road at point mallard.  It caused a near accident last year once the Radio Controlled Airplane show started at the ice rink.

We had a good time prying up the old mileage spike, rolling off 259', and driving and painting a new spike.  Mile 5 is back in point mallard along the golf course.  Its over a half mile back there off of point mallard dr.  On the way back, Fiona started getting tired.  She had long since given up on carrying anything for me so I was lugging the hammer, nails, washers, clip board, spray paint, and mileage rollers.  This was fine and not my point.  She stopped to rest and I decided to go to the bathroom in the woods.  I walked towards the river and got maybe 6 feet into the leaf covered woods.  Completely out of sight.  I started to unzip to do by business when I heard some water spraying on the leaves right behind me.  I looked over my shoulder and didn't see anything.  It sounded just like the sound I was going to make while urinating.  I started in and had decided that there must be some sump that was pumping water back in the woods.  I kept hearing it but I went on with my business.  Once was finished,  I turned around at saw a black snake staring at me with not more than a foot from my sandalled feet.  Its tail was shaking away which was what was causing my imaginary "water falling on leaves" sound.  I freaked!!  I slowly backed up and it did the same.  I left the woods and took deep breaths as I got back to Fiona.   I'd estimate the snake was 3-4 ft long.  I couldn't tell if it actually had a rattle (don't think so).  I was too flustered to notice if it had the patterns of a cottonmouth.  It was a very dark colored snake.   Its amazing how non-agressive it was.  I jaunted in and stood within 1 foot of it and all it did was try to warn me and act defensive.  If it had wanted to dig into my calf, it would have had easy pickin's.  Nice snake I guess.

Now for my afternoon run,  I test drove a new figure 8 interval loop.  It has two blocks on either end - one a 0.67mile (1080 high def meters) and the other 0.81 miles (1300 meters).  Each is rolling.  Its designed for a active recovery with a 0.52 stretch in between each loop.  It worked well.  I did two cycles with a ~2 mile WU/CD on either side.  Paces were 6:35,6:46,6:29,6:29.  Active recoveries were done between 8-9 min/mile.  When I started out, my plan was to do the intervals at goal marathon pace (7:28).  That didn't work out.   Did cool down by out and backs on Brookside and Horsetree.   Horsetree is one of the prettiest streets in Decatur and has a nice little hill too.

Kayano 13's -  211 miles   I switch in early April to a new pair.

Easy run at lunch on the trails.  A little sore from Sunday.   I dropped by the fitness center to work on bench press.  I have 12 weeks to get up to 26 reps of 80 lbs for the 3M fitness challenge.

Up in cottage grove, MN for work.    I'm really working on keeping my sinuses clean on this trip.  Last airplane trip I took, I got sick a bad case of sinusitis and stayed that way for 3 weeks in February basically wiping out a month of quality training.   I'm doing decongestants and using a saline nasal rinse that my wife found.    Its a weird feeling to squirt warm liquid up one nostril and let it drain out the other.  Worth a try.

I ran from the hotel on a path along highway 61 to Cottage Grove Ravine Park.  I ran in the park on a paved trail that was covered with snow once you got in the woods.  It wasn't deep enough to get my feet too wet.  Pretty park.  I got lost on the way back but found Jamaica Ave. off of 80th St.

Slept in til 6:30 so I didn't leave myself too much time for a run before I need to go to the plant.  Went around neighborhoods behind the hotel.  Its around 30F with very little wind.  Good running weather.

Got two easy runs in today.

Morning was from hotel , south on Jamaica, west on 100th St to Ideal Ave.S.  Asphalt bike path the entire way.  Got pretty rural.  Did an out and back.  Listened to a podcast about the "Rubber Room".   The NYC education dept sends teaches to a "reassignment center" if some allegation of abuse or other infraction reported.  The teaches wait and sit  for days, weeks, months, even years at times until they get a hearing and they are either reinstated or fired.  Like jury duty almost but a lot longer.    All the time with full pay and benefits.    My synopsis doesn't do it justice.  www.thisamericanlife.org  

Evening was from hotel, south on Jamaica, west on 95th St., south on Hadley, East on 100th and back.  Listened to a podcast about retirement homes for Chimpanzees.    I hadn't thought about this but a chimp is one of the only domesticated animals that humans don't euthanize.  A TV or circus chimp can only be an entertainer for 4-5 years before they get too big , strong, and agressive.  They can live to almost 50 yrs.  The same is true for research chimps.   The Clinton Admin funded this multi-million dollar retirement home - the chimps have rooms with hammocks, TV's, meals cooked for them, along with an outdoor play area that allows for some natural foraging for food.  They say that since many of the chimps grew up around lab coated humans that their favorite TV show is General Hospital.

Ran my neighborhood figure 8 interval route (1100m,1300m repeats with active 0.5mile recovery).  Jon came over to run it as well.  He already had a 5K that day plus 4-5 miles.  I told him we'd do the intervals at marathon pace. As it turned out, the entire workout including recoveries and warm down ended up being faster than marathon pace (7:21 vs. 7:28).  Intervals were at 6:30,6:41,6:28,6:11/mile pace.   They felt good.  I will really need to focus on not going out to hard at the Georgia Marathon.