Just add H2O

Tempo at an 8:00/mile pace.  Tried for a 7:39 like the instructions say, but once again I think the instructions are wrong.  I'll blame it on the 3 servings of Goetta I had for dinner.

70 ruck.  Took out 22 from my pack and carried it the last 1.25 miles.  Feet didn't hurt for the first time.  20:56 pace.

4x1000.  Technically, I'm supposed to be running these at a faster pace than my 1600s, but I'm not very technical.  I gave myself an "A" for effort though.

Tempo @ 7:07.  Negative split due to the wind blowing me back and chasing Aaron.  Don't know how I would have made it otherwise.

Ruck. 18-something pace. It was cold and I was wearing gloves and fatfingered the keys on the garmin and hit stop after 3/4 mile. It's no excuse for a run-on sentence, though.

Tempo @ 7:38.  Ran with Aaron again.  This time it was my turn to make sounds like I was in labor.  Negative split due to wind. Achilles and knee were sore the day after.

Tempo @ 7:24.

Rested on Mon to recover from the pain of Sat. 

Woke up early and ran before sunup. It was nice to have it done before work.  We'll see if I'm disciplined enough to keep waking up early. 

17:47 pace.  ruck 50. 

1600, 1200, 800, 400 w/ 400 jogs

6:28, 4:59, 3:12, 1:27 alternating with/against the wind

Ran with Aaron to see if I could keep up.  I did. 

In lieu of gu, I took a bag of gummies.  I wouldn't recommend it.  They're too hard to chew when you're breathing heavy.  At least they were too hard from me to chew.

Super easy pace.  Ran with Peter and took a route that I usually don't take at night.  I've never noticed the lack of lights.  Luckily, it was clear and starlit. 

Easy. Ran with folks and had to sprint a quarter mile to catch up after taking a potty break.

Still a bit tight, but feeling loads better than Sat.

Signed up for the satellite El Paso Marathon. I figure I'll make it a long training run instead of a race. I don't want to take too much time off recovering. It makes me too antsy.

My go-fasters would not go faster.  It was an easy run with Peter.  Sorta.  Despite Peter's easy pace, I struggled. 

Another run with Peter. Not too slow, nor too fast. Just right.

Easy did it.

Tweaked my foot just before running, but made a poor decision to run anyway.

I'll be off for a week or so.

Tempo @ 7:26.

Tempo at 7:39

Everything feels good, except my hamstrings, but that's due to my attempts at crossfit.

Deadlifts are from satan.

Rucked 50 with TJ.

Had to dislocate my hips to keep up with her.  Yes her.  And yes she was rucking too. 

10 x 400 avg 1:32 with 1:30 RI slowest was 1:37

Been doing spin instead of running, but I figured I had better get back on the program.

81 F, 12mph winds, 18% hum

Tempo. 1600 + 3500 +1600.  I honestly attempted to do them at 7:09s, but my pace was significantly slower.  7:51 for the 3500.

I think my legs are dead from working out or it just might be karma.

80 F, 11.5 mph winds, 24% hum

Ruck 70lbs

21:53 pace.  Slowest ever.  Probably due to lack of headphones.

Weather was nice though.

55 F, 5.8 mph winds, 67% hum

Goal:  Burn off a lot of good eatin'

10:48 pace

66 F, 34%, 2.3 mph winds

Sandstorms have put a damper on running.  Broke down yesterday and used a treadmill.

5 (1 minute thrusters, 1 minute towels and 400m sprint @ 10mph)  It took a bit for the treadmill to speed up so the 400s were 1:37s.

Weather was great.  It rained yesterday to clear all the dust we've had of late.

Paced TJ and she PR'ed.  And placed second in her age group.

She kept calling me names, but luckily my self-esteem is too high for her to make a dent.

The race was a bit short and the official clock was off.  I suppose they started the clock late.  It read 1:39: something when we came in, but the garmin was 1:41:10.

54 F, 62% hum, 5-6 mph winds

Ruck (70)

20:08 pace

One of my favorite sensations is the feeling of weightlessness right after taking off the pack.  It's even better than toast.

3 rounds of db swings, pullups and 400s.  First "Helen" in 10:21, subbed db for kb and dh for kips. 400s on the TM. 

The weather has kept me inside.  Or rather I've been using it as an excuse.

6x800 w/ 1:30 RI, fastest was 3:12, slowest was 3:19, last was 3:16.  Shooting for 3:10s.

82 F, 19% hum, 5.8 mph winds, more cloudy than dusty.

Ruck (50)

Switched up my socks and got blisters.  Oh well.

16:25 pace

7:01 pace.  The race was short.  5.9.  I thought about going another .3 to make it 10k, but I just ran until 6.  It was a PR nontheless.  They also started the clock significantly late, by 50 seconds or so.   I'll stick with my garmin time.

The race thinned out pretty quick.  A half mile into it, there was a pack of 3 or 4 who sprinted out (at least sprint by my definintion) and kept sprinting the whole race.  Then there was Curtis and me and another pack that stayed about 100-150m behind.  Curtis had to keep slowing down for me.  I did return the favor at mile 3.  He can't drink and run, so I stopped until he caught up.  I think I may have been able to get sub-7s if it weren't for that.  Maybe not, it was a nice break, and I was able to catch my breath.

am

Don't listen when a former Marine gives you workout suggestions.

Ruck (70) 3.1 miles with gasmask.

At least it filtered out the dust...

18:56 pace; started out at 75F heated up to 80F; 11% hum; 8 mph winds

pm

Ran 5.52 miles with Peter.

Told him easy, but he kept speeding ahead of me. 

8:59 pace; started at 91F cooled to 86F; 25% hum; 11 mph winds

The "Murph" with vest on treadmill.

Deadhangs instead of kips.

36:14

It's now Sat morning and I still can't walk without wincing...

Getting in to the swing of things.  New job, different base, same country. 

Ran to work today, but didn't like it very much.  Narrow roads and lots of traffic.

Ran to another camp to work out with a group. 10x200s

Got a ride back to work.

Ran home in the rain and halfway through the loudspeaker says to get shelter due to celebratory fire.  Someone stops to give me a ride home.  Turns out he works with the guy who gave me a ride earlier.  Small world.

Nice and easy. Had to keep going off-road due to traffic. What are people doing driving around after nine?  There's no night life here.  At least not that I know of.

10:04 pace, warm, dusty, and raining.

PT test with an upper respiratory infection.

3 miles in 20:53; 1500 m swim in 28 something; 4 x 25m underwaters on a 2:30 interval; and more pushups, pullups and situps than I felt like doing.

No garmin.  At least not one that I was wearing.

5 ish miles.  9 ish pace.  Weather was okay.  Company was great.

10:57 pace. 

First run in VFF.  I should have gone slower.

77 F; 50% hum; 13.8 mph winds; hazy

9:01 pace.

82 F; 26% hum; 5.8 mph winds; haze

9:42 pace; 73 F; 50% hum;  3.5 mph winds; cloudy

10:13 pace; 80 F; 30% hum; 4.6 mph winds; haze

Been running off and on. Not too much though. Spent some time at home for most of Apr.  Did a PT test: 3 miles in 20:53.

Ran with the Rocket around 5 miles. 

And that's it for Apr.  A whopping 8 miles. 

Got some fivefingers while I was at home and I've been running in those since last week.  They make everything hurt.  Even my eyebrows. The longest run so far in them was 3.6 miles   It's not the best environment here for them.  Lots of rocks and gravel. Mostly I just wear them when I run to the pool at lunch.  It's less than a half mile.  Still hurts.  The only thing they've been good for so far is starting conversations.  

I guess I was under exaggerating about April's mileage.  Usually, I do it the right way and go overboard. 

I ran a bit more according to my watch, but I don't check it as often as I used to.

For the 8th, I ran harder than I had become comfortable with.  8:46 pace (maybe I shouldn't have taken so much time off).  91 F; 14% hum; 3.5 mph winds; cloudy

11:24 pace; 96 F; 16% hum; 4.6 mph winds; haze

10:15 pace; 95 F; 19% hum; 2.3 mph winds; haze

9:43 pace; 91 F; 20% hum; 4.6 mph winds; haze

Absolute suck.

20 x 150m sprint every minute for, well, 20 minutes.  Kept the intervals around 30 secs.

102 F; 12% hum; 6.9 mph winds; dusty

9:38 pace; 89 F; 21% hum; 16.1 mph winds; dusty

Took advantage of the cool weather and pushed it without glancing at the garmin hoping to see good results.  Hope is a good thing.  Reality, not so much.

8:00 pace; 82 F; 19% hum; 3.5 mph winds; haze

Tried pushing it again without looking at the garmin.  A bit warmer than last time.  And a bit slower.

8:09 pace; 91 F; 16% hum; 2.3 mph winds; cloudy

10:10 pace; 93 F; 15% hum; 2.5 mph winds; cloudy

9:54 pace; 93 F; 15% hum; 2.5 mph winds; cloudy

Just after 6pm, and it was cloudy enough to take the edge off the heat.  Perfect time for a 10k.  Ran around Camp Slayer, passed the Victory Over America and the Perfume Palaces and Bedrock (Saddam built a village resembling a Flintstone's set for his grandkids, after he killed their parents).

Ran with a group and tried to keep up, but my legs would not carry me as fast as the other guys were running. 

7:46 pace; 96 F; 14% hum; 5.8 mph winds; cloudy

So they have us show up at 5am to regisiter, but they didn't register us.  We got to listen to a ill-conceived speech about Memorial Day, instead.  Sheesh.

This is kinda a PR.  There was an alarm during the race and I had to lie in a ditch for a minute.  Everyone was supposed to, but not everyone listened.  The guy next to me kept yelling for people to take cover, but they ignored him.  Eventually everyone got up and started running.  Apparently it's more important to get a decent time than be safe.

My moving pace was 6:50, my pace including ducking for cover was 7:11.  Not sure if I could have held a 6:50 if it weren't for the break...

2x400m sprints with VFF as part a warmup for Crossfit.

This is Bedrock on Camp Slayer near Baghdad.  Saddam built it for his grandkids.  I was experimenting with the photo stitching function on my camera.  Those Canon camera scientists have dumbed it down enough to make it Mike-proof.

81 F; 32% hum; 5.8 mph winds; smoky

To the pool and back in VFF at lunch.  And 6x200m sprints with them in the evening.

Real shoes on to run back to my room after work.

10:22 pace

96 F; 12% hum; 3.5 mph winds; haze

9:33 pace

10:18 pace

3x (800 (30 sec rest), 400 (20 sec rest), 200 (10 sec rest), 10 DU (60 sec rest))

I was all over the place.  800s ranged from 2:44 to 3:31; 400s from 1:39 to 2:03 and 200s from :24 to :34.  The slow repeats were in the middle.  I had some kind of breathing spasms.

102F

11:19 pace. 

Ran around Z lake, named for its shape, not because we have 25 other lakes.  Lots of people showed up.  Lots of people faster than me.  I could see all of them ahead of me on the other side of the lake. 

The first 1000 people got a t-shirt.  I'm not sure if 1000 people showed up.  I do know that I did not come in 1001st place, though.

I don't think we've got a handle on converting to the metric system.  4.15 miles does not equal 7k.  I was thankful for it being short.

91F, 13% hum, 3.5 mph winds, smoky

Woke up at 0400 to run 8 with SFC Brown.  He's much faster than me and I've been slacking lately.  Running during the cool part of the day makes quite a difference.  I may have to start going to bed earlier.

7:54 pace

88F, 19% hum, 8.1 mph winds, smoky

pm:

Wouldn't you know... today's workout of the day is sprints.

4x800 with 50 squats after each run.  9:22 pace including the squats.

104F, 14% hum, 8.1 mph winds, haze

0430 tempo with Brown

Left my shoes at the office, so I had to pick them up before the run.  The staff duty officer woke with a start from his "post" on the lobby couch.  Good thing I'm not a tattle.

7:27 pace

88F, 31% hum, 3.5 mph winds, smoky

Started out in front and just kept getting passed. 

Saddam had some hills made with the earth dug up from his man-made lakes.  The race ended by climbing one. 

I really need to start some hill work, because that killed me at the end.

95F, 20% hum; 4.6 mph winds; haze

Lunch: Walked to the pool and ran back in my VFF.  My dogs are still barking.  108 F, 10% hum, 16 mph winds, dusty

Dinner:  As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of 200m sprints/7 burpees. The sprints weren't really sprints.  They were more like slow jogs full of whining.  106 F dropped to 102 F, 11% hum, 8 mph winds, hazy

400, 4x200, 400 before, between and after a few sets of dimes and quarters.  The dimes were pretty unfriendly.  The quarters weren't nice either.

0433

Planned a 10-miler, but only did 8 and a half.  Brown had PT at 0545 so we cut it short.  I guess I could have finished up, but I was glad to have an excuse to stop. 

8:00ish pace.  Didn't hit start until 1.3 miles into it.  The weather was considerate today.  The wind felt cool instead of the usual blow dryer affect.   It even waited until after the run to reduce visibility from 4 miles to 0.2.

82F, 23%, 6.9 mph winds, haze

 1830

5x800 each repeat faster than the last or a set of burpees

Slowest 3:10, fastest 2:58; After 1 set of burpees made I had all the motivation I needed to run faster.

97F; 16% hum, 8.1 mph winds, cloudy

Rucked first 3 with 65lbs; remaining with 45lbs.  Brown started out with two sandbags ~ 90lbs and kept up for a mile, then dumped one.  We switched at the 3 mile point because 45 was too light for him and the 65 was making me complain louder than usual.

18:50-something pace.

79F, 45% hum, 9.2 mph cool winds, blue skies

Warm up in VFF.

Wore garmin to check the 800m route we take for sprints.  It's a little short.

0500 ish

Tempo with Brown.  Another morning with blue skies and cool winds.  Hopefully the weather holds for my flight home.

7:29 pace.

77F, 29% hum, 5.8 mph winds, clear

1800 ish

Left my shorts in my room.  I only have one pair since a load of my laundry was stolen.  Ran 5x400 w/ 20 x push press @ 65lbs in jeans.  Luckily I had a pair of running shoes in the office (14:47).

102F, 12% hum, 9.2 mph winds, haze

Felt cool, but my go-fasters ignored me and did not go faster.  Mind vs Matter: Matter, 1;  Mind 0. 

81F, 23% hum, 5.8 mph winds, clear

0430

Tempo with Brown.  Didn't feel as hard as Thurs race.  Don't know why.  Maybe it was the box jump burpees on Wednes...

7:22 pace.

82F, 19% hum, 4mph winds, clear but smelly

1900 (an hour late due to roads being blocked by Biden's visit, good thing was it cooled down a bit)

5x (400m and 15 overhead squats @ 95lbs) 15:58 minutes

104 F, 10% hum, 4.6 mph winds, hazy

0800

Ran with my sister in Northern California.

Out with the wind (7:30 pace).  Back against the wind (8:30 pace).

60 F, 50% hum, 10 mph winds, clear.

0800

Got some new shoes from a donation bin in Kuwait.  I went for an easy run, but had to walk the last mile home due to the pain.  You get what you pay for.

8:43 pace.

72-79F, 54% hum, windless and clear

0600

Ran in my old shoes, faster than yesterday and without pain.  The new shoes will be for yardwork.  When I have to start doing yardwork again.

8:30 pace.

68 F, 54% hum, no wind and blue skies

0800

Light ruck.  18 lbs.

11:42 pace

1800

4x (50m tire flip + 200m sprint)

The sprints weren't really sprints.  The were more like moseying.

109 F, 11% hum, 8.1 mph winds, clear

0530

Still jet lagged, so I didn't set my alarm.  I figured if I woke up in time for the race then I'd go.  I woke up at 4, despite going to bed later than I wanted to last night.

Don't know what happened at the race.  Maybe the leaders took a wrong turn.  Ended up being a 3k instead of a 5k.  It was fine with me though.  I was ready to be done.

Broke in my new shoes. 

87.8 F; 25% hum; 3.5 mph winds; clear

0515

8:23 pace.  The breeze wasn't cool, but it wasn't hot either.  The warm breeze felt relatively cool.

87.8 F, 29% hum, 2.3 mph winds, nice and clear

4x200 for a warmup

0430

Hill repeats

10 x 200 (pace ranged from 4:51 to 5:47, averaging 5:22)

Don't know the elevation, but the garmin read anywhere from 0 to 9 feet of elevation gain.  How do you get it to work right?

90F, 22% hum, 4.6 mph winds, dusty

 1230

Swam

113 F, 8% hum, 11 mph winds, hazy

1800

As many rounds as possible max kipping pullups and 400m sprints in 20 minutes

6 rounds in 19:25

 118 F, 8% hum, 2 mph winds, hazy

0430

Ran by my lonesome so I decided to pamper myself with a 10:06 pace. 

95 F, 26% hum, 1.2 mph winds, low visibility due to dust or fog I couldn't tell

1800

400 warm up

Then 30 minutes of as many rounds as possible 200m equipment runs alternating 65 lbs barbell and 20 lbs medicine ball with a partner.  In between runs you jumped rope while waiting for the guy with the barbell, then did 10 medicine ball throws each to one another.  Lost track of the rounds, but it was a half hour of intense complaining.

115 F, 13% hum, 2.3 mph winds, hazy

Thurs entry should be here, but I'm too lazy to cut and paste

0530

No strategy, just ran till it started hurting and tried to maintain.  Not much of a kick at the end, but I did accelerate. 

This is a PR for me, so I'm stoked. 

93 F, 20% hum, 5.8 mph winds, hazy

0430

Ruck 65 lbs

Went with Antonio.  It's always weird when I'm the talkative one...

16:21 pace

93 F, 23% hum, 5.8 mph winds, hazy

1800

3 rounds of 400m forwards, 400m backwards, 40 wall ball w/20lbs, 40 pushups

22:55

111F, 7% hum, 5.8 mph winds, blue skies

0430

Hill sprints

10x200m

pace between 5:09 and 5:51

86F, 29% hum, 1.2 mph winds, hazy

0500

A blister-free Ruck with 65 lbs

16:48 pace

83F, 33% hum, calm winds and clear skies

0430

8:44 pace

Started out real slow for the first mile or so.  Ended up real fast.  Started out racing Antonio the last half mile.  Then I decided to play dirty and throw a liter of water in his face during the last quarter.  Finished it out running for my life.

93F, 23% hum, 2.3 mph winds, dusty

1800

2x800 warmup 

0600

Put a lot of effort into this one, but my results from last week on the same course were better.

91F, 34% hum, 6.9 mph winds, hazy

0430

Antonio wanted to do 7:30s, I wanted to do 8:30s. 

We compromised at 7:38.  Apparently he argues better than me.

91F, 15% hum, 5.8 mph winds, more clear than hazy

0530

Woke up on time, but I went to the wrong place to meet Antonio at 0430.  Planned on a slow 8, but saw that they were setting up a race and registered.  Antonio showed up there too.

Started a couple minutes late, due to lines at the port-a-john.  It was a weird experience.  Starting so late, you end up passing people throughout the race.  I liked it.  It made me feel like I was accomplishing something.  Usually I'm stuck in a pack and struggle to maintain pace.

90F, 19% hum, 3.5 mph winds, partly cloudy

1800

3x (800m run, 50 good mornings w/ 45 lbs, 50 abmats)

Somewhere between 111-116F, 7-11% hum, 3.5-6.9 mph winds, clear

0500

Hill sprints

10x200

Pace ranged from 4:55  to 6:47, avg 5:42

The fast one was a result of someone getting in the way of Antonio giving me a lead for once.  I struggled to maintain it, but he caught up anyway.

The slow one was a result of me listening to my body.  It is very persuasive.

91F, 15% hum, 4.6 mph winds, clearer than usual

0430

9:04 pace.  United, Pete and I, were able to slow down Antonio.

0700

Pool for drills.   I was able to successfully complete a fin, mask and snorkel retrieval, but I ended up with snot on an eyebrow.  I figure it's a sign that I'm a prodigy.

Between 85-90 F, 25% hum, 4 mph winds, clear

0430 Ruck 50 lbs

Switched sandbags with Antonio.  Gave him one 15 lbs heavier to slow him down.  I still had a hard time keeping up.

16 something pace.

91 F, 21% hum, 2.3 mph winds, hazy

0430 Signal hill again. Pete needed sleep. Roy stopped going regularly due to mandatory PT at 0550 on Wednesdays.  It was just me and Antonio. 

We went without the usual rests between sets which consists mainly of complaining or arguing what set we were on and starting sprinting up as soon as we walked to the bottom.  We took a drink after the sixth set.

10x200m

Ave 5:47 pace.  Slowest pace 6:33, fastest pace 5:30.

1300

Pool work.  Got to 1:45 underwater.  I've been able to hold it longer in meetings but it's not as stressful out of the water. 

1800

Spent 6:24 on my first date with Elizabeth at Crossfit.  She's a mean girl at 135 lbs.

0442

8:46 pace.

low 80's, 30something % hum, 5 ish mph winds, clear

1200

Poolwork.  Lots of weaknesses uncovered.  I voted to keep them covered, but Jon had a different opinion.

1800

I'm no longer going to see Elizabeth.  She was far too abusive the other day.  I moved on to Daniel.  Turns out he was more abusive and he's got sprints (which were only sprints in name, but they were definitely a sprint effort) imbedded in him.

50 kipping pullups

400m sprint

21 thrusters

800m sprint

21 thrusters

400m sprint

50 kipping pullups

22:24

0430

Last time I ran I couldn't find many bats.  I was worried that they weren't going to come around any longer. 

This morning SlowJoe joined us and the bats came out in force.  Coincidence?  We may never know.

8:32 pace

93F, 20% hum, 3.5 mph winds, clear with bats

1330

Pooltime.  Whoever came up with leapfrogs in the pool is responsible for me throwing up.

1800

Date with Angie lasted 18:38.  She made me throw up too. 

115F, 10%, 5.8 mph winds, hazy

0430

Ruck 50 lbs. by my lonesome.  Without Antonio to catch up with, I set the pace to 18:56 for myself.  And I appreciated it.  I love me.

90F, 22% hum, 3.5 mph winds, clear

1330

Pool.  Oxygen deprivation.

1800

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of 95 lb front squats, 20 knee to chest jumps and handstand pushups. 6 + 10 squats with only mild profanity.

114F, 9% hum, 2.3 mph winds, hazy

0430

Hill work with Joe and Antonio.

Good company, despite the sandbagging.

Why were you saving it for later Joe?  Savings aren't necessary for hillwork.  We're not clipping coupons for groceries.

Joe and I, like normal people, ran a cooldown mile afterwards.  Antonio, on the other hand, went off to do unit PT.

10 x 200m.  Slowest/fastest pace, 5:46/5:02, respectively.  5:26 Average.

90F, 22% hum, 5.8 mph winds, clear

0530

I was shooting for a sub 21.  The effort was there the time was not.  Ran into Joe.  Figuratively. 

86F, 27% hum, 2.3 mph winds, smelled smoky and looked hazy

1330

Underwaters and treading with waterbottles

1800

Tire flips, box jump and pushups.  Oh my!

0600

I got to the race a little early and wondered why they weren't set up yet.  Turns out I forgot they were starting at a different place, so I had an involuntary warmup and an involuntary cooldown session. 

I was determined to run a sub-7 minute pace, but they decided to throw in a hill.  It was only 1/5 of a mile, but it was enough to slow me down.  Oh well.

86 F felt suprisingly cool, 20-29% hum, calm winds, nice and clear

1200

Leapfrogs and underwaters at the pool.

 1800

Memorial workout for Benjamin "Bugaboo" Abruzzo III and Spinal Muscular Atrophy awareness.

200 x 75 lbs thrusters, 20:06

0430

You'd think 4 grown men would be able to do simple arithmetic.  All I wanted to do was 6 easy.  Thanks for nothing, Joe.  Dang, I couldn't spell arithmetic without looking it up. 

91F, 15% hum, 8.1 mph winds (didn't feel windy), clear

0430

Hill sprints with Antonio and Joe.  Joe decided to bring it today.  He may have been sandbagging a little, but I think he'll show his true colors next week. 

10x200

Pace - Slowest/Fastest: 5:25/4:55

Ave pace - 5:10

86F, 23% hum, 4.6 mph winds, clear

0430

Ruck 50 lbs

Garmin petered out.  Took 1:35:something to go ~ 4.6 miles.

Passed the time commiserating with Pete on sleep deprivation.

88-84F, 18-29% hum, 1.2 mph winds, clear but it smelled like smoke

0430

Took Antonio into uncomfortable terriotory and made him run slow and easy.

I ran without the Garmin.  We figured we ran 10 or 11, but after mapping it out it was only 9.65.

Threw in the hill in the middle and the end.  Ran into Joe at the end and he helped us finish strong before going on his merry way.

8:59 pace

86F, 29% hum, 5.8 mph winds, clear

Woke up in time for a race, but hit snooze instead. No regrets. Did some poolwork in the morning and crossfit at night. 

Poolwork. 

PR'ed  in no-hand tread and mask recovery.

0430

Planned for 8 easy with Antonio and Joe, but did a bit shorter.  And not so easy for me.

Mile one was easy, but my hopes of that pace lasting throughout the run were dashed starting Mile two.

I really need to assert my position on easy running more forcefully.

I was too smoked to do a cooldown with Joe at the end.

77F, 32% hum, 4.6 mph winds, clear

0430

Ruck 50.  Jay joined the group.  Showed up wearing a full uniform.  Sucked for him.

82F, 23% hum, 4.6 mph winds, hazy

No pool. Jon was sick.  I was thankful.

1800

Redid the birthday workout with Jen, since she was dehydrated for the actual one.  She was a good way through the deck when I joined her and did another full deck with me.  Beast.

0430

Hill sprints

10x200

Pace: Fast/Slow/Ave - 5:05/5:29/5:15

By lap 7 Antonio stopped waiting for us to start a new lap as he walked faster to the bottom of the hill.  He was in a hurry to get to PT.

Joe manned up and smoked me.

Pete decided to forgo beauty sleep and come out.

Good times.

84F, 25% hum; 4.6 mph winds, clear

0430

9:23 pace.  Saved the hill for last, much to the dismay of Antonio and Pete.  And me.

86F, 23% hum, 5.8 mph winds, clear

"Kelly" in 25:48

"Annie" modified with the addition of 400m sprints after each set.

During our Thurs long run, Antonio said that he heard a rumor about a half marathon on Sun. On Fri morning, he was able to confirm it. That night I learned that they were also offering a full, so I had about 33 hours to prepare for a marathon. Except for the occasional half marathon, I haven't run more than 13 miles since I was training for my first marathon in 2007. So instead of trying to cram a bunch of running in, I prepped by trying to convince as many people as possible to do it so I wouldn't be alone and applying a liberal amount of Body Glide to strategic areas.

I hit the wall before I had started running, right at 3:20 when my alarm went off. I didn't sleep well the night before. I went to Will's going away dinner and some friends invited me over for a BBQ afterwards. They're leaving soon, so I acquiesced. I didn't get to bed until past midnight.

When I showed up at the race start, I told Antonio that running a full is stupid and we should just do the half. He said, "No, we're doing the whole thing. You talked me into it (he was the only one who agreed) and I'm not going to !#$%^* out."

When the race started Antonio took off like a bat out of hell while I settled into an easy pace. It was dark and a good quarter or half mile was on gravel. Not many people turned out, because it wasn't advertised base-wide. The race thinned out pretty quick. They marked the turns with spray-painted arrows on the road, but there weren't any lights so I didn't see the arrows until I was on my way back and the sun had come up. Luckily I was running with a guy who had seen a map of the race prior and knew where to turn, otherwise I would have been lost.

I ran into Antonio around the 6 mile point for me and the 7 mile point for him (the turnaround was at 6.5 miles). I yelled some encouraging words to him. It was some string of obsenities to motivate him. I didn't see him again until I made it back to the finish line for the half where he was waiting for me. Turns out he had raced the half and was spent. He wanted to leave. We had taken separate cars so he didn't have to wait for me or anything. At that point, I had it in my head that I was doing the whole thing and yelled more obsenities at him. He chased me for a little bit then went back.

I had finished the half in good time for me, so I was on track for a PR. I wasn't hurting and I figured I could drop to a real comfortable pace and still PR. So I slowed down a bit and enjoyed my inner dialouge. By and by, I would stop a little longer at the aid stations and drink a few cups instead of trying to drink and run. But, I had learned that there were only 2 guys in front of me. And one had started walking. So I picked it up my pace thinking I may get 2nd place.

At the 19 mile point I ran into the the guy walking. He was at his 20 mile point, since he was just coming from the turnaround and I was on my way there. A little later, I ran into the other guy. He was about a half mile ahead of me. I was feeling good about this. I wasn't hurting too bad and I wanted to place in a marathon. At my 20.25, I had the walker in my sights, however I saw this shuffling mass wearing neon green shoes. It was Antonio. He started about 10 minutes after I had left the halfway point. It took that long for the guilt to set in. It was good to see him, so I ran back to the turnaround and we ran the rest of the way together. It added another mile and a half to my run too.

I wasn't that concerned about placing. It would have been nice, but I just wanted to see if I could endure it. Overall it was pretty pleasant. The volunteers were very supportive. The weather felt cool. It was 80F when we started and it warmed up to 93F by the time we finished. There were clear skies. And Antonio kept telling me how much he hated me. Good times.

0430

9:09 pace

Antonio ran ahead because going slow hurts him on the inside. 

Pete and I stuck together because going fast hurts us on the outside.

0430

Hill work, because why not?  Jay joined Antonio and me. 

10x200m

Pace: Slow/Fast/Ave - 6:10/4:56/5:41

Progressively sped up.  Last repeat was the fastest.

79F, 34% hum, 5.8 mph winds, clear

1800

"RIP Todd"

800m

100 situps/100 pushups

800m

50 dips/ 50 kipping pullups

800m

25 squats/ 25 wall ball

800m

25:18

95F, 20% hum, 6.9 mph winds, clear enough to see the Perfume Palace from Victory

0430

Ruck 20 lbs with Pete.  I'll have to give Antonio and Jay a hard time for not showing. 

18:01 pace

Sometime after breakfast...

"Michael"

3 rounds

800m on a treadmill (3:08, 3:14, 3:11)

50 back extensions (on a machine 115 lbs)

50 situps

20:32 total

The pool in Kuwait is off limits to non-permanent party.  Party poopers!

1830

The Latin American space program does exist.  I saw an Argentine Rocket with my own eyes.

88 F, 55% hum, 9.2 mph winds, partly cloudy

0600

It's great to be home.  Carbo loaded with Rachel's brownies and beer.

7:54 pace

61F, 75%, 3.5 mph winds, clear

1000

8x400 on a track.

Running in circles made me miss the flightline, but I'll get over it.

Times: Goal/ave - 1:33/1:29 (the brownie diet is working)

82F, 38% hum, calm winds, partly sunny

1520

Tempo on a gently rolling trail.  Tried to hold a 7:07 pace, but ended up doing a 7:20 pace.

99F, 22% hum, 4.6 mph winds, really sunny

0850

Started the FIRST program earlier this week.  I had good results last time, despite only doing half the program.  Let's see if I can stick it out for the whole thing this time.

Tempo.  7:31 pace.

76F, 52% hum, 3.5 mph winds, cloudy

1100

5x800 on a gently rolling trail.  Was able to meet my target of 3:09s.

65F, 50% hum, 5.8 mph winds, partly sunny and really pretty

2100

2x3500, 1500 RI, ave 7:06 pace

Ran at night because the day was busy.

58F, 84% hum, calm winds, overcast and dark

1710

8:17 pace with more hills than I care for.  Tempo from work to the beach and about 2.5 miles on the beach and back to work.  On my way back I ran into a friend who I shared an office with in Iraq.  Small world.

68F, 68% hum, 5.8 mph winds, overcast is so much better than dusty or smoky

1710

5x800: ave 6:06 pace

Ran on a track in Redondo Beach.  I don't mind running in circles when the weather is beautiful.

70 F, 41% hum, 12.7 mph winds, crystal clear

0530

The past couple weeks I've been spending quality time with a quality friend helping him get back into shape. 

He's been real consistent with running and working out.

0600

Joined a running group.  7 RSVP'ed, 4 showed, ran with 1.

Tempo 7:26 min pace

63F, 24% hum, calm winds, clear and dark

0630

Nice and easy

0730

Tempo at 7:36 min pace

49F, 90% hum, calm winds, blue skies and white clouds

0610

Warmed up and cooled down with the group, but did the speedwork on my own.

2x1600 @ 6:44 pace and 1x800 @ 6:40 pace, with 400 recoveries.

66F, 52% hum, 5.8 mph winds, starlit

Dean Karnazes saw me walking by and asked me to take a picture with him. I happen to be his hero.

1130

Tempo on rolling hills @ 7:39 pace including a short traffic light

62F, 52% hum, 3.5 mph winds, too bright without sunglasses

0700

Speed pyramid: 200, 400, 600, 800x2, 600, 400, 200

15 hours later as I update my blog, my legs are still in pain.

0615

45 lbs ruck @ 11:35 pace.

59F, 75% hum, 3.5 mph winds, overcast