Back to the grind...

Found some good running articles - first, one about the popularity of the sport starting to increase due to studs like Usain Bolt, despite the lack of U.S. dominance. The internet has been an amazing conduit to follow sports in general and has pretty much rendered the days of reading newspaper articles obselete - now you can go to sites like espn.com to see instant scores, or in the case of racing go to sites like universalsports.com and watch some of the major races live. Next, a very heartwarming story about a dog which has become quite a runner :) Plans for Ritz, Khalid is back (best of luck to him, one of the all-time marathon greats and a super nice guy), and a good Runners World interview with the lovely Kara Goucher.

Monday night, was feeling super sore from weekend running, so eventually dragged myself out the door. Was pouring rain all afternoon, so skipped group run and went home. Did a evening loop around town - made it a point to run very slow. Felt better after running then I did before, which is always a good thing. Total mileage: 4 miles - no idea on time or splits.

Tuesday, 0! Going to switch off-days with Friday, so no harm done. Wednesday, did some mileage at Forest Park. Had scheduled this day to run with a couple friends, and used the opportunity to scout out the course for the upcoming race. Did a harder run initially just to work on the hills, then a couple cooldown miles before those guys got to Forest Park. I forgot how hilly Forest Park can get, and it will be definitely some work when we race next Saturday. Downhill start, but then rolling hills the rest of the way with a few long sustaining hills in between. Last 1/2 mile is a gradual uphill, which I distinctly remember sucking. Anyways, tacked on about 4 more miles with my buddies before calling it a day. Total Mileage: 10 miles - splits for the actual workout portion: 7:11, 7:10, 6:58, 6:43. The rest was pretty easy pace.

Feel ok, definitely a little tired but getting more strength in my legs. Looking forward to hitting the track tonight for the first time in a long time (pending weather conditions).