The theme here is that every athlete, and I mean every athlete, can get into a training rut if not enough attention to paid to switching up workouts.  Be it crosstraining, which can be highly beneficial in the prevention of injury, or just a change of pace, say running a trail rather than a track or doing open water swims rather than laps in the pool, adding variety to your training can help keep things interesting and keep your body from getting too comfortable with a particular workout.

One caveat to variety is the potential for decreased attendance towards your specific goals.  Swimmers need to swim to get better.  The key here is to break down your training methodology and identify the core components behind it.  Core components in a schedule of running for a sprinter could be identified as anaerobic conditioning and strength.  Just as swimmers need to swim, runners need to run, but a workout (such as the one listed below) that addressed the specific needs of anaerobic conditioning and strength development would allow for variety while still moving the athlete towards his or her stated goals.

3 rounds of 21-15-12 for time:

95lb thrusters + pullups

On the Men's 10,000-Meter Run in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia won the Gold Medal with a new Olympic Record of 27:01.17, breaking his old Olympic Record in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games with a time of 27:05.10. This is the complete results of the said run in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

On the Men's 20K Racewalk, Valeriv Borchin of Russia won the Gold Medal with a time of 1:19:01 hours. His time is faster than me running the 20K distance! This is the complete results of the said event.

Tonight I have a run planned.  It's supposed to be an interval run.  I hate those.  Plus it's hot outside.  Wah.

I'm going to try again tonight. Maybe. Or I'll do a body combat class - apparently that ones based on kickboxing.

Instead of boxing I punished myself by going for a run on one of the treadmills in the cardio theater. I managed to go for 3km, and I ran up a 17 meter high hill.

It was actually (I can't believe I'm going to say this) kind of fun. The big screen and pumping music were pretty good distraction techniques, and I tackled the hill in intervals, so I didn't run up a hugely steep slope all in one go.

Then I did another body balance class in the studio they use as a creche during the day. It kind of smelt like baby poo, which is not exactly what I'd call relaxing when you're lying on the carpet and the instructor is telling you to place your cheek on the ground. I kept thinking 'baby poo face, baby poo face, baby poo face'. Ick.

Also? Today I am wearing woollen tights. They're from Glassons, and they're supposed to be one size fits all. Glassons have evidently decided that tights should be hipster this year. I disagree. Belts should sit on the hips, jeans should occasionally sit on the hips, and skirts should sit on the hips, but tights? They are definitely entering waist territory.

To make it worse they're so not long enough. So the crotch is sitting roughly at knee height, and  I feel like I'm back in primary school. I am fairly uncomfortable with the whole situation.

I wonder if Glassons will give me my money back if I go in there and yell about the issues I have with knee crotch tights.

I'm already daydreaming about riping the damn things off and flinging them over my head to land on one of my office mates desks. I would then proceed to run around the office yelling "I'm free! I'm free!" With bare legs, and bare feet.

Today I've got a 5 mile run scheduled, and tomorrow 2 miles and an upper body workout. I've also joined Weight Watchers because I got on the scale, and OH BOY-not a good sight. Apparently just because I'm running does not mean I can indulge in Linguini Carbonara from Mamma Mia's every night, as much as I wish I could. Anyway, the Weight Watchers thing is really making me feel better-I can still have some snacks like cookies, but just in moderation-not EVERY day. And I've been REALLY GOOD about eating lots of fruits and veggies and less breads and starchy carbs. I'm really happy-I'm hoping to drop 20 lbs by the time I go to NM for Thanksgiving. That way I can load up on yummy New Mexican food for a whole week. Just kidding-I will enjoy myself but there's no way I'm going to undo all the good habits I'm just starting to form now.

OK, that's all for now. Toodaloo!

In 2001, I was able to go on a missions trip to St. Croix, Virgin Islands.  That week we held a sort of "youth revival" during the day with the students at the Christian School.  Tim Duncan, star player for the San Antonio Spurs is not only from St. Croix, but he attended the school.  The people there are die hard fans for Tim Duncan.  My father was speaking on day on this very subject of excitement.  At the name of Tim Duncan, they would cheer.

When we look at the television and see Shawn Johnson, Michael Phelps, the "Redeem" Team, or others, as Americans we get excited when they win.  

Let's look at it differently...sometimes it amazes me in youth services how if the speaker mentions a famous person, the crowd will go crazy.  Some years ago, when I was young and immature (2004), I attended the Dare 2 Share conference in Gwinnett County, GA.  They used movie clips to drive home some of the points.  They especially used the clips from "Lord of the Rings."  Every time one of these clips would flash up on the screen, the crowd would roar.  I've never seen the trilogy, so I don't get that in the first place, nonetheless, that's not the point of the post.  

I just wonder how at the sounds of some names such as "USA" or "LOTR" crowds will roar.  People can talk for hours about their obsession with it.  When the women's marathon was run last Saturday night, I was glued to the tv.  When my pastor referenced it in his sermon on Sunday morning, I was hooked.  I was excited.  It was great.  

Where's my excitement over my relationship with Christ?

When someone mentions the name of Jesus, do I have the same excitement?  Is He not something to cheer about?  Is He not worth being excited about?  Maybe it's just me, but it seems too many Christians are doing this backwards...the question is, are we willing to get excited about Christ, even when we know that we should?

Sometimes, you just feel like you want to rejoice! Don’t you?  Like you just want to thank Gawd!

This morning I got up for Day 2 of basic training this week for the marathon. I’m running roughly 6 miles 3x a week as a base until mid October. Yesterday was brutal because it was warm and the humidity was intense. As much as I wanted to stop and walk back home I pummeled through it. Besides, I figured I’m up, I’m out here, I’m running and sweating so there’s no use to turn back now.

Today, I thought I’d prepared a little better because I have the tendency to sweat and soak my t-shirt. So, I tucked a little wash cloth into the side of my running pants. Don’t ask me why I haven’t done this sooner. Perhaps, I have an aversion to having anything extra on my body or in my hands. I’m surprised the watch makes it. HA!

So, I stepped out of the house this morning and felt a beautiful yet, surprising breeze. I could dare to say it was chilly but I didn’t.   I believe that fall is trying to come a little early, kind of like how summer did; I felt like the heat index rose 20 degrees from one day to the next and we were in the dead of summer.  With such a refreshing difference in temperature, I thought about leaving my towel behind but opted to keep it. Knowing me, I’d still work up a sweat and would need it anyway.

Once I got to the park and started my run with my marathon training buddy I knew it was going to be a great run. For starters, by the time we reached the road leading down to the steps I didn’t have an ounce of sweat. Compared to yesterday, I was in full sweat mode by then. By the time we got to the water, a trickle had started but nothing major. Then, by the time we got to the hill I took my towel off for a slight dab. And saying slight is an overstatement.  At this point yesterday my shirt was half soak and I was ready to stop for a break. Not today. I was just cruising. By the time I came around for our second half I was soooo in a zone. It was so cool, pun intended. I just had to say Hallelujah!

cde

Anyways, on to the lengthy entry. I still have so much more I want/need to write down before I forget it all...

Hi!

Now I finally have the chance to sit down and write out my soon to be really long journal entry! ;) I got out of class a few minutes ago and will be leaving to go to the train station soon - so some of this entry will definitely be written while moving at 120MPH...

Running in Germany has been really enjoyable. I've been able to explore new parks every time I've gone for a run. Each park has its own unique 'personality' in the sense that each one affects the run a little differently. For example, the ring of parks that I'm closest to is readily available and fairly direct in terms of route, but there are also a ton of people that are walking and jogging along the paths. In short, the most convenient is, as one would expect, also the most visited. At the same time though, this park offers directions to major landmarks in the way of street signs that also depict the distance in KM - making it really easy to estimate the length of the run. I've always found it amusing that they have a little bicycle logo right next to the number of kilometers, making me think that they don't expect people to be running 10-12 kilometers in a single run. I haven't gone anywhere near that far yet, but I do want to run to the Rhine and back, which should be around a total of 13 kilometers; 6.5 out, 6.5 back.

Another park that I got to explore was one that took about 15-20 minutes to run to - by that time, I was already pretty tired and didn't have enough energy to really explore it like I wanted to. This park was a lot different than the one that surrounds Köln because it was just a huge section of forest and countryside running along side a canal that was preserved. This means that there isn't any linear path; instead, the park and its paths remind me more of a spiderweb or a rats nest - making it interesting to explore, but also making it difficult to figure out where exactly you're going or how to get back. At the same time, that means that you don't have to stop for cars or trains and that you can spread out away from others, making it feel much more spacious than the other, closer Ringpark. However, I might have to end up riding a bike over to the park in order to enjoy running for a full 45-50 minutes there - 20 minutes out and 20 minutes back just to get there = tired Erik before he's even started running in the park that he originally wanted to!

The final park I've explored in Köln is probably my favorite. It's a lot smaller, further away from the center of the town and the university and has a pond right in the middle of it. It takes about 10 minutes (running) to get there and has a decent loop on the inside, with a few paths that crisscross the rest of the park. Because of its diminutive size, you definitely come into contact with a lot more people than you would at the other parks, BUT, it's a lot of fun to people-watch - simply because of the location. There's a sport club, kids theater, and kindergarten all nearby, so there are always a lot of small kids and parents running all over the park. In contrast, I also noticed that there were a few homeless just bumming about - and none of the parents seemed very worried about their presence in the middle of their kids' play area. I don't think I would have expected that; it was an interesting observation nonetheless. I've also noticed that Germans will wait at road-crossings until the light turns green, even when no cars are coming. It still surprises me everyday and I have to keep telling myself not to jaywalk, because you would definitely stand out. One final note about running in Germany: It's popular, at least in Köln. I've seen more people running and jogging in the three weeks I've been here than in several years of living around the Columbus area. I figure that has something to do with the fact that Köln offers so many wonderful areas to run in, in stark contrast to Columbus (combined with the fact that you can run to the parks in Köln - try doing that in Columbus, especially the larger parks on the other side of the city...) At the same time, a lot of the people running probably aren't going faster than 10min/mile - but at least they are out doing something, which is a lot more than most Americans can say. I've mentioned it before and I'll mention it again - I don't quite understand the contradiction in Germany in regards to eco-food and energy conservation and chain-smoking. It seems to me that if you were really worried about what goes into your body, you wouldn't smoke in the first place...

I'm actually continuing the entry on the train! I just got on and we left the station about 10 minutes ago. I got lucky and got a reserved seat on the 2nd class car of the ICE (InterCity Express.) It's similar to the French TGV and the Japanese bullet train, the only difference is, it goes *slightly* slower. At the same time though, it's plenty fast, hitting around 200kkmh in certain areas. Right now though, we're still going through the outside suburbs of Köln, so it's still pretty slow, although I can feel it starting to speed up. I took a picture of the cabin - which will get posted to Flickr soon - but to give you an idea, riding in the 2nd class car on the ICE is like traveling in business class on a plane - there is plenty of room, you can get up and walk to the dining car and there are audio plugs for radios and power plugs for all other electronic devices. It's very very nice. On top of that, there wasn't any security to speak of, especially around the platforms. All the trains I noticed were exactly on time (which I hear doesn't happen too much these days) and it ran very efficiently. People waited at their platform and as soon as the train rolled in, they boarded quickly and sat down in their seats. There were so many different types of people getting on the train: businessmen, workers, tourists, students, families, the list goes on. The train station was PACKED, understandable for a Friday afternoon I suppose. Another thing that was really handy was that they placed a guide in every seat that detailed the amenities available on the train and also listed all the connections at each of the stops. For example, I have to transfer in Hannover, so I took the guide and was able to find that my connecting train would be leaving at a certain time from platform 9. I'm sure it can change, but at least it gives you some idea of where and when you need to go in order to catch your connection. Anyways, I digress - I'm sure I'll have more things to say about the train as the trip continues, but for now, I'll try and retell the events of the last week in semi-chronological order.

So last week I went to the Römer-Germanisches Museum which chronicles the history of the city of Köln going all the way back to 2AD. It's one of the oldest cities in Germany and they find new artifacts all the time - especially when construction is going on. The museum is right outside of the Dom, so it's pretty impressive to go past it on the way to see things that are over 2000 years old. The most impressive exhibit in Köln was the mosaic that they found while digging an air raid shelter during the Second World War. It's basically intact and stretches about the size of several high jump mats put together (now there's an analogy!) The detail was incredible and the sign mentioned that some of the smaller tiles were about the size of 1X1cm, with some of them being even smaller! It's incredible to think that those things remained like that for hundreds of years, without being disturbed...The rest of the museum was equally impressive - it had two floors and hundreds/thousands of artifacts on display. They even had several items that had been catalogued that month, as they had just been found during the construction of a new U-Bahn station. There was also a special Egypt exhibit that discussed the Pharaoh that converted ancient Egypt to a monothesitic society. The ancient Egyptians switched back to their old gods after he died, but the exhibit claimed that the Pharaoh had some influence on modern day Christianity. The museum also had a ton of gravestones and funeral items that had been excavated in Köln - a lot of the exhibits were able to shed some light on the daily life of the average Roman in Köln. Additionally, there were some fairly special items, such as the memorial dedicated to a deceased slave driver - the sign claimed that that trade was typically not honored or desired in ancient Rome and that it was rare to even find a mention of slave drivers in the chronicles of ancient Roman history. It was well worth the entry fee (3.50 Euros for students) and I would heartily recommend it to anyone with an interest in history - although I'd plan for more than two hours if you really want to go through the whole museum. Next up on the list: the Ludwigs Museum (one of the biggest art museums in Europe; contains works from Picasso and Andy Warhol and the Nationalsozialistische Museum (the Nazi Party in Köln; the museum is located in the former Gestapo headquarters...)

After I visited the museum and finally got a couple of classes out of the way, my host family took me to the Eiffel region of Germany that borders France and Belgium (8-10 August 2008.) They had a vacation cottage out in the woods and had invited a lot of their friends over on Sunday for my host father's birthday party. It was a quaint little cottage and I found out that Rudi (my host father) had come out to this area as a child, camping out in the woods with his friends during the summer. It turns out that he's a real handy-man - he build a whole section of the house himself and installed a sauna in the basement (also self-built.) I saw his tool-shed and you can tell that he's pretty handy with his tools. I joked that I could help him install stuff on his computer if he could help me build things...The countryside was absolutely gorgeous - rolling hills covered in forests and streams and springs everywhere. There were ferns, moss, stinging nettles, and miles and miles of berry bushes. I don't think I've ever eaten so many raspberries and blackberries. Mmmmmmmmm. They wurz gud. There were a lot of farmer's paths that had been pounded pretty flat by the tractors, so I was able to go on some fantastic runs - I would run for about 15 minutes through a deep woods and then come out in the middle of a farmers' field with miles and miles of fields and trails all around. To top it all off, there were several modern energy-producing windmills on the horizon, contrasting the rustic with the modern.

My host family and I went on several walks around the local towns and sights: there were a lot of really cool outcroppings and rock formations, as well as a fantastic castle that overlooked the valley and a small town. I also got to try an ice-cream combination of hazelnut and coffee. Also very good. There was also a funny little sight called the Devil's Footprint. There's a local legend that the Devil appeared in the town, lost a bet with a farmer, and jumped back to Hell and left behind a noticeable footprint. I was really happy that my host family was willing to bring me along and show me around the area - it's something they certainly didn't have to do and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. It was also a lot of fun to just hang out with the family and play board games and swap stories. I also met a family from Brussels that weekend and they invited me to take a trip out to Belgium to spend the weekend with them - an offer that I'd be stupid not to take advantage of! It was also a fun trip because the oldest daughter was just learning how to drive and they let her drive to and from Köln. It's been a while since I was just starting out driving, but it was amusing to watch the parents try and warn her of all the things she needed to pay attention to. I'll give her credit, driving through downtown Kôln with two parents chatting away in a manual transmission car couldn't have been the easiest thing in the world. All in all though, it was a great weekend in another part of Germany that I wouldn't have gotten to on my own.

I suppose I should end this entry now (it's the Wednesday after I visited Kai, so I already have a ton of stuff to add to the journal, but judging by how much I wrote already...)

I love you Jess!

<quote>

Escapism is mental diversion by means of entertainment or recreation, as an "escape" from the perceived unpleasant aspects of daily stress. It can also be used as a term to define the actions people take to try to help relieve feelings of depression or general sadness.

</quote>

Taken from wikipedia, the one source for somewhat reliable information.

escapism

1. An inclination to escape from routine or reality into fantasy
2. A genre of book, film etc. that one uses to indulge this tendency

Back from an extended break.

The Olympics have given me the push I need to get off my ass. Looking at those absolutely perfect Track and Field bodies while my belly jiggles around on the couch is the kick in the pants I needed.

I tried to go out on Monday for a long walk in those expensive MBT walking shoes that I couldn't live without but I let my total lack of organization (could not find my keys or pedometer) get the best of me and by the time I was ready, it started to rain.

I made up for it yesterday by spending a half hour on the Concept 2 rowing machine I bought my husband for Xmas. It's been collecting dust in the garage.

Originally I planned to only spend 10 minutes on the thing but since I hadn't done any other excercise, I decided to keep on it. I made it to 4546 m by the time I was finished.

I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to walk this morning but aside from a little stiffness, I feel fine. I'm pretty sure my form was okay (my husband rowed in college and I also watched a video on rowing posture on Youtube.) It still feels a little weird but I figure that if I can do that three times a week for :30 I'll be off to a good start.

I downloaded a "couch to 5K" podcast from this site the other day that I found really helpful. It has me run/walking in intervals of 60 and 90 seconds. It's set to techno type music which ordinarily, I'd find annoying but it worked here. Let me tell you though, those 60 seconds of running were not easy for me. I was damn grateful for each and every brisk walking break to catch my breath.

I'm a little sore but it feels good knowing that I'm done for the day. I think I'll try the rower again on Thursday and then see if I can try running on Friday. I think I'll alternate days until I figure out what my goals are.

Barefoot Runner: The Life of Marathon Champion Abebe Bikila. By Paul Rambali. Serpent’s Tail, 315 pp., $20, paperback.

By Janice Harayda

This is a very strange book about the first African to win a gold medal at the Olympics and the man some regard as the greatest marathoner of all time. Born in rural Ethiopia, Abebe Bikila served as a bodyguard for Emperor Haile Selassie before running barefoot to his first gold medal at the Rome games in 1960. Four years later, wearing shoes and socks in Tokyo, Bikila became the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in the marathon:

“Bikila was so euphoric that it mattered not if the band could not find the score for the Ethiopian national anthem … and played the Japanese anthem instead,” David Miller writes in Athens to Athens.

Journalist Paul Rambali tells Bikila’s story in a book that its publisher bills as a biography but that reads more like a novelization. From the first sentence onward, Rambali uses the literary device of limited omniscient narration: He goes inside Bikila's head and, in alternating chapters, that of his coach, Onni Niskanen, and describes thoughts he appears to have had no way of knowing.

This device might have worked beautifully in a brief children’s biography, an art form that allows more leeway for the technique. As it is, too much of Barefoot Runner defies belief for a work labeled “nonfiction."

Bikila died of a brain hemorrhage in his early 40s, which may help to explain why no definitive biography of him has appeared, nearly a half century after he struck gold in Rome. But lesser athletes have had better books written about them. The world will owe a debt to anyone who gives this great Olympian the great biography he deserves.

Best line: Rambali explains why Bikila ran barefoot in Rome, though he provides no source for it. He says that when Bikila, among other runners, went to the Adidas stand in the Olympic village to get shoes, there were no shoes that fit him: “His big toes were too large and his outside toes too small. ‘They’re almost ingrown,’ said the Adidas man. He was curious about Abebe’s feet and said he had never seen anything like them: the soles and heels were as hard as corns! He told the major [Onni Niskanen] they had given away 1,500 pairs of shoes and they had hardly any left … They couldn’t find a pair of shoes anywhere that Abebe was comfortable with and finally the major had decided that, since there wouldn’t be time to properly break in a new pair, Abebe would race barefoot.”

Worst line: “The old women shouted questions at him as he passed. He was always running, it was true. If he didn’t answer them, it wasn't because he was out breath, for he was never out of breath.” This early comment sets the tone for the rest of the book. Has the world ever had a distance runner who was “never out of breath”?

Published: June 2007 www.serpentstail.com/book?id=10906

Furthermore: A recent review in the Guardian says that Tim Judah takes a more journalistic approach to Bikila’s life in his Bikila: Ethiopia’s Marathon Champion (Reportage Press, 2008), which doesn’t appear to have reached the U.S. www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/jul/27/sportandleisure?gusrc=rss&feed=books, and provides a useful comparison of that book and Barefoot Runner.

Janice Harayda is a novelist and award-winning journalist.

© 2008 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.
www.janiceharayda.com

Some runners have a thought pattern ingrained that sounds on the surface to be reasonable. It can even be seen as laudable, motivated, admirable or truly noble. The thought pattern goes something like this.

• I want to improve so I need to run hard.
• If I don't run hard I am not doing my best.
• If I push through all my workouts I'll improve faster.
• If I'm not sore the day after a workout, that workout was worthless. I wasted my time.
• Some take it a step further figuring if they don't puke or end up in traction it wasn't a good workout.

Ok, voice of reason calling. Hard-easy training was designed based in the science of how our bodies improve. When we stress it (hard days) the body breaks down. When we rest (easy days), the body recovers. It is during this time that the tissues rebuild stronger than their pre-stressed capabilities. Hard workouts are also defined scientifically. For most runners, most of the time, including virtually all age group runners there are only a few paces you have to know and use in your training repertoire.

1. Your vVO2max pace (equates to 1600-2000 meter time trial pace).
2. Your "quality" run pace for track workouts (equates to 5K race pace).
3. Your Tempo run pace (equates to just slightly slower than 10k race pace) if you race 10k distances and longer.
4. Your goal pace (equates to your long distance race pace i.e. half marathon/marathon, plus or minus about 10 seconds per mile).
5. Your easy run pace (equates to about 45 seconds to 1:00 per mile slower than marathon race pace)
6. Your faster than vVO2max pace MAY be used to enhance top end speeds.

What does this all mean? You run at these various paces for different workouts. When you fall in between these prescribed paces at the best you are wasting energy; at the worst you'll end up injured or burned out. This does not mean that you should never push yourself. It does mean that if your training program is properly set up, it will be pushing you appropriately.

Example: My tempo pace is 5:45/mile. My workout is to run 5 miles with the middle 3 miles at tempo pace. Instead, I run all 7 miles at 6:00/mile. This is a killer workout that does little to enhance my conditioning. The pace falls between prescribed paces. It is not fast enough to be "quality". It is not slow enough to be "rest" and it is not slow enough to be "goal" marathon pace. It is a hard wasted workout that will leave me more wiped out than I should be. It will require additional recovery time. It adversely affects the next prescribed runs. And it did not contribute to me racing better.

When a pace is prescribed in a training program, it is done with the design of integrating the right paces and distances and efforts to optimize your conditioning and progress. To push more (e.g. faster; farther; more repetitions) than what is prescribed, you are not helping yourself. You are reducing training effectiveness. You are increasing your chances of injury. You should not be sore after every workout. You should not feel wiped out after every workout. When in doubt, ask you coach. Then listen and follow the advice.

Let us therefore agree that the idea of eternal return implies a perspective from which things appear other than as we know them: they appear without the mitigating circumstance of their transitory nature. This mitigating circumstance prevents us from coming to a verdict. For how can we condemn something that is ephemeral, in transit?

-The Unbearable Lightness of Being

I was being lazy, and maybe rushing at the same time, which isn't a good idea because lazy and hurried are sort of contradictory efforts. And in my hurried lazy state, I decided to climb over a 7 foot tall chain-link fence to more quickly make my way to the IC track for my Saturday workout. My plan had been to do a simple tune-up for the upcoming track meet. Nothing too complicated, just 4 x 400m at goal mile pace with 400m rest.

Somewhere between vaulting my legs over the top of the fence and finishing the quick descent to the ground, I thought "maybe that wasn't such a good idea... maybe I should have just walked the extra 200 meters and gone through the gate." But it was really too late to make any practical changes, and I did my best to make a graceful Terminator-style landing.

Of course, I injured myself, but not in the way I would expect. Something strained in my groin/perineum as soon as I hit the ground, and whatever got pulled referred pain to everywhere in the vicinity. It knocked the wind out of me and I couldn't walk for a couple minutes. The pain conjured images of brutally torn suspensory ligaments and strangulating hernias. After five minutes I could jog and walk again, and being the stubborn guy I am I decided to work out through the pain.

The plan called for 4x400m at 75 seconds each, and I (barely) pulled it off. Running 4 of those consecutively with no rest seemed a lot less feasible after the workout, but it's good to know where you stand even when you end up standing somewhere different than you hoped. My 5-minute-mile days were a long time ago anyways.

So I was really, really surprised when I pulled off a 5:02 mile at the track meet last night. There was a part of me that was kicking myself for not pushing just 3 seconds more out of the last lap (I think the last one was actually my slowest). But I've only run one sub-5-minute mile in my life, and the fact that I'm even coming close again is really a wonderfully happy thing (I almost want to call it a blessing). Add to all this that various parts of my body were still slightly sore and swollen from that ill-advised fence-jumping, and my race becomes a promise of future improvement as well as a smashing success.

So track season is over, and now I look forward to cross country. I feel like I'm coming into a new phase of my running life, where some PR times may actually be possible for the first time in 10 years. And if not, that's fine too. Running is a fantastic example of eternal return within a single life. You get so many opportunities to experience that high, and even the lows are productive. I'm running for life and it feels good.

Time: 10:00am

Weather: 75, sunny

Clothes: MiT Shirt, NB shorts

Shoes: Saucony ProGrid (281.2 miles)

Distance: 4

Time: 42:54

Split: 10:44

Course: To Goodale Park x2 and back.

I love the Olympics. I love the athletes who win unexpectedly, like U.S. discus thrower or the beside-himself .

I love the ones who expect to win, and still, eight golds into the games have trouble not crying during the the medal ceremony, like Michael Phelps. This guy may have been NBC's biggest marketing tool, but he doesn't act like a tool. There was never a moment, even with all the time constraints of his chosen path and all the work and pressure and logistics, when he seemed at all full of himself, or above it all, or too cool for school. As a kid who self-admittedly grew up with a Kick Me sign on his back--he was a dork (had ADHD, had to work really hard in school, was really bad at team sports) and his mom was a principal--he seems to fit quite comfortably in his britches. I've heard criticism of how cute he's not. But really, put the hair back on and he's plenty cute. Besides, although I appreciate a pretty face (see below) I'm quite aware these are not beauty contests. And the man's arms are long enough to embrace the world.

I hate the ones who don't win gold and can't graciously smile at winning bronze or silver. By the time you get to the medals ceremony, you should be mature enough to realize what you've accomplished and a good enough sport to understand there are dozens of other athletes in your event who are not on the podium at all (Dara Torres--I'm looking at you and two of your teammates on the first relay silver--RUDE!).

I do love the hotties (sorry, I'm only human), like on the right of that medley group.

And I love the weight lifters like , a Latvian legislator(!) who won a bronze.

I love equestrian events (although NBC has been calling them "horse" events as though anyone watching them doesn't, by now, know what equestrian means). And if you haven't been watching on Oxygen, you probably don't know that the U.S. won gold in Team Jumping and American Gina Miles won silver in Eventing in spite of the U.S. team doing very poorly.

Sometimes, the Olympics make me think of silly things, like wondering, when Rebecca Soni won her unexpected gold, if the women swimmers are annoyed that at their moment of greatest glory they're having their pictures taken . (Couldn't they have a few minutes to blow dry?)

But most of all I just love the competition and the unpredictability. The pomp and ceremony. The tradition and the big and little sparks of pure joy that come from things like a completely unexpected bronze medal for a U.S. runner who's mom was an Olympian. If you missed seeing Shalane Flanagan win that bronze in the 10,000 meters with her mom going completely crazy, exhorting her and finally celebrating for her, you missed the best vignette of the games. Find it on video and soak in the meaning of Olympic success.

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