Week of October 10th - 16th, 2005

Monday 10/10
RACE – Izumo Ekiden (Izumo, Japan) – Leg Winner 23:36 8k (team was 14th/21)
I was really excited and happy to have gone back to Japan this year and won my leg at this race. It was probably one of the best athletic experiences I’ve had. The race itself was brutal since there was a stiff wind right in our face the entire way. I started pushing at 4k and only one guy went with me. He was a tough little guy and only dropped with less than 1km to go. It was on national tv in Japan and so I can’t wait to watch the video when they send it to me. Afterwards I ran for 30 minutes or so.
13 miles

Tuesday 10/11
8am – This morning before leaving Izumo I ran 50 minutes at a decent pace with the guys. We ran along the canal and up to the hills and back. It was a really nice run, and I didn’t feel to bad from the race.
8 miles

Wednesday 10/12
10pm – When I got off the plane from Japan tonight I was extremely tired, but I still managed to get out there and shake out for 20 minutes. Actually, I didn’t feel too bad, I slept almost the entire way home.
3 miles

Thursday 10/13
11am – This morning I ran down to Town Lake from the house and ran about 70 minutes at a decent pace. I tried not to look down at my watch, but I was probably running 6:10’s or so trying to stay easy.
11 miles

Friday 10/14
Today I ran 40 minutes in the morning and then 40 minutes faster in the evening with Barry. I felt great, and no feeling of jetlag at all.
12 miles

Saturday 10/15
11am – I ran a workout this morning. I might have waited a little long before doing it since the weather was a little hot and the bike path was really packed with people. In any case I ran 2 x 4 mile tempo with 4 mins jog R. I ran 21:10 for the first 4 miles and then turned around and ran 20:45 for the way back. My last 2 miles were 5:05, 5:10. I think I may have been pushing it a little hard in the last two miles, but maybe its because I hadn’t done a workout in so long.
13 miles

Sunday 10/16
8pm – Tonight I ran 90 minutes with Barry (on a bike) from the house to Scenic and then TL with a trip around the shoal creek area and all the huge houses there. It made it a pretty hilly run and I was moving pretty fast the entire way. I felt great, but the quads were a little sore from yesterday.
14.5 miles

Week Total – 74.5 miles