10/14 day 4

Goal: 5 miles easy
Actual: 7 miles moderate
Weekly mileage 21

Notes: It was another beautiful day on the lake today, and I couldn't resist a little longer run. I started stiff and slow as usual for the first mile, but then loosened up a little over on riverside by the apartments and jo's crab shack.

Back in 03- I traveled to Austin to run my first marathon with Julie Luft and check out UT as a grad school choice. Julie and I were friends from the University of Arizona, where I did my masters work in her program, and she had invited me to TX to see about doing a PhD here. I remember driving the old marathon course, and turning off lake shore onto riverside for the final stretch (I think it was mile 24 or so) and seeing that little rise to get over 35 and up the hill by the dog park. It didn't look so bad. All I can say is it sucked during the marathon in 03. And I remember walking up part of it when I bonked in 04, and helping Paul Pugh run over it when he was racing in 05. Little hills can be deceptive in races, especially that late in a marathon.

Today, I bounded up the little hill, consciously running from my quads and glutes rather than my calves and hamstrings...I was feeling good. There were some nagging thoughts about pushing it too hard to fast, and backing off on the miles, and be careful be careful, but as I have said that talk hasn't been working all so well. I just kept going and monitored my body to try to stay consistently uncomfortable without redlining. I wasn't racing like yesterday, just cruising a little harder than an easy run.

At mile 5 under congress bridge, I started timing my miles. splits were: 7:45, 7:48, 7:45, 7:18 and 7:00. I ran along, listening to music in my ipod and trying to breathe evenly. At the rock , I drank a bunch of water and suddenly realized that I was chafing! To most, a chafe is a bad thing, but to me, it was fantastic. It means that I am a runner, I chafe, look at me, I run. I am a runner. (a nudge to What About Bob - I sail! I'm a sailor!)

On the last two miles I set my sights on a few runners ahead and reeled them in slowly. I saw Dan Carroll (great guy who does race production for Jack and Adams) and told him I was volunteering for the Austin 70.3 this weekend, and then saw my good Chilean brother Jorge, rolling along like a drunken sailor.

The first time I met Jorge I was prepared to hate him. He smiled too much, and had that damn curly hair. Plus he looked fast, and I distrusted Gilbert's opinion that "He a good guy man, he help me out. He a famous guy in town" However, after talking to Jorge, and actually running with him, I soon realized that he was one of those rare beings that make lots of really hard things look effortless. Here is a man who ran 34 miles on town lake, using the 4 mile loop. Here is a guy who creates amazing videos and hosts celebrity parties. A man who plays tennis with Rick Linkletter. Jorge is also a good f'ing runner and he's got your back if in a tight spot (Just don't cross him). Anyway.

I owe a lot of my best long run memories to Jorge, because we would just make stuff up to keep things interesting. We started doing stone soup runs, where we'd take turns leading the run and would have no idea where we were going to end up, and other crazy shit. Chasing deer, dogs, possum, other runners, challenging drivers to fights when they drove too fast and close to the group, just crazy stuff, like making up stupid names for routes, picking the gnarliest hills to run up as a goof, trash talking the whole time...I can't wait to feel confident running 18 miles with that curly haired nutsack again.

I found a couple of pictures of Jorge that fascinate me. First, he has a really buff guy trailing him in one race, then he appears to have a pony tail in another race. I learn more and more about him each day.