4.7mi, 42:40, 29 JUL 07, Fort Leavenworth KS

50FootWave, "Hot, Pink, Distorted"

WX at 0800: 72.0 (22.2) DP 66.9 (19.4) 29.96 (1014) NE 7 light rain RH 81

Odometer 4: 162.7mi

Z3 low.

Ah, the joys of being back home. Nothing like disrupting the daily rhythm and fucking up the various attitudes of the children because now I'm back home. At least that's how Household6 puts it. I wonder occasionally why I come back home, because I seem to miss Household6 and the Rugrats a lot more when I'm away from them than when I'm back at home and it's not what I expect it'll be.

I'm glad I went for a run. I'm glad to have had a decent running mantra, for once. I'm glad I had the presence of mind to correct a soldier who was running on post in uniform with his shirt hanging out. And I'm glad I can run sub-9-minute pace on an easy day when I just need to go out and expend lard.

And yet, I can't ignore my ire at being home.

Splits

SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
0.27 02:33 02:33 09:29 09:29 0.27
1.24 13:59 11:26 09:13 09:16 1.51
0.85 21:49 07:50 09:13 09:15 2.36
1.24 32:42 10:53 08:47 09:05 3.60
0.85 40:16 07:34 08:54 09:03 4.45
0.27 42:40 02:24 08:53 09:02 4.72

2.8mi+ 5,000m on Concept2 Model C, 22:43, 28 JUL 07, Fort Leavenworth KS

Nothing in the iThink.

WX at 1000: 81.0 (27.2) DP 70.0 (21.1) BP 29.96 (1014) E 3 RH 69

Odometer 4: 158.0mi

Z4.

Today was surprisingly hard. The turbine on the Concept back at Fort Leavenworth must have been fixed up since I've never seen drag factors in the 190s before.

I was really working a lot harder than I thought I had to in order to hold a 2:15 pace. I was thinking to myself that I never thought I'd be satisfied to hold just under 2:20/500m, but I did. I ran back, much more slowly than I had on the way in. I had done a fair amount of lifting after spinning. Mostly bench presses and lat pulldowns, but also some crunches.

I was witness to people playing volleyball while rowing...serious, not just recreational, volleyball players. I like volleyball shorts...

Splits

SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.39 11:36 11:36 08:21 08:21 1.39
1.39 26:55 15:19 11:01 09:41 2.78

Distance: 5000
Time: 0:22:43
Per 500m: 02:16
Drag Factor : 195
Per Mile: 0:07:19

5.8mi, 48:48, 26 JUL 07, Fort Campbell KY

The Saving Graces, "Girl Automatic"
Hilary Duff, "Wake Up"
The Connells, "Fun & Games"
Sugar, "Changes"
50 Foot Wave, "Hot, Pink, Distorted"

WX at 0700: 69.1 (20.6) DP 66.0 (18.9) BP 30.06 (1017) S 3 mist RH 90

Odometer 1: 11.2mi

Z4.

I decided I wanted to see how fast I could go without really killing myself. And in new shoes, in spite of my inability to get a particular song other than the Saving Graces ones to stick, it was a productive run.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.44 11:45 11:45 08:10 08:10 1.44
1.46 24:18 12:33 08:36 08:23 2.90
1.46 36:49 12:31 08:34 08:27 4.36
1.44 48:48 11:59 08:19 08:25 5.80

10,000m on Concept2 Model C, 43:55, 25 JUL 07, Fort Campbell KY

Bear McCreary, "Passacaglia"

WX at 0700: 64.9 (18.3) DP 63.5 (17.5) BP 30.05 (1017) Calm mist RH 95

Odometer 4: 156.2mi N/A

Z4.

I damn near woofed after my spinning session. It started out okay, holding about 2:10-2:11/500m, but there were portions that I could only grind out at about 2:14-2:16/500m. Had it not been for those slow patches, I think I would've done better. I know I've been able, once built up, to hold about 2:07-2:10/500m, but I think that took some substantial training effort.

Otherwise, I finished strong, going at about 2:05/500m or so in the last 500m, but I was intent on finishing within 44 minutes. Then I did some lifting (bench and shoulder presses), so my arms are actually quite sore right now.

It's very unusual to think of Bear McCreary in a gym packed full of people lifting weights, but I really had a hard time trying to come up with a legitimate mantra this morning. Even most of my guilty pleasures wouldn't float this morning.

It was interesting to see the Concept sitting mostly unused as the gym was packed full of troops this morning...which is part of the reason why I do what I do.

Splits
Distance: 10000
Time: 0:43:55
Per 500m: 02:12
Drag Factor : 184
Per Mile: 0:07:04

Diagnostic APFT, 289 points, 24 JUL 07, Fort Campbell KY

Dinbot, "Hot Buttered Bizkits"

WX at 0600: 61.7 (16.5) DP 59.0 (15.0) BP 30.03 (1016) Calm RH 91

Odometer 1: 5.3mi

Z4.

This is a big improvement from the last time around! I ran some 50 seconds faster than I did in May.

The first two events were pretty uneventful. What differed was that I did very little in the way of pushups or situps to prepare for the test. I had been doing some lifting, and that might have been a factor, but otherwise, between spinning on the Concept and lifting and some running, that was it. I don't feel like I'm at any risk of not getting 100 points on each of the strength events, so that's a good sign.

I felt surprisingly okay during this run. I could have been that I was slightly warmed up, but this run did not kill me the same way that APFT runs do, usually. I still wanted to run faster than 14:29.

I still didn't achieve my standard of 290. This will require some more concerted effort later on.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.00 07:07 07:07 07:07 07:07 1.00
1.00 14:31 07:24 07:24 07:15 2.00

4.2mi, 38:37, 20 JUL 07, Fort Campbell KY

A medley of songs in the iThink today, to include:
"The All-American Soldier," the song of the 82d Airborne Division
"Rendezvous with Destiny," the song of the 101st Airborne Division
Garryowen, official song of the 7th Cavalry Regiment
Michael Kamen, Band of Brothers Suite No. 2
Michael Kamen, opening credits to From The Earth To The Moon

WX at 0700: 72.0 (22.2) DP 69.1 (20.6) BP 30 (1015) calm light rain RH 91

Odometer 4: 156.2mi

Z2.

Easy run preceded by about 20 minutes of lifting, primarily shoulder and chest press, lat pulldowns, as well as some abdominal work. I steered clear of the empty Concept2 today...and went out into some humidity, which gave way to glorious hard drizzle. I actually enjoy running in the rain, quite a bit, and as such, today was a good easy slug run.

I'm tapering for a diagnostic physical fitness test on Tuesday, one which is unusual inasmuch as I haven't done much in the way of pushups or situps prior to doing the test. I'm seeing what not just doing those two events will bring me. Instead, that's where things like lifting and spinning on the Concept come to mind.

In the meantime, I've been hitting the weights far more - and I've gotten noticeably stronger, although at the same time, my back and chest have gotten noticeably bigger. This is not necessarily a great thing if my arms don't see commensurate improvement as well since I don't want to have a fire hydrant torso and stick figure arms.

I could tell the difference in shoes between yesterday and today even with less than 200 miles on the other shoes...which honestly have low mileage because of the time in March that I effectively lost to training. Still, these shoes (odometer 4) have some life left in them, which is more than I could say about the others I just retired (odometer 3). Odometer 1 is a pair of Asics GT-2120s, size 9.5x4E. They didn't have size 10x2E which is what I normally get. Still the wide 9.5s seem to work okay.

I couldn't settle on a mantra this morning until the end, when the last one finally settled in - in the last 800m.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
0.86 08:32 08:32 09:55 09:55 0.86
0.90 16:47 08:15 09:10 09:32 1.76
1.26 27:49 11:02 08:45 09:13 3.02
1.22 38:37 10:48 08:51 09:06 4.24

5,000m on Concept2 Model C, 21:47, then 2.7mi, 23:32, 19 JUL 07, Fort Campbell KY

Tears for Fears, "Snatches of Pain"

WX at 0700: 75.9 (24.4) DP 71.1 (21.7) BP 29.99 (1015) SW 5 haze RH 85

Odometer 1: 3.0mi

Z3.

I started slow and ugly on the Concept. After about 10-15 minutes, I started to accelerate. A LOT. I was cranking 2:09-2:10/500m after my 2:15/500m start. I finished going about 2:05-2:06/500m, a respectable finish, telling me I was not as all jacked up as I thought I was earlier this week.

Then I went for a run. Nothing fast. The return leg ended up being faster since I stopped about 15 minutes for a chat with someone I hadn't seen in a few years.

I normally wouldn't zone in on "Snatches of Pain," but it sure seemed curiously apropos this morning.

There is, however, nothing quite like the fluffy feeling of new shoes. My ankles and knees hurt a lot less this morning!

Splits
Distance: 5000
Time: 0:21:47
Per 500m: 02:11
Drag Factor : 145
Per Mile: 0:07:01

SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.37 12:02 12:02 08:47 08:47 1.37
1.37 23:32 11:30 08:24 08:35 2.74

10,000m on Concept2 Model C, 44:28, 17 JUL 07, Fort Campbell KY

The All-American Rejects, "Move Along"

WX at 0700: 75.0 (23.9) DP 69.1 (20.6) BP 30.06 (1017) SW 3 RH 82

Odometer 4: 151.6mi N/A

Z4.

Today hurt. Bad. Some of this is attributable to not having touched a Concept in a few months, but that Concept Model C was calling me today.

Too bad I wasn't really equal to the challenge. I was rowing into the red zone just to hold 2:08/500m, something which I used to be able to do with ease just a few months ago.

Most of it was actually done at about 2:15/500m pace, which is pretty pathetic.

Some of it could be that I've been lifting more, some of it can be pointed to have to refine my form (I'd gotten sloppy at first) and some of it could be that I'm just not in the same conditioning that I was in beforehand.

On the other hand, no one so much as approached me on the Concept, and so I was able to row mostly unmolested. In the heat, which may also have been a factor. So much CO2 and lactate had built up in my body though that last stretch I almost woofed right after finishing, which I was holding at max effort to get all of a 2:06/500m pace. Weak!

Splits
Distance: 10000
Time: 0:44:29
Per 500m: 02:13
Drag Factor : 176
Per Mile: 0:07:09

4.2mi, 33:39, 16 JUL 07, Fort Campbell KY

Paul Oakenfold, "Ready Steady Go" (curiously, the wrong cadence for this run)
Hilary Duff, "Wake Up"
The All-American Rejects, "Move Along"

WX at 0700: 72.0 (22.2) DP 68.0 (20.0) BP 30.01 (1016) WSW 3 RH 87

Odometer 4: 151.6mi

Z4.

This negative split was most unexpected. It felt cooler than it was, but I had taken a break, and wanted to see what I could get out of whatever raw effort I could muster, and it was pretty productive. I didn't thinK I was accelerating at the end. Still, it's kind of dismaying when I'm killing myself for a 7:56/mi pace. I could not settle on any one mantra as the Paul Oakenfold was totally wrong for my relative tempo this morning and nothing else would settle.

Still, it's faster than anything else I've done recently.

On another note, I was very pleased that there was a Concept2 Model C in the gym where I usually go in the mornings. This Concept2 looks almost pristine, with a new PM2 computer. It wasn't completely brand new, though; the hex bolts securing the rail to the base were loose and the chain was almost completely dry. It also had the original hand grips, unlike the one at Fort Leavenworth, which had been retrofitted with Model D grips, which for whatever reason or another, I don't do as well on.

I know what I'm doing tomorrow!

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
0.86 07:04 07:04 08:13 08:13 0.86
0.90 14:15 07:11 07:59 08:06 1.76
1.26 24:03 09:48 07:47 07:58 3.02
1.22 33:39 09:36 07:52 07:56 4.24

The Coolest Thing Ever

This sign is just outside of the former digs of the Directorate of Plans, Training, and Mobilization at Fort Campbell, which was also the location of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans, and Training, or the G3 for short.

Just above the G3 XING sign is a standard crosswalk sign. But this is the first sign where the pedestrian is walking with hair on fire.

I'm on my third tour working in a division G3/5/7 section. This sign is so apropos that it boggles the mind.

Postscript: the sign was removed after the G3/5/7 moved to new digs.

10.2mi, 90:08, 13 JUL 07, Fort Campbell KY

Hilary Duff, "Wake Up"
Dinbot, "Hot Buttered Bizkits"

WX at 0700: 65 (18.3) DP 62 (16.6) BP 30.06 (1017.5) calm mostly cloudy RH 90
WX at 0800: 71 (21.6) DP 63 (17.2) BP 30.07 (1017.8) calm mostly cloudy RH 76

Odometer 4: 147.1mi

Z4.

So I did my tenner. And it sucked hard. I hit the wall around the 8 mile mark and had to walk for about 150m. These are necessary workouts, but they hurt, and this is my first legitimate long run in a long while.

The road to recovery isn't supposed to be easy, but I'd failed to account for the relatively exceptional level of suck that morning.

I did gain some wry satisfaction in the juxtaposition of Hilary Duff, Gershon Kingsley, and Limp Bizkit as my running mantra during the run.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.96 15:59 15:59 08:09 08:09 1.96
2.47 37:29 21:30 08:42 08:28 4.43
2.90 63:04 25:35 08:49 08:36 7.33
2.87 90:08 27:04 09:26 08:50 10.20

5.8mi, 54:57, 11 JUL 07, Fort Campbell KY

some idle running cadences.

WX at 0700: 72.9 (22.7) DP 72.5 (22.5) BP 29.95 (1014) WSW 7 mist RH 99

Odometer 3: 353.5mi

Z2.

I was tired, and my legs hurt, so I did nothing more than wogging...and
it was strangely therapeutic. My knees hurt, though, and it is
definitely time to jettison this pair of shoes.

I did use this morning to think about some things I need to do at work.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.43 13:45 13:45 09:37 09:37 1.43
1.47 27:32 13:47 09:23 09:30 2.90
1.47 41:27 13:55 09:28 09:29 4.37
1.43 54:57 13:30 09:26 09:28 5.80

4.4mi, 35:35, 10 JUL 07, Fort Campbell KY

Bear McCreary, "Passacaglia"

WX at 0700: 73 (23) DP 73 (23) BP 30.00 (1015) SSW 9 mist RH 100

Odometer 4: 136.9mi

Z3 high.

I was feeling ambitious, thinking about doing that tenner I'd mentioned earlier this week.

I realized at the 4 mile mark that there was no way I was going to finish ten and decided instead to practice some discretion.

I didn't realize I was going the speed I was...I was hurting this morning, not realizing I was going 8:02/mi pace. It didn't feel like 8:02. It could also be that I was being suckered by watching most of 2d Brigade combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, running in the opposite direction, in formation, which was a reminder that I, indeed, was back in the Real Army(tm).

The 100% relative humidity didn't help much. Too bad it started raining, hard, as soon as I stopped running. That actually would've been okay.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
4.43 35:35 35:35 08:02 08:02 4.43

Only in America

Can you buy Class 1.1A explosive pyrotechnics next to a place where Class 3 flammables are available for sale...

...and the only word that accurately describes this is..."Dude."

60min on elliptical, 9 JUL 07, Clarksville TN

Nothing in the iThink. Snippets of The Show of No Ugly Women in the Navy(tm) and the pre-race show of today's Tour de France instead on the Glass Tit.

WX at 0700: 73 (23) DP 68 (20) BP 29.96 (1014) Calm haze RH 83

Odometer 3: 347.5 N/A

Z3.

I was going to run 10 this morning...but was very tired after yesterday's drive back from St Louis and accompanying catharsis festival...so I'll wait until later in the week to do a tenner (not to be confused with the NKVD's Gulag punishment of the same name).

More to follow later on my Weekend of Intemperate Fury.

Splits
None.

5.8mi, 47:44, 6 JUL 07, Fort Campbell KY

Dinbot, "Hot Buttered Bizkits"

WX at 0700: 70.2 (21.2) DP 68.7 (20.4) BP 30.06 (1017) Calm RH 95

Odometer 3: 347.5mi

Z4.

After yesterday's elliptical, I felt surprisingly good. Good enough to run hard. I'm kind of despondent that running hard is only good for 8:10/mi. I was still running past people left and right. I'm not sure this is right if I'm burning people on the PT roads going all of 8:10/mi...a mere shadow of what I used to be able to do even five years ago.

I've also been very undisciplined about keeping my low-sodium diet, and have been getting dumpier. My weight is staying the same, though...so I'm not so sure about it, but I feel fatter. I need to do other things than running, so I've been lifting and doing some other stuff.

I'm posting this from St Louis, MO, where I had occasion to drive through a giant fireworks show being cooked off in front of the Gateway Arch as I zoomed by on Interstate 64 westbound. Wild. Between driving in St Louis, which is always hairy (at least for me) and trying not to be too distracted by the fireworks, it was interesting. It took me about four hours of continuous driving from Fort Campbell to get here; I figured I'm good for about four hours at a stretch. I've crystallized my techniques for long drives, so I have plenty of practice.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
2.90 23:42 23:42 08:10 08:10 2.90
2.90 47:44 24:02 08:17 08:14 5.80

30min on the elliptical and some weight work, 5 JUL 07, Clarksville TN

Nothing in the iThink.

WX at 0700: 73.9 (23.3) DP 68.0 (20.0) BP 30.05 (1017) SSW 5 haze RH 82

Odometer 3: 341.7mi N/A

Z3.

First time on an elliptical in a while, but I decided to sleep in and did some stuff at the apartment complex. Some weight work, and about 30 minutes on the elliptical to counteract the effects of the 20-some White Castles I'd eaten in the preceding 96 hours.

I reflected that I had fully internalized the light infantry's ethos of "if you do only one thing during the day, that one thing had best be PT." Physical training was a way to check my brain out for a few minutes as well.

Splits
N/A.

5.8mi, 52:01, 3 JUL 07, Fort Campbell KY

Scott Cossu, "Demeter/Rejoicing"

WX at 0700: 62.8 (17.1) DP 57.7 (14.3) BP 30.14 (1020) Calm RH 83

Odometer 3: 341.7mi

Z3 low.

Nothing fancy, not too bad. Easy run, and I was still passing people!

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
2.90 26:35 26:35 09:10 09:10 2.90
2.90 52:01 25:26 08:46 08:58 5.80

6.8mi, 77:23, 2 JUL 07, Clarksville TN

The All-American Rejects, "Move Along"

WX at 0900: 73.0 (22.8) DP 57.4 (14.1) BP 30.17 (1021) ENE 7 RH 58

Odometer 4: 132.5mi

Z4.

I took yesterday off, and decided after seeing the weather forecast that I'd go run trails today. Today was actually quite nice running weather, and I don't quite feel so bad for running an average 11:23/mile given that the trails here are pretty hefty.

There is very little level ground at Dunbar Cave State Park, and so the 1.7mi loop seems like not much, it can be a real speed killer as the hills are very pronounced, not unlike the ones at Wyandotte County Lake park back in Kansas. The ability to make up speed on the downhills are minimized by the fact that it's pretty dangerous with a lot of loose small rocks. That offers opportunities to either bust your ass or twist an ankle, and with a prior broken ankle, I really don't want to chance it.

It was good though, and running a negative split on the end was good. I realized my two breakpoints for running had happened - the first being fully warmed up at around the 25-30 minute mark, and then transitioning to metabolizing fat at around an hour.

I do need to start road marching again, though.

Splits
SGMT AGGRG SEGMT PERMI AVGPC DIST
1.70 18:27 18:27 10:51 10:51 1.70
1.70 37:54 19:27 11:26 11:09 3.40
1.70 57:44 19:50 11:40 11:19 5.10
1.70 77:23 19:39 11:34 11:23 6.80

3.5mi hash, time indeterminate, 30 JUN 07, Clarksville TN

WX at 1500: 79.2 (26.2) DP 70.0 (21.1) BP 30.08 (1018) NE 12 RH 74

Odometer 3: 335.7mi

Z4.

I was a hare for this hash, and it was a good one.

I had a difference of philosophy with my co-hare, who was into the "social" aspects of haring and hashing. This became apparent from step off as I was going to run the group from where we were originally going to start, thus extending the trail. She didn't want to do so.

The other aspect which is a significant departure of philosophy was that when I lay trail, I will try to punish the FRBs (Front Running Bastards) as much as possible. The intent behind punishing FRBs is to keep the trail together and compensate for what can be wildly differing levels of ability, as was the case today. My co-hare does not subscribe to that philosophy, but I grew up hashing where there were a LOT of fast people and keeping the group together was of paramount importance.

Unfortunately, I laid a bad trail on the reverse slope of a hill - one which enabled the pack to visually acquire us as we were going uphill further away. It effectively cut off a mile and a half from the group, but the group came in two packs, so it worked out. Unfortunately, the FRB caught us both. Oh well.

Finally, the weather reading is deceptive. It was hot.

Splits
Not relevant!