Truncated Workout - The Trunk of the Elephant's Child (video)

1.25 miles warmup
6x100 m striders
1000 m (400 m)
1600 m (400 m) (7:45)
800 (400 m) (3:40?)
1600 m (7:32)
600 m warmdown

total: 5.875 miles

52°F
Current: Clear
Wind: E at 0 mph
Humidity: 41%
course: Wheaton College track

Not a lot of juice in the tank today. Long week at work compounded by getting things done at home added up to one tired Tony. My 800 was supposed to be a 1000, and after my last 1600 was supposed to be another 1000.

Tired, not happy running in the back, but glad I ran.


The Elephant's Child (click)

The Elephant's Child by Rudyard Kipling (Narrated by Jack Nicholson, with illustrations by Tim Raglin and music by Bobby McFerrin)

Vote for Jim Galen's Running Essay

Jim Galen, a very impressive collegiate runner from years gone by (9:12 two mile PR in high school), stopped by the track Thursday night to have our coach, Jim Spivey, sign a book to given to the author of The Perfect Mile.

He dropped an e-mailed JS to let him know he's in a photo/mini-essay on "Why I Run."

Here's your chance to vote for Jim Galen. I'm not sure what he wins. Right now, he's in 32nd place. Vote each day if you like (legal). Vote early, vote often!

The book: The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It



Product Description
There was a time when running the mile in four minutes was believed to be beyond the limits of human foot speed, and in all of sport it was the elusive holy grail. In 1952, after suffering defeat at the Helsinki Olympics, three world-class runners each set out to break this barrier. Roger Bannister was a young English medical student who epitomized the ideal of the amateur — still driven not just by winning but by the nobility of the pursuit. John Landy was the privileged son of a genteel Australian family, who as a boy preferred butterfly collecting to running but who trained relentlessly in an almost spiritual attempt to shape his body to this singular task. Then there was Wes Santee, the swaggering American, a Kansas farm boy and natural athlete who believed he was just plain better than everybody else.

Spanning three continents and defying the odds, their collective quest captivated the world and stole headlines from the Korean War, the atomic race, and such legendary figures as Edmund Hillary, Willie Mays, Native Dancer, and Ben Hogan. In the tradition of Seabiscuit and Chariots of Fire, Neal Bascomb delivers a breathtaking story of unlikely heroes and leaves us with a lasting portrait of the twilight years of the golden age of sport.

About the Author
NEAL BASCOMB is the author of the national bestseller The Perfect Mile, the critically acclaimed Higher, and the award-winning Red Mutiny. A former editor and international journalist, he has also contributed to the New York Times. For Hunting Eichmann, Bascomb tracked down former Nazi soldiers and right-wing radicals in Buenos Aires, traveled to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to meet with legendary Mossad operatives, uncovered an old memoir by Eichmann on his escape from Germany, and interviewed members of the El Al flight crew involved in Eichmann’s transport to Israel, a story that has never been told. He also made numerous archival discoveries, most notably unearthing the passport that Eichmann used to escape Europe, a discovery that made international headlines.

Peanut Butter and Preserves Finishes Six Miles

6.0 miles run (53:32 - 8:52/mile)
1.0 mile walk warmdown

total: 7.0 miles
course: COD treadmill

More than a few calories were burned, and, though I went slowly, I added a victory in my day's total mileage. Longest run, and longest total of 2009.

Ate peanut butter and drank sugarless lemonade as my recovery meal, with a scoop of strawberry preserves.

Saw Dennis Secara, a fitness lab buddy I often chat with as I walk. Good man, diligently working out several times a week. Shout out to Dennis!

iPod tune of the workout Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)

Getting the Kinks Out to 4.5 Rockin' Miles

4.5 miles run (39:53 - 8:51/mile)
0.5 miles hard walk warmdown

total: 5.0 miles
course: COD treadmill

Plans were modest: get through the aching from Thursday's workout. I was not surprised to feel achy yesterday, but this morning, those mile repeats clung on.

Plan achieved. The first 3.5 miles were 8:57s, then I picked up to an 8:34 the final mile. The first mile served as a warmup, as my motivation wasn't really there.

Some new tunes on my iPod helped me along. Michael Jackson's Beat It and Wanna Be Starting Something, and the Kinks' You Really Got Me were a few.

The kinks, all puns intended, were worked out. I felt and feel good.

Miles, Miles, Miles (That's It) 3x1600 Repeats

1.5 mile warmup
6x100 striders
3x1600 m repeats (400 m recovery) (7:54, 7:53, 7:44)
1200 m warmdown

total: 6.125 miles

48°F
Current: Partly Cloudy
Wind: E at 0 mph
Humidity: 51%
course: Wheaton College track

My favorite workout, but a hard one as I'm not fit. Not much to say other than the last mile was a gut catcher. On the whole, each fourth lap was hard.

Good reconnecting with so many of the guys.