CASE-IN-POINT

While the temperature only got to 75 or 76 yesterday, the dew point was still soupy at 72. And I can’t remember the last time it rained here. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was back in April. It’s been super dry all summer-long. Well that all changed last night. It was raining at the start of our group’s run, but the sky really opened up as we were finishing our last hill repeat. It continued to pour during the first of three one-mile repeats. Standing water on the track and 20-25 mph winds on the back-straight definitely slowed times from last week, as I only managed 6:19, 6:24, 6:19. All told, I got in 12 miles last night, along with 6 in the morning. So August is off to a good start. I’m on-pace for 558 miles this month.

Wait. I ran an easy 5 this morning, so I’m only on-pace for 356 miles.

During last night’s run I was talking with a guy who’s a perfect case-in-point for my post yesterday. He’s not a first-time marathoner, but I think he has an aggressive goal, compared to his training. He wants to drop his PR by 8 minutes and qualify for Boston with a 3:10 at TCM. Given that he’s running circles around me on the hills and track, you’d think it wouldn’t be a problem. However, a red flag went up last night when he said, “I’m not worried about the miles. I’ve run 11 miles so far.” I’m thinking, “Chicago is 3 weeks after TCM and I feel like a slacker for only running 17 miles so far.”

While I hope he reaches his goal, I just don’t see it happening unless he steps up his training – starting like tomorrow.

Now they’re saying Landis’s tests show synthetic testosterone. Greg LeMond is urging Landis to tell the truth. Thanks to Eric (the non-blogger) for the links.

I’m to the point where I think they're all dirty. I've come to the conclusion that anyone faster than me is dirty. Alright, maybe it's not that drastic, but anyone who makes a living at sports is on “something”.

My question for LeMond is “How do we know you were clean”? Maybe you just were never caught and now you know you don’t have any samples "on ice" that could be tested with new technology.

Hell, if the first riders of the tour were taking amphetamines, why should we assume drug use has ever stopped?

On this topic, here’s a “fun” video.

Today’s quote of the day comes from a letsrun.com post, so I cannot vouch for it’s accuracy.

“Miles are miles and work is work, the time of day means nothing.” – Mark Nenow, former American Record holder at 10K who was known for running late at night.