Deep Thoughts by J. Andy

What a great past month. My new job is a perfect fit. My coaching gig is amazing. And my running... good God man, it's going great. I often get to run with the cross country team, which is a symbiotic relationship for which I am grateful.

As a result, my legs are starting to show signs of "pop" that were long absent due to either making little time to run or, when I did make time, I focused primarily on distance. I'm actually feeling comfortable about doing some shorter road and trail races coming up here in the next few months. Yeah, that's right, road races. Sure, I prefer trails, always have, but it seems stupid as hell to not take advantage of what is more readily available. Fun is fun.

Full Circle

Running has been going great lately. The mileage was starting to ramp up, but lower back spasms a few weeks ago forced about a week off. However, I got over it and was easily able to pick up where I left off. I got in over 50 miles this week and I'm pretty stoked about it.

Time is about to get tighter with the school year about to start, however, this time around things will likely be very different. I'm starting a new job in Ellsworth teaching media, pretty much the same thing I did for 12 years down in southern Maine. It was unexpected and basically fell in my lap. I'm still amazed at my good fortune. The familiarity makes a huge difference, as the past two years teaching English and working as an academic interventionist required a lot more planning and were also pretty intense.

And, again just like in southern Maine, the icing on the cake is I'm the assistant coach for our high school's cross country team. There are many opportunities to work out with the kids which is fantastic and a win-win. I'm still pinching myself as my dream scenario career-wise has come to fruition after moving downeast. I'm beyond stoked.

As a result, I'm guessing I should be able to maintain respectable weekly mileage. Time will tell that for sure, but I think that'll be the case. My motivation is pretty high to run also. On top of running with the team, a neighbor has really taken his trail running to the next level so I've been hitting the local trails and logging roads with him a few times a week. I went from doing pretty much all of my runs alone to most of my runs being with others. Though I'm pretty introverted, I gotta say that makes a huge difference.

Onward.

Cadillac, Hagrid and General Update

Summer is upon us. For me, this usually means a lot more free time; though a huge chunk of that is being taken up by our new puppy, Hagrid. He's quite the character. He's a rottweiler mutt with some coon hound mixed in there, so his yet to be seen build will be a big factor in his running endurance, though he does love to run and is doing great so far. At around 2 1/2 months old, this morning he handled a 1.2 mile mostly walk with some running mixed in like a champ.

Rewind to last night... a very fun run up the auto-road with some friends up to the top of Cadillac Mt. under a full moon. A think layer of clouds dimmed the intensity, but there was still an ample amount of diffused light to run without headlamps. 

The run went well. I'm rusty, but last night was a good step in the right direction, with a fast descent bumping the overall pace down to 8:03/mile. 

Even with the new dog, I'd like to make another attempt at putting together a solid string of training this summer. There could be some happy changes coming up that would allow me some more free time and opportunities to run. 

Ran 9.2 miles @ 8:03/mile pace. 

Paved roads. 

Extremely hilly. 

65 degrees, overcast. 

Shorts, short sleeved shirt, UD running vest. 

A Good Bad Idea

So, two weeks ago I ran an eight mile trail race. I ran with a friend who, like me, was also out of his usual running shape. We took it easy, didn't race, and just had chatted and enjoyed the trails. It was nice. Despite the huge lack of running, we finished pretty easily, though I was really sore afterwards.

Fast forward to today and I hadn't run since the race. I ran a little over 11 miles at Acadia on the "Tri Lakes" route.... with two faster friends. They held back, but still pulled me to a pace that was probably a minute a mile faster than I would have ran if I were alone. Like two weeks ago, it went fine, but now I'm really sore.

With hunting season coming to a close, I'll be trading in the firearms for running shoes full tilt. Today gave me a glimpse of that, and I'm looking forward to it. Running is a bit more predictable than hunting, but both are fun in their own rights. I'm looking forward to runs that will be much longer and faster before I'm really sore.

Ran 11.3 miles @ 8:40/mile pace.
Carriage trails.
Moderately hilly.
Mid 50s, raining, windy.
Shorts, long sleeved shirt, New Balance trail shoes.

I Miss Running

I haven't run much lately. My new teaching job is quite demanding and it's been difficult to make the time to run. Does absence make the heart grow fonder? In this case, yes.

Was thankful to get out this morning, my first run in nearly two weeks. The goal was 5-6 miles at a slow pace to avoid being discouraged. Very enjoyable. 

Ran 5.6 miles @ 9:45/mile pace. 

Paved roads, logging roads, trails. 

Moderately hilly. 

Upper 50s, parly sunny. 

New Balance, shorts, long sleeved shirt. 

New Blog: Downeast Homestead

Kate and I have started a new blog. It's called Downeast Homestead and chronicles our successes and failures at our burgeoning little micro-farm.

For the time being, most of my blog writing will be focused there rather than here. How much more can I talk about shaking off rust? Ramping up mileage? Doing well at a race? Running new trails? Those are all very worthy topics, but I feel as if it's "been there, done that" as far as blogging goes and I'm beating a dead horse. I have emptied the reserves for most of my running-related writing and there's room on the other blog for the occasional trail adventure as the new blog will essentially be chronicling our lifestyle.

So please check out our new blog and bookmark it, if you feel so inclined. Hope to see you over there!

Prentiss Woods

The high school I teach at is next to a city park called Prentiss Woods. It's not very big and more of a park than actual woods, with around a mile and a half worth of trails total. Still, it's nice. Our cross country team practices there sometimes and the location is convenient.

I hit that today, basically redlining the trails and throwing in a few loops around our athletic fields for some variety. The skies were overcast which muted the setting sun. That fit into the late autumn vibe perfectly.

It feels good to start kicking off the rust.

Ran 3.5 miles @ 9:41/mile pace.
Trails.
Slightly hilly.
Lower 40s, overcast.
Inov-8, shorts, long sleeved shirt, short sleeved shirt, beanie.