Hard to believe but in another week and a half, I'll be assembling next fall's #leelancersxc team for offseason workouts. So it seemed like a perfect day to lace up the @altrarunning Lone Peaks and revisit the #xc course at #burkelakepark. I ran it one time at easy effort then went back and worked the final mile, doing a hard mile, then an 800 and then the final 400. That last 400 is downhill but it still felt pretty cool to knock it out in 75 seconds. Finished up with some striders (8 x 100). It was a good workout on a warm but really pleasant day. #runblr #fitblr #summerrunning #trailrunning #coachlife #roberteleehighschool #northernvarunning (at Burke Lake Park)

#boom. Today I celebrated #globalrunningday by wearing my running skeleton shirt. And then I went out and threw down my hardest workout in 6 months. I jogged down to @wtwoodsonhs, a little over 2 miles, then did a 30 minute steady state run. The Garmin reading is a generous to me because it always overestimates track distances. I actually covered 6400 meters in 30:20, for about a 7:40 pace. I will very happily take that for now. Jogged back home and quickly took a 5-minute power shower before dashing off to spring sports award night at #roberteleehighschool. Wouldn't miss it for the world though. ❤️ these kids and so honored to coach them. #leelancerstrackandfield #runblr #fitblr #steadystaterun #springrunning #injuryrehab #comebacktrail

So after running a 5k last Saturday and then resting on Sunday, I started to tackle the 5th week of the McMillan Rebuild Fitness Plan. This plan keeps me on easy miles, but it very gradually ramps up the distance, until the long run hits about 90 minutes in duration. Monday - 5 miles easy, and I threw in a couple of post run striders. Weights later in the day. Tuesday - I ended up running twice, something not in the plan. First I coached at my high school team's practice and ran about 3.4 miles. Then I headed over to Life Time in Fairfax, where I will be a run coach over the summer (some of you may recall I had the same job at Life Time Centreville a year or two ago). I ran with the Tuesday Social Run group at the club for another 4. Wednesday - not surprisingly, given the previous day's miles and the hot conditions, I felt sapped of energy and almost bagged it, but I willed myself out the door for another 5 miler. Pace was slow but the objective of getting some recovery was met. Thursday - the plan gave the option for a crosstraining day and I took it. Biked the nearly 13 miles to practice and then home afterwards. The ride out felt great, the ride home was a slog. Tomorrow, it looks like another 5 or so. Then on Saturday comes the "long" run, long being somewhere between 60-70 minutes. Bottom line I should hit 30 miles for the week. That may not sound like much, especially for someone who has run 14 marathons, but it is the most I will have done in any week in over five months. And I'll take that as a sign of progress. McMillan works! But now, time for bed.

From tonight'a Conference 13 Championship meet. Our boys took 2nd place and our girls finished 4th. For most of the team, this is the end of a great season. But several continue on to Regionals and States. Our work continues. And I am so proud and honored to be called coach by these amazing athletes. #123lancers456family #roberteleehighschool #leelancerstrackandfield

Coaching runners can sometimes present challenges to getting your own run done, especially when your Saturday is fully occupied by a meet. But the key is to know the meet schedule and where the gaps between the events you are coaching lie. I didn't have much time today but when the opportunity struck I jumped on it. I started slow then dropped down to a tempo effort. I got back in time to give some last minute advice to my milers before their race. And my top girl medaled. So it all worked out. #runblr #fitblr #coachlife #roberteleehighschool #lancerstrackandfield #springrunning #injuryrehab

ETA - added another 1.2 mile jog with the dog in the evening, for 4.4 miles on the day.

Actually 4.5 miles today. More of the same - 4 minute run, 4 minute walk, over and over again. This time I did it at the track after sending my team out on their run. Despite being on a 4/4 ratio, I averaged 10:14/mile which means the run segments must have been pretty quick. In any case, I am glad I got it in before the snow hits D.C. this evening and tomorrow. If I'm snowbound tomorrow, I can just do a trainer ride at home. Was it really 73° last week?

Big day ahead for this coach. We have our second day of the conference indoor track meet tonight, and our boys team right now sits in second place. If we race big tonight we could pull off the first conference title, Lee has had in ANY sport in years. It's my first full year coaching at Lee, and I am "only" an assistant for the distance runners. The odds are still a bit long in this meet, based on the remaining events. We definitely need to do our part - pull off an upset or two - and have a few other things things work out in our favor. But still this is huge. I want to see us do this so badly. Doing so would set the perfect narrative as I start building for the fall (I am the head cross country coach). We are on the way back. Believe.