7/27 to 8/2: Morning Run to Work, The Routine

So the other day I was trying to work up a deal in a fantasy football league I play in. Good Ole' Ruggs lives in Colorado now, and while we couldn't work out a deal - he did mention that he caught one of my recent blog posts. And here I thought I knew my readers!!! I thought I could count them all on one hand, but as it turns out, I need to use two hands. TWO!?!?!  I'm as surprised as you, but  I'm moving on up in the world, so watch out you top bloggers whoever you are!

Anyways, Ruggsy Bogues thought it was pretty cool that I could get in my mileage by running to and from work, and was curious about the logistics...so, here it is:

• I wake up and drink some water and maybe eat a gummy or nothing at all, and then hop in the shower.
• I pack fresh underwear, socks, a small washcloth, and a banana into my backpack.
• the backpack is a lightweight EMS backpack likely meant for day hiking or cycling and it has straps that keep it from bouncing and a camel-back component that I have removed to reduce weight.
• I'll head out the door and the first mile is usually quite slow and sucks. By the end of that mile I'll throw my t-shirt into the backpack as well, which helps keep me cool throughout the run.
• After an easy 4 miles I arrive at work and step behind a corner to cool off, and use the washcloth to continuously wipe away sweat. Once I'm mostly cooled off, I put the t-shirt back on and head into work.
• I usually use the bathroom sink to quickly wash my face and splash water on my head to cool down a little bit more. However, I keep this quick and clean. I don't want to be the guy who leaves a mess of water around the sink and wet paper towels on the floor. That's not me!
• There is a storage room where I keep two pairs of pants, two pairs of shoes, another towel, a crisp white dress shirt, and a handful of ties in an empty drawer in the back of the room. I change in the storage room, then head to the kitchen for water and an icepack before sitting at my desk.
• I put the icepack along the inside of my forearm usually, just to speed up the cooling down process if necessary.

That's right, I don't shower!!!! Don't you judge me!!

I have the routine down to an effectively inexact science, and in all honesty - I don't smell. It's true. I also leave my Jeep in the garage at work and drive home during lunch to let out Raleigh and have a bite to eat.  If I didn't have to go home for Raleigh, I would buy a few days worth of salad and a bag of almonds (or something easy like that) and leave it in the work fridge. Though, if I didn't head home at lunch, I would have some trouble with the crisp white shirt since I normally exchange that out during lunch so each shirt is effectively worn for 1 full day. I'm sure that'd be easy to figure out a solution to though.

That's it. Here's the numberz:

27-Jul		Long Run/Easy		0:07:47		20.52		AM: 19.15 long run at Battle Road. PM: 15 minute shake out
28-Jul		Easy/		0:08:00		11.34		AM: 4m commute, easy. PM: ~7.5m commute home and whatever.
29-Jul		Intervals or Ultimate		0:07:50		10.04		AM: 4m commute easy. PM: 6m commute easy, then ultimate (savage).
30-Jul		Progression/Moderate		0:06:47		10.35		AM: Progession run from 7:30 to 6:12, unexpected but I needed to get the run done quickly. PM: 6+ after dropping the car off with Eli averaging 6:58/mile.
31-Jul		Easy/Moderate/Long Island		0:07:30		10.12		AM: 4m commute, easy. PM: 6m, just getting in the miles.
1-Aug		Long Island		0:07:35		5.32		A little bit with Raleigh, then out easy on the  roads of Orient Point.
2-Aug		Long Island		0:06:58		4.00		Ran 3 half mile pickups, with the third in 2:30 - a good sign.

I didn't realize it, but this was a really solid week. I started off with the 19 miler, then ran a lot of my weekly runs at a sub 7 pace, ran 5 doubles, and finished the week off with a workout of a few half mile pickups. Running the third and final pickup in 2:30 was a pleasant surprise. I was intending to run it hard, and when I glanced at the quarter mile split I just held form and didn't try and force the issue. Once I'm able to get back to the track, I'm curious to see where I'm at.

Total: 71.69