Red Dirt Harriers

Lots of action so far this morning, prior to 6am. It all started when I woke unexpectedly at about 4am. I think I must have been roused by something out on the street but I also noticed my IT band was kind of achy and my knee a bit stiff so I decided to grab my Hemingway compendium and do a little reading while doing some a little passive stretching. Basically, I got caught up in the action and by 5:30 I heard Jenny's phone alarm go and thought maybe I'd get the french press up and running for her (since she's inept with the intricacies of good coffee). This led to a frantic search for the iron, some pet play time and finally the notion that surely our neighborhood Korean donut purveyor must be operational by this hour. Oh they were and their donuts were still warm and pretty sensational. So as I sit here reeling from this morning's events, I think about how nice it would be if I could be up at this time more often to enjoy the sunrise but it's just not possible and...

Came off last week's midweek hilly long run with some pain in the achilles, the only other time I've encountered this is a month back heading in to the 3m 1/2. I don't recall having to do a whole lot to resolve it, just lots of foam roller massage and light eccentric stretching which is basically what I'm doing now but this definitely started in a more agitated state and I noticed a little nodule with localized tenderness. It's a little scary to head back out on the hills now but it will have to go down in the next couple weeks for a test. As of now, everything seems to be coming along well and I really only had to cut a couple days of mileage and intensity. I'll take this time to add some fuel to the old and oft maligned minimalist shoe debate. I pretty much run in only lightweight trainers and have for some time. I'm not afraid to put on the flats for workouts or runs when I'm feeling spry. I think we all know how this goes, some days you feel stiff an...