Week 3: 7/24/06 - 7/30/06

Weekly Summary
With so much to take care of this last week in Boston, I wasn't able to run quite as much as I would have liked, but at least I got in 50 miles. I also didn't get as much sleep as I should have this week, but I'll have to catch up now that I'm in Europe and have nothing to do except run and sleep (and sightsee) for an entire month. Zurich is a quaint little city. It was nice to get in a 16-mile run as soon as I got there, but I felt really weak and dehydrated by the end of it. I later found out that the Zurich lake is actually 1200 feet above sea level (I had assumed that it was pretty much at sea level), so maybe that had something to do with it. I'll be even higher soon, once I get to St. Moritz, which is 4000+ feet above sea level.
Resting HR: 52
Total Weekly Mileage: 50 miles

Sunday 7/30
AM - Zurich Lake. HR: 145bpm (121-154). My plane arrived into Zurich around 9am this morning, and I took the train and a cab to my hotel (which I booked on Orbitz from the Newark airport). I'm staying at the Wellenberg Hotel, which is a quaint place in the historic old part of Zurich. Fortunately they let me check in early as soon as I got there. Even though I was exhausted after getting 4 hours and 2 hours of sleep the past two nights, I decided I should go ahead and get a run in before doing anything else. So I changed and headed out to the lake and ended up going on a 16-mile run. It was pretty sunny and hot outside, and I was pretty tired, so I kept the pace slow. My gps watch said I averaged just under 7:00 pace for the entire run, with the last few miles being the slowest (I was feeling dehydrated by the end of it, so I slowed down even more). Running along the lake was nice, but unfortunately most of it was hard-surfaced. I'm looking forward to all of the trail-running I'll be able to do in St. Moritz. A nice bonus of running along the lake was that I saw about a dozen topless girls sunbathing. Anyway, I was glad that I was able to put in 16 miles today, even though it was slow, because it got my week to 50 with only 5 runs. As soon as I got back to the hotel, I showered, ordered a 10 dollar bottle of water from room service because I was too weak to go to the nearest store, and laid down on the bed for what was supposed to be 5 minutes. However, when I woke up, I realized it was 6pm and I had just slept for 4 hours. So I got up, walked around a bit, had dinner, and am now at an internet cafe typing this entry. I think I'll go on a boat and gondolla tour of Zurich tomorrow and then leave for St. Moritz in the late afternoon/evening. That's it for now...
Sleep - 2 hours or so on the plane, but then after my run, I took a 4 hour nap.
Food - Breakfast: Croissant and fruit on the plane. Lunch: Bratwurst, yogurt. Dinner: Mixed kebab.
16 miles

Saturday 7/29
AM - This morning, I got up around 9am and finished packing up my apartment. I didn't have time to go on a run before leaving for the airport, but at least I had time to have a relaxed brunch with Sarah at Firefly. My mileage is going to be really low this week after taking today and Thursday off, but I guess I'll make up for it once I get to Switzerland...
Sleep - About 4 hours. I was up past 4am packing up my apartment since I had to get everything done before leaving for the airport.
Food - Breakfast: Eggs benedict and oatmeal from Firefly. Lunch: Crab meat wrap and clam chowder from Legals at Logan Airport. Chicken and rice and fruit salad in Newark Airport. Dinner: Crappy airplane food (chicken and rice).
0 miles

Friday 7/28
PM - I kept putting off my run today because I had so much left to do to get ready for my trip/move. And then when I was finally ready to run, this huge thunderstorm came in, so I decided to eat an early dinner and run later. So I finally got out the door around 10pm and ran down Mass Ave. to Porter Square. I tried out my new Garmin Forerunner 305 that my dad just got for me today. I was a bit skeptical, but so far it's actually really cool. I ran a route that I knew the mile marks for, and it seemed to hit them right on. It also records my heart rate and my exact path (as soon as I figure out how to link it up to Google Maps, I'll post my routes on this log). When I got to Porter Square, I pressed a button telling it to take me back to where I started, and it showed the exact route that I needed to follow to get back. I'm sure this will come in handy while I'm in Switzerland. Anyway, I finished the 10 mile route in about 65 minutes. After stretching and showering, Sarah came over, and we got drinks and dinner at 1:30am at the Franklin Cafe. It's such a weird feeling to be going to all of these places for the last time. For some reason, my legs were sore at dinner. Maybe I didn't stretch enough.
Sleep - Not enough! I think I got about 5-6 hours and was really tired when I woke up.
Food - Breakfast: Yogurt, Cheerios, blueberry muffin. Lunch: Cheeseburger and fries--my last lunch at Bain Capital! Dinner: Turkey sandwich from Emelios before my run. Wasabi salmon from Franklin Cafe after my run.
10 miles

Thursday 7/27
AM - Mass Ave. HR: 144bpm. I was super busy today, so I didn't end up having time to go on a run. I got a new phone today though. It's the Cingular 8125, and so far I like it a lot more than my old Blackberry (and I already set it up to receive my Stanford email). I'm kind of pissed off at Cingular though because it ended up being a big pain to get the phone. The story is too long and boring to put on this blog. I'm also annoyed that they won't let me unlock the phone so that I can use a different carrier while I'm in Europe (they say you need to be a subscriber for 3 months before they let you do it).
Sleep - 7 hours.
Food - Breakfast: Oatmeal. Lunch: Jack Fultz came over to Bain Cap to have lunch with me today. We had scallops and rice and talked about lots of different things including my training plans and the Izumo Ekiden. Dinner: Pasta with peas, shrimp, and cream sauce (Sarah made it and it was very good!).
0 miles

Wednesday 7/26
PM - Since this is my last week in Boston, I decided to jog over to the Harvard track this afternoon to say hi to the BAA guys. They were doing 4 x 1 mile, 1 x 2.5 mile. I wasn't planning on actually joining them for any of it, but then I decided to try doing the first mile on the dirt path with them. I ended up doing 2 x mile in 5:10 and 5:00. Everyone who was there today pretty much stayed together, at least for those first two, and I was able to stay in (the back of) the pack. They didn't feel too fast, but my trainers felt a bit heavy, and I figured it would be best not to do any more than 2 of them today, especially since I wasn't planning to do any. I talked to Pieroni for a while while the rest of the guys finished up. He's going to put me in touch with Peter Gilmore, who lives out in the Bay Area. After talking to Pieroni for a while, I jogged back to work and stretched for a while before showering and getting dinner in the Food Court of the Pru.
Sleep - 8 hours. Slept very well.
Food - Breakfast: Yogurt and cinnamon scone from ABP. Lunch: Lasagna, pizza, and peas. Dinner: Burrito and straberry-banana odwalla drink.
9 miles

Tuesday 7/25
PM - I flew back to Boston today. After work, I ran the Jamaica Pond loop in 55 minutes (~6:30 pace). I still feel like I can't run that fast--I remember when it was easy for me to do the Jamaica Pond loop at 5:50 pace. But it was a pleasant run, and fortunately not too hot outside. I stretched for a bit when I got back and then went back to my apartment to have Thai food with Sarah. It's hard to believe that I will only be in Boston for a few more days. I still need to finish packing!
Sleep - 7 hours.
Food - Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and toast. Lunch: Chicken sandwich. Dinner: Mango fried rice with chicken and shrimp and drunken noodles from Brown Sugar Cafe.
8 miles

Monday 7/24
PM - This afternoon my parents had a Pilates instructor come over for an hour, so I ended up doing that before going on a run. Pilates was fun, but I don't know if I'd be able to find the time to do it regularly. It was already starting to get dark after pilates, and I was pretty hungry for dinner, so I just went on a short run to Bolles and back along San Jose Blvd. It took me 22:30 to get to Bolles, and 19:30 to get back. I think it's about 3.5 miles each way, which would make it 6:30 pace on the way out and 6:00 pace on the way back. Earlier today, I went to a celebration lunch at Dreams Come True for my cousin Kyle, who has cerebral palsy. He is going to get to meet J. K. Rolling in New York later this week. He is only 13 years old, but he is already an amazing writer. Maybe I can get a copy of one of his stories to post on my blog sometime. I can't wait to read more of them. Kyle, if you're reading this, keep up the good work!!
Sleep - 8 hours.
Food - Breakfast: Oatmeal and scrambled eggs. Lunch: Pizza and tuna sandwich. Dinner: Steak, broccoli, rice.
7 miles