Notes From the Offseason
Miss me yet?
Hey there, stranger.
First of all, I hope things have been going well (training-wise and otherwise). They certainly have for me (otherwise, not training-wise, but more on that later)! Some of you may have been wondering where I’ve been these last couple of months. Most of you probably never noticed I was gone. Either way, fear not, for I have returned.
So, some quick personal updates:
After preaching the good word of consistency and restraint in this very publication, I jumped from 15 to 50 mpw (with workouts) in a week and sustained it for exactly 20 days. Then, I got perhaps the most burnt out I’ve ever been.
In the thick of this burnout, I undertook two 17-hour drives in seven days. This royally screwed up my back.
So I took some time off! I read a lot of books, I took walks, it was nice. But before long I was missing running like the desert misses rain. So I started again1. Right now I am deeply, deeply out of shape, but I’m back in love with running, and all that really matters anyway.
In the meantime, I got a job. Two of them, actually! Starting this past week, I am both a reporter for a local radio station here in Richmond and an employee at a local running store that just opened up2.
All the while, I’ve been scheming about the future of this newsletter. Needless to say, I never planned on being gone very long.
None of this, I suppose, provides any answers as to why the newsletter has been on pause for the last several weeks. The truth? There hasn’t been all that much happening.
I mean there has. Anybody who’s part of the Reasonably Speedy Strava club can see that. Y’all have been training your asses off. I’ve seen several folks hitting 100-mile weeks. This cross country season’s about to be WILD, and I can’t wait.
The season kicks off in earnest next weekend at the Hoosier Season Opener, and NIRCA Nationals are going to be held about 20 minutes from my house. Everything in between remains to be seen, but you have my word: I’ll keep you updated. I’ve got big plans for this Fall. Interviews, race coverage, and more3. Stay tuned, folks. Things are just getting started.
This time, to reign in my more overzealous training tendencies, I’ve enlisted club running Youtube mogul and NIRCA speedster Jacob Montgomery as my coach. Hopefully, the results will soon speak for themselves.
It’s Keira D’Amato’s new running store in Midlothian, Virginia. It’s a really neat job, and I can confirm that Keira D’Amato is as nice in person as you would hope (arguably even nicer!).
Without going into too much detail, I bought a video camera….