~3 miles @ ~9.5 min/mi

"I'm not ready to do a 100 miler — yet!" says Stephanie Fonda. Then she flinches when she realizes what that would sound like to a normal person, especially so soon after her first ultra, the 2012-11-17 - Stone Mill 75k. We're at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School track on a chill, foggy Sunday morning. Stephanie jogs steadily while I attempt half a dozen 400m repeats, pacing a ragged 91, 94, 96, 96, 97, and 98 seconds, with two-minute half-lap recoveries between. Two other people are walking slow laps and chatting. Random band-aids stick to lane 2 in the northern straightaway. My right hip ITB is still achy; Stephanie experiences foot issues. (plantar fasciitis? achilles tendinitis?) Our average speed is the same; I never quite manage to overtake her during my intervals. We do a few bonus laps to make the total distance exceed ~3 miles, then retreat to the Louisiana Kitchen that Ken Swab and Barry Smith introduced me to a few weeks ago. After happy breakfast conversation I take carry-out catfish beignets home to the carnivores. Garmin GPS and Runkeeper app more-or-less concur.

^z - 2012-12-24