Nice to run without worrying about a face-plant or three-point landing

This felt like the relief in a frustrating road trip we've all felt. You've been stuck in a parking lot on a road such as the Capital Beltway in horrendous traffic. But you finally break through and can actually go the speed limit. It feels like you've been set free from frustration that you can't control.

Most of the week, the footing has been terrible in the aftermath of last weekend's snowstorm, so much so that I gave up after a half-block Monday. The conditions were better for sledding, right, than running.

By today, the sun melted away most of the ice on the road so that I actually could run without worrying that my next step would either result in a face-plant or a painful three-point landing. The result was one of my best training runs in possibly years.

Click here for the details of quite a rarity for me: a negative-split 12-mile run faster than marathon race pace. A negative split by 2 minutes and 18 seconds! Being as impatient as I am, I hardly ever get a negative split. I'll admit, though, that the head wind going out on the up-and-back loop probably had something to do with that.

Split Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Speed Max Speed Calories Summary 01:34:40 12.00 806 768 07:53 03:52 1,219 1 00:07:59 1.00 0 0 07:59 04:23 99 2 00:08:16 1.00 54 35 08:16 04:40 99 3 00:08:12 1.00 36 27 08:12 05:13 102 4 00:07:55 1.00 16 19 07:55 05:01 103 5 00:07:59 1.00 57 68 07:59 05:36 98 6 00:08:09 1.00 454 380 08:09 04:56 99 7 00:08:00 1.00 84 150 08:00 05:21 100 8 00:07:30 1.00 9 0 07:30 04:33 108 9 00:07:43 1.00 19 0 07:43 03:59 106 10 00:08:23 1.00 24 35 08:23 04:27 107 11 00:07:10 1.00 0 0 07:10 03:52 94 12 00:07:19 1.00 54 55 07:19 04:49 104

Being able to maintain that pace for 12 miles  makes me even more eager for the March 21 Tobacco Road Marathon. If you click on the details of the run, you'll see that this isn't your typical Newport News run because there actually are a few hills.

Sometimes during marathon training, I start to wonder if I'm really progressing that well toward race day so that I can run a good race. These are the training days that will get you pumped up knowing that, by race day, the fitness level will be there.

But it was so nice to be able to run without worrying about the footing. Part of my run was near CNU on Shoe Lane, where a kid, above, was SKATING just a few days ago in this terrific shot by Daily Press photographer Rob Ostermaier.

There still were very small areas on low-traffic roads with some ice, but they were easily avoided.

Glad I didn't get a face-plant today. Now, if the Tar Heels can just avoid another face-plant tonight against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg!

January was quite a stunning sports month for me

If you told me on New Year's Day, the day after the Hurricanes lost to the Rangers 2-1 on New Year's Eve, that my Hurricanes and my Tar Heels would lose the same number of games in January, there's no way I would have believed it.

Given that the Canes played 14 games in the month and the Tar Heels only played seven, my assumption would be that the Canes would need to go 12-2 for that to happen. For the team with the NHL's worst record at that point? Impossible. Sadly, the Canes go 9-5 and the Tar Heels go 2-5 to make that happen.

My teams certainly are tugging at my emotions, and not in a good way.

The Canes finally are playing well, sparked by the sudden sterling play from Eric Staal since becaming captain, and the return of the Cam Ward of old in the net. All of this still leaves Carolina a not-too-manageable 12 points out of the playoffs, and that's before the likely trade of veterans such as Ray Whitney.

I'm definitely enjoying the Canes play of late, although the four-game road trip that starts at Edmonton tonight could easily eliminate even the long-shot chances of making the playoffs.

Regarding the Tar Heels? Where do I start? Carolina's guards can't cut off the driving lanes, and can't get the ball inside to talented big men such as Ed Davis (how did he only get three shots against Virginia?) and Deon Thompson. The turnovers just keep coming, even after two consecutive games when it appeared that the team was starting to do better in that regard.

But the most troubling to me were the comments after the game from some of the players:

Said Deon Thompson:

“Guys just need to care more. [They] just need to care more about this jersey the name, that we wear on the front of our chest. It just means so much in the history, and it represents so much, and we’re just not representing Carolina basketball that way right now. In the past – we all aren’t the same as we were in the past, when everyone was so close off the court. But … it’s two different classes – a whole bunch of younger guys, and a few older guys. So it is a little more divided, but I don’t think that has to do with anything on the court.”

 It sounds like the attitudes of a lot of players need to be adjusted and that the players are starting to blame each other. That's never a good thing and can't be productive.

Coach Roy Williams sounds as frustrated as I've ever heard him and I think part of that is that he's tried so many different ways to turn things around and can't seem to do it. He doesn't seem to know the right things to say or the right moves to make.

I've begged Roy in this blog post last week, and this one in December, to play Dexter Strickland more, but it isn't happening for some reason.

The Heels have lost three consecutive home ACC games for the first time since the 2001-02 8-20 season. Anytime your play draws comparisons to that nightmare season, it can't be good.

The Tar Heels could take a cue from the Hurricanes.

Through the damaging injuries and huge struggles of October through December, the players supported each other and most nights you couldn't doubt the Canes' effort. It's now paying off and they are playing their best hockey of the season.

I'm still hopeful that the Carolina can still slip into the NCAA field, and at least one bracket projection today has the Heels in the field.  Clearly that will change if things don't turn around soon.