December 30, 2005

Famous

Last night on my short drive home from the commuter lot, I passed Dawn Cromer (nee Cleary) as she was running. Dawn is likely the most successful runner from Woodbridge, and being the running geek that I am it was neat to see her.

J was a little stressed last night about the whole running-in-the-evening situation. If it's going to work well, I need to do a little more when I get home from work. I was a little late getting out, and also ran a little less than I was originally planning so I wouldn't be gone too long. I ran six miles again, this time over one of my loops instead of on the Parkway. My legs felt good, and the run was good except when the wind picked up and I was running into it.

I'm sure part of the reason I felt pretty good was the unintentional extra sleep I got. I remember checking my alarm to make sure it was set for five a.m., but must not have turned it on. I woke up a little before five and went back to sleep, and then when I woke up again the clock said 5:57. I rushed to get ready and actually didn't make it to work much later than I have the rest of the week.

December 29, 2005

You Can't Trust the Weather Channel

The Weather Channel said the temperature was 41 degrees when I was ready to run last night. I figured that the actual temperature in Woodbridge was about 45, because the temperature the Weather Channel shows is from Manassas, which is just west of Woodbridge but usually a few degrees colder. Once I went outside it felt even warmer than 45, and when I ran by the stadium the clock said it was 51 degrees. I was dressed in a long sleeve shirt and shorts, and it was a good thing I only did six miles, because I was sweating pretty well when I was finished. I peeled the long sleeve shirt right off as soon as I got inside.

I was tired when I headed out last night, and close to just saying forget it and not running. I figured, though, that I'd feel better if I started to run, felt terrible, and turned around than not running at all. About a mile in, I was cursing my decision to run. Not long after that, though, I started feeling better, and when I finished I felt like I could easily run more.

December 28, 2005

Back on Schedule

Last night after Puff went to bed I went out for my run. I ran one of my eight mile loops. I haven't run this loop in a little while; lately it seem like all my running's been done on the path along the Parkway. It was nice to run somewhere else for a change.

The run went pretty well. I haven't yet figured out what and when to eat before I run at night, though. Last night I had some goldfish crackers a little more than an hour before I ran, but then for most of the run I had a dull ache in my intestines. I made a brief pit stop about five miles into the run and then felt a little better after that.

After I got home, J and I had dinner, cleaned up, got everything ready for today, and then went to bed. I was concerned that I might have some trouble falling asleep if I ran at night, but I was out seconds after my head hiot the pillow.

December 27, 2005

Catching Up

I haven't run very much lately, but now that the holidays are mostly over things are settling down and I should be able to get back to my normal schedule. After my night run last week, I didn't run again until Christmas Eve. The rest of the week was just too hectic and tiring. I took Puff with me and we did six miles Christmas Eve. It was warm--mid 50s--and it felt strange to be running in a t-shirt and shorts at the end of December. Christmas was spent with family, and during the break that I had I actually napped. Monday I was off, and took Puff for seven miles. I got a decent night's sleep Sunday night and felt pretty good Monday. It was not quite as warm as Saturday, but when the sun came out from behind the clouds I started to sweat. Then the sun went behind the clouds and the wind chilled me on the second half of the run. This week I'm going back to my night running schedule. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

December 21, 2005

Night Run

Last night I did my first run after Puff went to bed. Other than having to deal with increased traffic, it went pretty well. I ran six miles, out and back along the parkway. I had to stop and wait a couple times to cross roads. When I run in the morning, I can usually cross when there's a break in the traffic, but last night there were no breaks so I had to wait for the light. After I got back, I had dinner and then once it was finally time to go to bed, I didn't have any problems falling asleep.

While I'm glad that running at night worked out well for me, it's even better that it worked out well for J. Both kids slept while I ran, giving her some much-needed quiet time.

December 17, 2005

Who Needs a Car?

Last night when I got home from work, both of my sisters-in-law were there. They're both at college; one is a freshman at Virginia Tech and the other a grad student at James Madison. Since they had been gone for a little while, they both wanted to play with the kids. I found out we were invited over to the in-laws for dinner. I wanted to run first, so everyone else left and I was going to come over after my run. Once I started running, I had an idea. Why not just run over? It's about seven miles, which is about what I wanted to run anyway, and it would save me some time and trouble. I didn't have any real trouble running over; just a few icy spots where I had to be careful and slow down. Everyone was surprised to see me when I got there.

This morning I took Puff with me in the stroller for my run. I planned on going eight miles or so, but I felt terrible, so I cut it to six. I think the past two nights caught up with me. Both nights I was up with the kids and didn't sleep as much or as soundly as I would have liked.

I ended up with 43 miles for the week on six days of running. It's a start. Monday I'm going to start running at night. I'll come home from work, help out with the kids, eat a snack, and then go out for my run when Puff goes to bed, about 8. I'm interested to see how it goes.

December 16, 2005

Welcome Home!

Wednesday was my first day of going to work early, getting home early. I planned on running when I got home, but plans change. One of J's best friends had just returned home from her stint in Lesotho with the Peace Corps and was coming over for dinner. She was bringing someone with her, and they were going to arrive around 7:30, which would have given me enough time to run. But the plans changed, and they were able to come earlier. I had just enough time to go pick up dinner from Take-N-Bake and get home and put it in the oven. So no running Wednesday.

Thursday I took the day off from work to try to take care of some Christmas stuff as well as go to B's doctor's appointment. I didn't get all the Christmas stuff I wanted to do done, but did get Puff and B's picture with Santa. Puff was kind of apprehensive, but was OK when mommy sat with him. The doctor's appointment went well; B's weight and height have risen to where they should be for his age and he doesn't have to go back to the gastrointerologist. He's so chubby now.

After I got home from the doctor's I went out for my run. I ran seven miles along the Parkway in a cold light rain. We had a winter storm yesterday that went from snow to a cold rain. In a way, I was glad that it rained because it helped get rid of a lot of the icy patches on the path. J and I took the kids for a walk in the morning before the storm started and were slipping and sliding all over the place. I had a good run, once I was far enough along that my stomach felt better. One benefit to running in the afternoon is that I'm loosened up and run the route a few minutes faster than I would in the morning.

December 14, 2005

Jingle Bell Jog 8k

Sunday I ran the Jingle Bell Jog 8k. Given the state of my recent training I wasn't in the best shape, but if I finished first or second in my age group I would win a $50 or $60 gift certificate to Metro Run and Walk. My primary age-group competition finished a few minutes behind me at the one race that both of us ran, so I figured my chances of finishing first or second were pretty good.

The course for the 8k went along a bike path, through a parking lot, along a narrow path, and then out on to the roads for the finish. The course was mostly clear, but parts had the remnants of the snow and ice we got Friday. I started pretty well, and went through the mile in 6:21. During the second mile, I caught up to a few people who had passed me in the first mile. As I passed the second mile marker, I looked down at my watch and saw 12:05 as I hit the split button again. However, that 12:05 was not my two-mile split. The battery on my watch is almost dead, and a few times I've hit a button and had it go blank and then reset itself, which is what had happened. So I pressed on into the third mile with no idea what my splits were and passed a handful of people. One of them stayed on my shoulder and then went by me, building a lead he would hold until the finish. I ran by myself until just after the four-mile mark, when the pack of people I had passed caught back up to me. I stayed with them and we pressed on toward the finish. One runner surged a few steps ahead. I thought If I want to catch him, I've got to go. I went, getting a few steps on the pack but not quite catching up to the runner ahead. As we approached the finish, I was thinking about Mike's finish in his recent half-marathon, how he picked up the pace and passed someone near the finish. We turned the last corner, and the finish was up a small hill. I kicked hard, passing the runner ahead and finishing in 31:35.

I did finish first in my age group and won the gift certificate, although I won't actually receive it for a few weeks. I like the fact that I'm fast enough to win stuff from my club, but I won't be back next year. Not only do I have to drive further than I'd like to run the races, I never felt like I made any connections with anyone in the club. There's another club I'm planning on joining for this next year, and hopefully they'll be a better fit.

December 13, 2005

Update

I've been running lately (lately being the last four days), but just been too busy to post. I'm not sure exactly why it happened, but on Friday I just started to feel more relaxed about the whole holiday situation. It's only around for a little while longer and then things will return to normal.

Saturday I ran five easy miles, slipping and sliding through the ice and snow that remained from Friday. Sunday I ran an 8k race in 31:35. I'll write a race report soon. Monday I ran six miles and this morning I ran eight. I planned on running on a local golf course this morning, but the combination of the darkness and the fact that I didn't know exactly where I was going made me change my mind. Instead, I turned around and just made up my run as I went along, finishing after eight miles.

I'm not sure how permanent it will be, but I'll be switching to afternoon running for the near future. J wants me to go into work earlier in order to come home earlier. When I get home, I'll take Puff and go for a run. After the holidays, or maybe not until late spring when B is a little older, I'll go back to running in the morning. I like running in the morning better; I can run first thing and not worry about something coming up later. I'd rather only be running in the afternoon when I'm doubling.

December 06, 2005

Holidays

I'm happy that it's the holiday season, but I also can't wait until they're over. There's just too much stress trying to get everything done as well as take care of two small children. And it just adds to the stress when J's mom asks her to do things when J has her own things to do.

Amid the holiday stress, I'm still trying to run. I didn't make it out Saturday or Monday, but ran 5 miles Sunday and 6 miles this morning. We got 3-4 inches of snow yesterday, so this morning's run was a little slower than normal.

December 02, 2005

You Suck

I'm not motivated the way some runners are. I don't need myself or anyone else to tell me that I can do it. I know I can do it; I want to do it well. I respond much better to negative stimuli, i.e I'm bad let me try to get better.

I bring this up because yesterday during my hellacious commute home I was listening to my iPod and Paul McMullen interview with Deena Kastor that I downloaded from trackandfieldradio.com came on. I actually skipped the interview with Deena to listen to some music instead, but it made me think of Paul's interview with Katie McGregor. She told him that when she was at Michigan she had a little sign above her bed that said You Suck. The sign would motivate her to work hard. It works for me too.

I didn't run yesterday but did 7 miles this morning.

November 30, 2005

A Race and Coming Home

On Thanksgiving I ran the Downtown YMCA 5-Mile Turkey Trot. I've run a race on Thanksgiving the past few years, and it's a tradition I'd like to keep alive. Race morning wasn't too cold, but there were some flurries and some snow on the ground from the day before. It was also pretty windy. As usual, I had high expectations going into the race, but realized given the state of my running lately I probably wouldn't meet those expectations.

The race was started by Carol Zajac-Tynan, a Pittsburgh native who had just been named the most outstanding women's athlete in NCAA cross country over the past 25 years. Other than my first mile of 6:37, I don't recall any exact splits, though that first mile is in question since we supposedly ran the wrong way into Point State Park and added some distance to our race. When I ran that same mile on the way back to the start/finish line I ran closer to 6:10. I finished in 33:23.

I spent Thanksgiving with the family and then J, Puff, B, and I headed home Friday because J's mom's 50th birthday surprise party was Saturday. Since I've been home things have been kind of hectic, and I haven't been running like I want to. Case in point:
Sat.-off
Sun.-8 miles
Mon.-7 miles
Tue.-off
Wed.-off

I need to get my act back together and get out there.

November 22, 2005

The Difference a Day Makes

I felt much better running today than I did yesterday. I'm not completely over the cold, but the cold medicine I took definitely helped. I managed to get a good night's sleep as well. I ran six miles this morning, the majority of it on the trails near my parent's house. The six miles took just over 48 minutes.

I wish that there were trails like this near my house in Virginia. The surface is crushed limestone and the trail is marked every quarter mile. The limestone part is 2-3/4 miles long, though the trail continues on. After the limestone section ends, the rest is asphalt. It's also almost completely flat, making it great for workouts like tempo runs.

I've written about it recently, but reading Mike's latest entries really helped it sink in. If I'm going to be the best runner that I can be and also have a family, I'm going to be tired. But even if I am tired, I need to get out the door and on the roads.

November 21, 2005

What's Going On

I've been quite busy recently, with not much running fitting in. Tuesday and Wednesday nights were both bad, so I didn't run Wednesday or Thursday. I had a good eight-mile run out the Parkway on Friday. Friday night I was up until 1 AM getting things ready for Puff's birthday party on Saturday. His actual birthday is not until today, but we're out of town, so we had the party Saturday. We had an Elmo party, complete with Elmo cake. Saturday night was another late night getting everything ready to go to Pittsburgh. We had originally planned to leave Saturday after the party, but we changed our minds and left Sunday morning instead. It was a good thing to, because there's no way we would have been able to leave Saturday. Sunday we had a smooth trip to Pittsburgh.

All that brings us to today. I headed out for my run this morning and was planning on going six miles. However, I didn't feel too well and turned around after a mile and a half and came back home. I feel like I've come down with a cold. Running just didn't feel good, so I cut the run short. I've taken some cold medicine, and hopefully I'll feel well enough to race Thursday morning.

November 16, 2005

Day Off

I took today off. Puff ate a little later than he usually does before going to bed, so I was a little late going to bed as well. When my alarm went off this morning, I decided that I was better off getting the extra sleep, so I reset the alarm and went back to sleep. Despite the extra sleep, it was still a struggle to get out of bed this morning.

I've been thinking about my plan for the upcoming year recently. I'd like to see what I can do in a 10k this spring. I'm not sure I'd really count it as a PR, but my fastest 10k was my 10k split during the 2004 USATF Cross Country Championships 12k. According to the results, I came through 10k in 37:42. After the 10k, I'll start marathon training for Richmond in the fall.

November 15, 2005

New Shoes

My new pair of the Brooks Axiom were waiting for me when I got home from work yesterday. I needed new shoes; I had been feeling the lack of cushioning in my old ones. The new shoes felt great on my run this morning. Brooks has used a softer rubber in the forefoot, which is great for me since that's where I land. I ran the same six-mile loop that I ran Sunday in just over 50 minutes.

I can't say enough about Holabird Sports, which is where I bought the shoes. I've bought a few pairs of shoes from them, and their prices are great and they ship quickly. Ideally, I'd like to support one of the local running stores, but at this point I can't pass up the chance to save $20-25.

Recap

Since I haven't written anything for a few days, below is a brief recap of my running.

Saturday-I ran seven miles Saturday morning. For the second Saturday in a row after running for a little while I felt a bit lightheaded and walked for a few minutes until I felt better. I'm not sure what's causing it, but after I walk a little I do feel better.

Sunday-I ran six miles on a loop that I haven't run for a while. When I got back home and tried to stop my watch, it made this horrible beeping noise and then went blank. Luckily it came back on in a few seconds, but it had reset itself and said at was midnight on January first. I think it just needs a new battery.

Monday-I ran eight miles, out and back along the Parkway. I felt like I was moving at a good clip the second half of the run. It's been unseasonably warm here the past few days, and I was surprised to be running in a short-sleeve shirt this morning.

November 11, 2005

Veterans Day

One of the benefits of working for the Government is the holidays. I took advantage of my day off and ran at noon. I took Puff with me in the stroller, and ran six miles out and back on the Parkway. It was still windy, but not quite as much as yesterday. I didn't feel too good until we turned around and the wind was behind us. I ran the six miles in just over 50 minutes, but that includes the time we spent waiting to cross the street three times.

Thanks to those who served our country.

November 10, 2005

Woof Woof

I made it out this morning for five miles. I averaged 8:30 pace for the five miles, which kind of surprised me since I thought I be running slower. I wasn't too tired, but my five mile loop is one of my hillier routes and the wind was gusting up to 30 miles an hour this morning.

I like this loop, except for the part that goes by the house with the dog. I don't see the dog every time that I go by, but I've seen him a few times. He's always just out in the yard. The house sits back off the road and on a hill, and even though it hasn't happened, I expect the dog to come running after me. I've been bitten twice by dogs during my running career, and one of the dogs that bit me while running has also bitten me while not running. I don't think I'd be so concerned if I ran when it was light out, but it's certainly not light at 5:30 AM or so when I go by the house.

November 07, 2005

Two-thirds

So far, I've run two out of the three days since I made my proclamation. I wanted to run Sunday, but didn't get out of bed. J and I were up late Saturday night discussing the stresses of having two small children. I spent some of Sunday kicking myself for not even trying to run.

This morning I ran six miles out and back along the Parkway. It was a beautiful morning to run, with temperatures in the low 50s. The weather here has been great the past few days, with highs in the 60s and 70s.

I haven't mentioned it too much recently, but B seems to be doing quite a bit better. He's getting pretty chubby and is outgrowing his 0-3 month clothes. Not only that, but he's much happier and more alert than he ever has been.

November 05, 2005

Kind of Lost

I didn't really get lost on my run this morning, the road just didn't go where I thought it did. I planned on running seven miles out and back along the Parkway, but I changed my mind and made a right turn off the Parkway instead. According to my map, if I follow the road I turned on to, make a left, go through a small section of woods, and come out on another road, I'll wind my way back toward home, and eventually come out on one of the main roads by my house. I made the left turn and followed the road until it ended at the woods. There was a path that went into the woods, so I followed it. The path ended a short time later at the Occoquan River. I didn't see anywhere else I could go, so I turned around and ran home the same way I came. I ran eight miles instead of seven, but one extra mile is no big deal.

It was a good run overall, except that about twenty minutes in I felt a little lightheaded and slowed down. I walked for a few minutes and then started to run again. I felt fine the rest of the time. I had a glass of Ovaltine before I left, so I don't think the lightheadedness had anything to do with a lack of calories. Maybe I was just tired.

November 04, 2005

What's my Motivation?

It's hard to come up with things to write about when I'm not running. Each of the past three days I've set my alarm, only to reset it for a later time when it goes off in the morning. Sure, I'm not getting the ideal amount of sleep, but I'm still frustrated that I'm not getting in the miles. So I'm going to put it out there: I'm going to run. I figure making it public will make me more accountable.

November 01, 2005

Trick or Treat

Halloween didn't quite go as planned. Puff didn't want to put on his costume, so we didn't exactly go trick-or-treating. Puff just wanted to play with the costume. I think he wanted to try and push it around like his other vehicles except the bus didn't exactly have wheels. We did go outside and walk around and Puff did get a little bit of candy.

I didn't get to bed last night as early as I did Sunday since B's schedule was a little messed up by Halloween. I still got up and ran this morning. I did one of my eight-mile loops, which was again interrupted by an unplanned bathroom break. I felt pretty good during the run, and managed to finish the last two miles or so at a steady pace.

The most remarkable aspect of my run is how different the temperature seems to be in different parts of Woodbridge. The Weather Channel said the temperature was 37 degrees when I left this morning, but it felt warmer than that until I made a turn on to main road that goes back to my community. It felt like the temperature dropped five to ten degrees in a matter a minutes.

October 31, 2005

Some Actual Running

I didn't run much at all last week, only two out of seven days. This week should be better, especially with the end of daylight savings time. Both kids were in bed an hour or so earlier than usual, leading to what was probably my earliest bedtime in weeks. I did make it out for six miles this morning. It was a decent run, fine except for the unwanted bathroom break about two-thirds of the way in. I probably would have run a little further, but I wanted to make sure I was at work by about 8:15 so I could be home in time for Halloween. This is the first year the Puff is actually going trick-or-treating. He's going to be a school bus.

October 27, 2005

Doubts

I'm not sure about trying to run a marathon this spring. It's not something I want to go into unprepared, and lately I've been feeling like that's what is going to happen. B's still not 100%. He has good days and bad days, and the bad days stress J out, which in turn stresses me out. It doesn't help that everyone's been sick recently either. All this has caused me to miss some runs.

So I'm leaning toward just run-as-run-can until B gets a little older and his eating habits improve. That way, I won't be stressed out about trying to train for anything. If I can run more than I think, great. If not, so what? Then when everything settles down, I can reevaluate.

October 25, 2005

Miserable

The best word to describe the conditions during my run today was miserable. The temperature was in the mid-40s, the wind was blowing, and it was raining. However, I was determined to run, especially since I hadn't the past two days. I ran out the Parkway, since I figured it was the safest route in the dark and rain. Two minutes into the run I was cold and wet. The out portion of the run was into the wind, leaving me wet and cold. Originally I planned on running eight miles, but I felt so bad going out that I turned around early. Going back was better. The wind was at my back, so I actually warmed up somewhat. I felt good enough to add some loops around the house to get me to eight miles for the day.

Despite the poor conditions for today's run, what happened after I got home was worse. I was in the unfinished section of the basement, getting out of my wet clothes. I was standing up, pulling off one of my socks when I lost my balance and hopped forward. We recently replaced our fridge, and the old one is in the basement, with the metal shelves on the floor. The old refrigerator was in my path, and I sliced my big toe on one of the shelves. It's not quite as bad as it sounds, but it has caused some discomfort when I walk.

October 22, 2005

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It's not raining as I type this, but it's been raining most of the time since Friday morning. It's not a heavy rain for the most part, just a steady, light rain or mist. Luckily, the rain stopped long enough for the 5k I ran this morning, though it did leave some puddles on the course. And before I write anything about the race, let me say that I am an idiot. The race started as I was making my way to the starting line. It was my fault; I didn't give myself enough time to put on my flats and singlet and get over to the start.

I started about 30 seconds behind the field. It was a small race and the start cleared quickly. I passed people during most of the race, but mainly in the first mile. That was a bit of a problem, since the race was run on a bike path that wasn't all that wide. Despite the weaving during the first mile, my splits were almost even. They were 6:14, 6:16, and 6:17, and then according to my watch 31 seconds for the last tenth, making my time 19:19. I'm OK with my performance. At this point, just getting back to consistent running as I get into the base phase of my marathon training, I can't complain. But that doesn't mean that I didn't want to do better.

Friday I did seven miles and some strides.

October 20, 2005

Who Needs Sleep?

I need sleep, and apparently B needed sleep last night. I'm exhausted right now, and can't wait to go to bed. I ran eight miles out and back along the Parkway this morning. It was a pretty slow, easy run. I got to bed late last night, after B was done eating, but still got up to run this morning. Ah, routine. But seriously, I think that if I had felt worse than I did, I would have slept in.

B slept for over eight hours last night. It's nice to not have to get up in the middle of the night, but we do want to be sure B is getting enough to eat. He's added a feeding before he goes to bed, though, and that seems to help him sleep longer.

October 19, 2005

Kicking Myself

Today was the third day in a row that I have kicked myself in the same spot on my ankle while running. I guess my left foot swings a little bit right when it's coming down, and if it swings a little too far to the right I kick myself. It's not terribly painful, it just stings for a minute or so, but I'd like to avoid it.

Yesterday I had a good eight mile run. I ran another of my eight mile loops with a slight modification. There's a fairly major intersection I need to cross, and I just missed the light. So rather than wait for the light so I could go straight, I turned left and went home the back way. The distance is basically the same each way. When I got home, I was surprised to see that I had run a little under eight minute mile pace. Most of my other recent runs have been closer to 8:30/mile. I guess I picked up the pace a little more than I thought.

I took the day off yesterday because B had his follow-up appointment with the gastrointerologist. He said everything looked good, and to come back for another follow-up in two months. He also gave us a prescription for Zantac for B. Our pediatrician had mentioned it, but he said B should be taking it. It could help prevent any future eating issues.

This morning I did seven miles. B's schedule was thrown off from the doctor's appointment, so he, and also I, got to bed late. I still felt pretty good this morning anyway. It must be the nice fall weather.

October 17, 2005

Get Up!

Saturday I planned to get up early and run in the morning, before everyone else was up. However, a late Friday night thwarted those plans. I woke up, but decided to go back to sleep. J tutors Saturday mornings, so I thought I'd take Puff in the stroller and run then. But B's schedule didn't work out right for that, so I had to hang around and make sure he didn't get too fussy if he got hungry. After tutoring, J fed B and I fed Puff, then J left for lacrosse, so I decided to take the kids for a run. (We have two jogging strollers, a single and a double.) By this point, I didn't want to run that much, but didn't want to take the day off either. So the three of us did three miles and called it a day. Afterwards, I was upset at myself for not just getting up and running early.

Sunday's run went much better. I actually did get up early and run. I ran one of my eight-mile loops and then added on a little more distance to give me nine miles for the day. I wish all of my runs could be like today's. I felt good, the temperature was nice and cool, and the sunrise was gorgeous. The only negative was the wind, but I'll take three out of four.

Today's run was another good one. I ran eight miles, out and back along the Parkway. It was windy when I started, but the wind seemed to die down as I ran. The past few times I've run this far along the Parkway, I've thought of Mike's hill phase. There's a great section of the path, from 11k to 9k, that would be great for hill work. Slightly after 11k, the path goes downhill to just past the 10k mark, and then back uphill to the 9k mark. I'm sure I'll be using it for that this winter.

October 14, 2005

Enjoyment

This week I've really begun to enjoy running again. B continues to eat and grow, so I'm less worried about him, the cool fall weather has arrived, and cross country season is in full swing.

This morning I ran on the path out the Parkway for a little over seven miles. It was another cool and damp morning. The weather is supposed to get better this weekend, though.

I was reading about the Charlottesville Marathon on marathonguide.com. In one of the comments, someone noted that last year's course wasn't certified, and therefore times run on the course could not count as Boston qualifiers. I'm not concerned with qualifying for Boston this year, but I think running on a non-certified course would leave me wondering about the accuracy of my time. That information makes me more seriously consider my backup plan, which is to run the Cleveland Marathon in May.

October 13, 2005

Cool and Damp

This morning's run went pretty well. I did eight miles, at a little over 8:30/mile. The temperature was nice, but it had rained not long before I ran, and the dampness made it feel cooler than it actually was. Plus there was some wind, so I'd run for a few minutes, warm up and sweat a little, and then be chilled by the wind. I'll take it over the middle of summer, though.

So far I have 31 miles for the week. After tomorrow and Saturday, I should be close to 50, which would be the most miles I've run in a week in a couple months. As I've said more than a few times by now, I'm working on getting the mileage up to a respectable level for marathon training. The hardest part is just getting out of bed in the morning. After I'm up and moving around, I feel OK.

What is it about rain that makes people drive so cautiously? My commute, which usually takes about an hour, took almost an hour and forty minutes this morning because traffic, even in the HOV lanes, was backed up. And it was really only drizzling.

October 05, 2005

Caffeinated

I learned a lesson last night. The lesson is not to drink a can of Dr. Pepper when I get home from work. It's the only explanation I can come up with for not sleeping well last night. I didn't think the caffeine with bother me, but I was wrong. My sleep was also not helped by staying up to watch Law and Order:SVU.

Despite the lack of sleep, I did get up and run this morning. I ran my four mile loop, and then ran past the house, up to the library/fitness center, and back for two more miles which gave me six for the day. I felt OK, although a little sore when I got home. I can't wait until the cool weather is here for good. It was in the sixties and humid this morning and I was sweating when I finished.

October 04, 2005

Ugh

I didn't feel good this morning when my alarm went off. I felt really sore and tired. So rather than get up and run, I set the alarm for 50 minutes later and went back to sleep. The sleep must have helped, because I felt better when the alarm went off again.

The Army 10-Miler took place this past weekend, although it was slightly more than 10 miles. It seems a "suspicious package" was found and the course had to be rerouted around it, making the course approximately 11 miles. Now safe is certainly better than sorry, but the race starts and finishes at the Pentagon of all places. If anywhere is safe the Pentagon should be. If I'd run the race this year, I would understand the concern, but also would be disappointed that I didn't get the race I expected.

October 03, 2005

Dichotomy

It was 53 degrees this morning while I was running. I'm comfortable in a t-shirt and shorts down to near 40 degrees. Everyone's different, however, and this morning I noticed multiple variations in running attire. I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts. At one point, I passed someone wearing a light jacket and shorts. Later on, I passed someone in a sweatshirt, hat, and I think gloves. To each his own.

This morning I did six miles. My legs felt ok, but overall I was pretty tired after being up late last night. Sunday afternoon I did four miles after not running Saturday. I was simply exhausted all day Saturday after a very late Friday night. Friday morning, though, I had one of the best runs I've had for a while. I ran seven miles, but felt like I could have kept going for at least a few more. The soreness that had been bothering my legs was gone Friday and hasn't returned. Maybe I just needed a few days to get my body used to running more than three or four days a week.

September 30, 2005

In the News

The Washington Post ran an article this week about a runner in Maryland, Mikias Gelagle, who logged some 100-mile weeks this summer in preparation for the cross country season. The article brings up a good question: How many miles per week should a high school runner be running? Personally, I don't think anyone can just say 100 miles a week is too many. It's all about how you get there. If you've been steadily increasing your mileage and been relatively injury-free, you should be able to handle 100 miles per week.

The human body is not, as the article claimed was stated by some coaches, a car that is going to break down after a certain number of miles. That is as absurd as telling people they should not exercise hard because their heart only has a finite number of beats. If you take care of yourself, you can run high mileage for years.

In order to maximize your potential in any event 800m and up, you need to run high mileage. When you start should be up to you, not some arbitrary time.

September 29, 2005

Gorgeous

I took yesterday off from work because B had his two month checkup. He's doing well, gaining weight like he should, but he does have a slight reflux problem. Since I wasn't going to work, I slept in and ran in the afternoon. The weather was gorgeous, sunny and 80 degrees, with a slight breeze. I did eight miles, the longest run I've done in a little while. The run went well except for some stomach issues. I think I ate lunch a little to close to my run, so I felt almost nauseas for a little while. Thankfully, that went away, but even after that I still didn't feel quite right. I think I have a bug that I might have caught from Puff. He seemed a little ill for a day or two last week.

This morning I was planning on running four miles, but going out of my way to use the bathroom made it five miles. My legs felt really tight this morning; I hope they loosen up as I go on. The Stick should help as long as I remember to use it.

It looks like the fall weather is finally here. Lows for tonight and tomorrow night are in the mid-40's. Finally.

September 27, 2005

Easy Days

These past few days after my race, I've taken it pretty easy. Sunday I went out in the afternoon for 32 minutes, which I'm calling four miles. It was still warm and humid Sunday, but it looks like to cool fall weather is finally going to be here in the next day or two. Monday and today I went six miles. Despite my less than ideal sleep, I feel OK once I get out the door and start moving. I'd like to begin increasing my mileage. I feel like if I don't start soon, I won't have enough time at a high enough weekly mileage to justify running a marathon. I'm not doing just to finish.

September 26, 2005

Spiked and Pysched

One out of two isn't bad.

I've been following Matt at chasingtradition.com. While in Boulder with the Colorado Buffaloes, he wrote about the team being "spiked and psyched up" for their workout on Friday morning. I liked the phrase and was planning on being "spiked and psyched up" for my race Saturday. Unfortunately, I realized on the way to the race that I had forgotten my spikes. Oh well, I thought, it should be more of a workout than a race anyway. And it was, although it wasn't really even a good workout.

I felt OK when I woke up Saturday morning, so I figured my plan of running 6:30-6:40 miles would be doable, even without the spikes. I warmed up about a mile, and headed to the starting line. A few minutes in, I realized the race was not going to plan. I think I went through the first mile in 6:45, but it felt a lot harder than I though it would. I don't have any other splits, other than coming through 5k in about 21:50 and finishing in 44:16. I just didn't have it Saturday. Even though I felt OK, I figure I still had to deal with the lack of sleep I've accumulated over the past few weeks. My stomach didn't feel very good during the race either. Somehow, though, I still managed to finish first in my age group to move me to first place in my age group in the cross country series.

September 23, 2005

Night Game

At one time I was contemplating running in the open division of this race, but it would be even more fun to enter a team.

September 22, 2005

10k

Despite the fact that I haven't been running much recently, I'm still planning on running a 10k cross country race Saturday. I wouldn't bother, except that it's the last cross country race in the series that I'll have a chance to run, and I need to run one more to qualify. Right now I'm fifth overall and second in my age group, although the standings can be a little misleading at this point because everyone has not run the same number of races. My expectations are basically to try and run 6:30-6:40 pace. The course is two laps of a 5k loop, and does have some hills. If I can contain myself at the beginning and stay conservative, I should be all right.

New Look

As you can see, my blog's look has been updated. I'd like to say I designed it myself, but that's not the case. The template can be found here.

September 21, 2005

Out of Hiding

I've had a rough past two weeks. The worst part of it was that B was not eating like he should be, and was actually hospitalized for two days to see if the cause could be determined. Despite running a lot of tests, nothing was found that explained his poor eating. As a matter of course, the doctors put him on some antibiotics, which may have helped things, but they never found an infection. B is back home now, and he is eating better and gaining weight. My is that his poor eating has something to do with the jaundice he had right after he was born.

B is also not sleeping quite like J and I would like. He'll sleep for a few hours, wake up, have a snack, and then sleep for a few more hours, and that's not too bad. The problem is that he doesn't start sleeping until around 11 most nights, and last night he didn't go to bed until midnight.

Due to the two items above, I have not done much running lately. I've been able to get out a few mornings and weekend afternoons for a couple miles, but nothing too significant. I know that the priority is B's health, but that does not stop me from wishing I was running more.

September 07, 2005

One of Those Nights

B did not sleep well last night. I'm not sure exactly what the problem was, but he was fussy and would not go to sleep. The worst part about it was that a few times I had almost fallen asleep, and then he woke up. I thought about running this morning, and probably should have since B woke up about two minutes before my alarm went off, but I didn't.

Yesterday I had a good seven mile run. The weather was great; it was 59 degrees as I ran by the stadium clock with the thermometer. The run started out slowly, but I picked up the pace over the second half of the run and finished the last two miles or so at a good steady pace. Just about at the turn-around point in the run, a guy on a bike passed me. It wouldn't have been a big deal except that it was still dark and I was far enough out on the path to be past the streetlights. The bicyclist said something about a runner, but then took his time passing me. I thought someone driving by had said something since when I turned around I didn't see anything. I was startled when he finally passed me.

About a mile from the finish, I caught and passed two other people who were out running together. For some reason, I'm always concerned that when I pass people they'll think I'm showing them up. That's never been the case, but it doesn't stop me from thinking about it.

September 05, 2005

Change in Plans

When I began my run this morning, I was planning to run out and back along the Parkway. But instead of turning left to head to the Parkway, I went straight and ran through the park and on the one trail I know of that's close enough to my house to run to. I hadn't been on the trail for a few weeks and so I decided to go back today.

It was a beautiful morning to run. I was out the door at about 7:30, and it was cool and sunny. It made me wish I could stay home every day so I could run after the sun comes up. The trail was still overgrown in some spots, so I was careful not to get smacked in the face by a branch. I felt pretty good after yesterday afternoon's seven miles. Today's trail loop was six miles.

As I mentioned above, Sunday I ran seven miles. I ran in the afternoon, when the temperature was in the mid 80s. We've had a string of a few days of some pretty nice weather, lows in the upper 50s and highs in the mid to low 80s. The warmth bothered me a little, but not as much as my stomach since I think I ate a little too close to the run. I think the stomach bug that I had is gone.

Saturday I ran an easy six miles. I was going to run laps on the soccer fields in order to stay on soft surfaces and to be close to home in case my stomach bothered me again, but there was a soccer tournament going on. I ended up just running around until I felt like I had run long enough to count the distance as six miles.

Last week didn't end up too well. My run on Wednesday didn't go well and then I didn't run Thursday or Friday due to lack of sleep. Running five out of seven days in a week isn't bad with a new baby, but I'd like to be running seven out of seven days.

August 31, 2005

Not Quite Right

I haven't felt very good on my runs the past few days. I think I've caught some kind of stomach bug, possibly from Puff. He seemed a little sick this past weekend. This bug isn't particularly bothersome for the most part, but has been causing some discomfort while I run.

Tuesday I ran an easy six miles. The run was basically uneventful other than my stomach grumblings for the last two miles or so. Today I did five miles, with a pit stop in the middle due to the stomach. I hope this thing goes away soon.

I know I've said this before, but I feel like I'm getting more consistent in my running. B has been sleeping better, so that's made it easier to get up in the morning. My goal for September is to get the mileage up to a reasonable level.

August 29, 2005

More Running

Not only did I make it out for a run Saturday, I also made it out Sunday. I ran seven miles again, this time along the Parkway. The weather was drastically different. It went from being cool and drizzly to sunny, warm, and humid. The electronic billboard at the stadium said it was 87 degrees as I ran by. Earlier Sunday I read an article about a local man who had run Badwater and how the extreme heat along the course was magnified by the pavement. I guess it was due to the change in the weather, but I couldn't stop thinking about how the heat radiating off the pavement was making it feel warmer than 87. The run itself was only OK. I ran for just over 56 minutes, but for maybe 15 or 20 minutes there in the middle I felt like the heat was getting to me and maybe I should stop. Then the sun went behind a cloud and I started to feel better. That, or I just got acclimated.

B didn't sleep terribly well last night, but I felt good enough to run an easy five miles this morning. Likely because the 14 miles I ran over the weekend was more than I had done in a little while, my legs were tired. I'll try to be more consistent using the Stick and hope that loosens up the muscles.

August 27, 2005

Good Run

I finally got a good night's sleep last night. B went to sleep about 9:45, and once I was able to tear myself away from the Steelers-Redskins preseason game (about 10:45), I went to sleep. I went to check on B when he woke up a little after four, but J came in right away to feed him, so I went back to sleep. I woke up for good about a quarter to eight when I heard Puff, but had been dozing on and off for an hour or so since then. I haven't written much about Puff lately, but he's adjusted well to the new baby. He was actually a little scared at first--he wouldn't go near B in the hospital--but now he'll give B fives and kisses.

A good night's sleep made such a difference during my run today. I thought it was supposed to be sunny and warm, but it was cool and drizzly this morning. It drizzled occasionally as I ran, but it didn't rain hard. It actually made for a nice run. I ran a loop that was a little shy of seven miles and added on a loop around a parking lot to make it seven. My calves were a little tight, but otherwise my legs felt great. Overall I ran the seven miles at just under an eight-minute pace, a pace I sometimes run on my easy days but a pace I haven't really touched lately.

August 26, 2005

The Weekend

Thank goodness it's Friday! I'm very much looking forward to the weekend and not having to go to work. I don't have anything exciting planned for the weekend, unless you consider cleaning the house exciting. With two kids to look after, it's been a while since we did any substantial cleaning. Hopefully I won't have a repeat of last weekend's running.

I slept in this morning. B woke up twice last night. The first time was about 45 minutes after I fell asleep. It's amazing how tired you fell waking up 45 minutes after you've fallen asleep. Thursday I did a little over four miles. I might have done a little more, but nature was calling and I was near the house, so I called it a run.

August 24, 2005

Partying Hard

I need to amend my statement from yesterday's post. It should be: This evening, I plan on as much partying as two small children and my half-awake state and my in-laws will allow.

My in-laws came over for dinner last night, because J invited them and because they had gifts. We had Emeril's Ka-Bam kabobs and corn on the cob for dinner, which was followed by the opening of presents. I got some good stuff; among other things I got a subscription to Track and Field News, a technical running shirt, running socks, and an iTunes gift certificate. We had cake and ice cream after that, and then J surprised me by saying we were leaving the kids with the grandparents and going to a movie.

We saw Red Eye, which I thought was pretty good. It was interesting and suspenseful. I'd give it three out of four stars. I didn't get to bed too late, but B was up twice during the night, so I didn't run this morning. I figure I'll just play it by ear and run when I get the chance until B's sleep habits improve.

August 23, 2005

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today I turn 25. This evening, I plan on as much partying as two small children and my half-awake state will allow.

I did run this morning. I ran six miles, out and back along the Parkway. I was tired, but the run went pretty well. The weather was great (64 degrees according to the sign at the stadium I ran past). The one thing I don't understand is why I felt like I was running faster than my time indicated. Does lack of sleep really have that big an effect?

August 22, 2005

The Weekend

I had every intention of running this weekend. I was going to get up Saturday morning and run about 7 miles. However, that was before B decided that he didn't want to sleep Friday night. As far as I can tell, the problem was that his grandfather was holding him and he slept from about 7-9:30 pm, and that screwed up his routine. He didn't want to go to sleep, and when he did it was only for an hour or so at a time. Due to my lack of sleep, I felt in no shape to get out the door for a run.

Sunday I was just lazy. Sunday is the only day that I plan to run in the afternoon--it's easier because I don't have to worry about being back in time to get myself and the kids ready for church Sunday morning. Yesterday afternoon was sunny and not terribly warm, but I didn't run.

B's sleep misadventures continued last night, although not as badly as Friday, and after hitting the snooze button twice I decided to bag today's run. The worst part about missing today's run is the cooler temperatures have returned. At least they'll be around for a few more days.

I'm disconcerted that just a few days ago I was upbeat about my running, and now I'm kind of down because I've missed four days. I know things will get better as B gets older, but I also feel like I need to toughen up. Sure, they'll be days when I'm better off sleeping in. But there's also days when I just need to get up and go. With two kids, I can't expect life to happen exactly the way I want it to.

August 19, 2005

Day Off

I didn't get up and run this morning. My alarm went off, but I reset it for an hour later and went back to sleep. Thankfully that has been the exception and not the rule this week. B stayed up late last night and I woke up in the middle of the night when he did, so I got a little more sleep rather than slog through a run.

On another note, I received the latest issue of Running Times in the mail yesterday. Not only does it have a good cover photo of and article on Deena Kastor, the from-the-editor piece was interesting. I was glad to fine out that he's as big as fan of elite running as I am. Hopefully that means I can continue to look forward to getting the magazine in the mail for a long time.

August 17, 2005

Getting My Legs Back

I've actually run the last six days in a row. Things have settled down a bit at home with B. He's begun to get into a routine. Basically he goes down between 10 and 11, wakes up once during the night, and then wakes up around 7 or 8 in the morning. Friday I was ambitious and did six miles, the longest I've run since I decided to take a break. Saturday morning I felt pretty tired, but still managed four miles. Sunday I ran on the in-laws treadmill. My wife, sisters-in-law and I got it for them as a Christmas gift last year as a way to encourage them to exercise. Monday I managed another four miles, and then Tuesday and today I did five miles.

I'm feeling like I'm getting back into my routine. The last two mornings I've felt pretty strong. Over the next few weeks I'll ramp up the mileage. I'm aiming for a period of at least a few weeks at 70-80 mpw before I get into the official marathon training phase.

August 08, 2005

20-2

Twenty wins and two losses. That is the final record of one of the two softball teams I played for this summer. It looks great, until you find out that the two losses came in the last two games of the season and cost us the championship. But it's just a game and I did have a lot of fun playing.

I didn't run this weekend, but did five miles this morning. B actually slept almost until my alarm went off, surprisingly enough. When I heard him and saw what time it was, I just decided I might as well get up. I helped J out a little and then went out for my run. I'm a little sore from racing Friday night, playing two softball games Saturday and then another four on Sunday, but the run went pretty well. I took it very easy and did five miles in just over 45 minutes. Hopefully I'll be able to get into a routine now and start building up my mileage. Depending on how things go, I think I'm either going to run a marathon in VA Beach in March or Charlottesville in April.

August 06, 2005

3k

Is there any better way to spend your Friday night than at a track meet? Maybe, but a track meet was where I was last night. The club I belong to was putting it on. The original schedule for the meet called for a 3000, 400, 100, and mile, but had to be changed once the meet started (more on that later). I was running the 3000, for the sole reason that I needed to in order to qualify in the race series. I need to run five races, and before last night I had only run two. Last night was the third, and then there's only two more I'll be able to run before the end of the year.

I didn't have high expectations going into the race. I hadn't run the past two days, and have been taking it easy for a little while now anyway. Regardless, I seeded myself in the first and fastest heat of the 3000, which was for runners with an expected finish of 11:00 or less (my PR is 10:35; last night I gave myself an expected time of 10:45). The race started out well and I came through 1600 meters in 5:45, which was about the time I was expecting. After that, the wheels kind of fell off and I struggled to the finish in 11:14, I think last in my heat. Not that I've ever felt like I'm that fast, but I don't certainly don't feel like I have any short race speed at this point.

August 02, 2005

A Whole New World

Life with two kids is certainly different from life with only one. The only time you get a break is when they're sleeping, and by that point you just want to sleep too. I wouldn't trade it for anything, though.

Yesterday was the first day I ran since B was born. I'm still taking it easy, and Puff and I did four miles. I still wasn't back at work yesterday either, so we ran at about 11 am. After a little break this past weekend, the heat and humidity are on their way back. I only ran for a little more than a half-hour and was soaked by the time I finished.

Today I did go back to work. I'm easing in, only working two days this week. I ran a little this morning before work, but only twenty-two minutes and change. I don't know what was up with my stomach, but it didn't feel good and caused me to cut the run short. I was surprised I wasn't more tired, given my lack of quality sleep over the past few days. Not only do we have a new baby, but he has jaundice and we've been waking up to feed him every two to three hours to make sure he gets enough to eat.

July 27, 2005

It's Another Boy!

B. was born at 12:15 on July 26, 2005. He weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz., and was 20-3/4 inches long. Mom and baby are doing well. A few pics can be found here.

July 25, 2005

Routine

In my opinion, a big part of any training plan is routine. I want to make getting up and out the door in the morning so routine that there's no question about getting my run in. I was doing well last week until Saturday. I went to the Nats game Friday night, so I got to bed late. I didn't run first thing when I got up in the morning, and even though I told myself I'd just run later it never happened. My Sunday routine is different from the rest of the week, but I got out of my Sunday routine and didn't run yesterday either. It's not a big deal now that I'm not running much, but I want to start my marathon build up soon and would like to have my routine set.

This morning I ran easy for just over a half-hour. Lightning was flashing from an oncoming storm, and after that slightly-more-than-a-half-hour I had enough of tempting fate and decided to get back inside.

July 14, 2005

New Loop

As I was trying to fall asleep last night, I was thinking of loops that I could run that would be four or five miles long. Most of my loops are at least seven or eight miles, and I had run out and back along the Parkway yesterday and didn't feel like doing that again. So I thought, and decided on a new loop that would be close enough. I could always add on if I didn't feel like I had run far enough. I ran the loop this morning and finished in about 43 minutes, so I thought it was safe enough to call five miles, and according to the Google Maps Pedometer, it is safe enough to call five miles. It was another warm, muggy morning today, but a little cooler than yesterday.

I've had a little tightness in my upper hamstring (I think) of my legs the last two days. It's not something that bothers me when I run, but I can feel it when I'm not running. I'm using the stick and keeping an eye on it. I've also tried a few yoga poses the past few nights, in an effort to loosen up and relax before I go to sleep. They do seem to help, but the real test will be when my mileage goes up again.

July 13, 2005

The Break Continues

I haven't been doing much running lately. I didn't run Sunday (instead I went with J and Puff to the pool), ran four miles Monday, didn't run Tuesday, and ran six miles this morning. I felt a little more energized this morning. The break's going well. I think I'm slowly getting the fire back, although I am planning to continue the break until after the baby's born. There's no sense starting to ramp my training back up and then having to take another break. We did find out today that everything's good, the baby's where he should be; so hopefully he'll be born soon.

July 09, 2005

Buggy

I ran five easy miles this morning on the bike path along the Parkway with Puff. For some reason my legs, especially my left calf, were very tight at the start. Thankfully they loosened up as I ran. When Puff and I got to the stadium, there were all sorts of large bugs flying around, mostly pretty close to the ground. At first I thought they were horseflies, but when we turned around and went past them again, I thought they might be cicadas. The big cicada outbreak was last year, although it wasn't too bad around me because there's been so much construction in the past 17 years in this area that a lot of the bugs had been disturbed and killed. I know there are cicadas that are on different cycles than the ones that appeared last year, but it seemed strange that I saw more today than I did last year.

Yesterday I did five miles in the rain. The remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy moved up here and gave us a few inches of rain. My legs felt fine; the rain didn't bother me since it was fairly warm. Thursday I took off, J. and I got to bed late after going out to celebrate our anniversary.

July 06, 2005

Easy

I ran an easy four miles this morning. My legs were stiff as I started out, but did loosen up. Stiff legs are another thing I'm hoping to relieve by taking this break. I know my legs won't be warmed up in the morning like they would be in the afternoon, but my legs have been feeling tighter than I think they should. On another note, what's up with my digestive system? These last two mornings it has bothered me.

July 05, 2005

Taking A Break

Over the past couple weeks, I've felt as if I needed a break from running. I don't need a complete break, just a period of reduced mileage and extra rest. I don't think it's really come across in my posts, but lately I've been running more out of a sense of obligation than anything else. It's not only that, though. I also feel like I've reached a plateau. I know in order to get off the plateau, to get to the level I want, I'm going to have to run more. I don't think I can do it feeling the way I do now. I'm hoping this break will re-energize me and I'll be able to do more when I start marathon training in the fall. The half-marathon at the end of this month seemed like a good idea, but now I've decided to skip it. My plan is to run about three to five miles a day, take a day off if I feel like it, and possibly run a little more on the weekends if I feel like it. We'll see how I feel after a couple weeks, and I'll evaluate my marathon plans.

July 04, 2005

Weekly Summary 6/26-7/2

Miles: 47
Workouts: 4 x 1k on/off Wed.
Races: None

Go Fourth

This morning I ran the Go Fourth 8k, a race I've run three out of the past four years. The course is out and back along the Mt. Vernon Trail. It's flat for a little more than the first and last miles, and rolling in the middle. I ran 30:43 to finish in fifth place. My time was a course PR by almost 30 seconds. My warm up and cool down gave me ten miles for the day.

I didn't run very much this weekend. Friday I took off, Saturday I ran seven miles and Sunday I ran six miles pushing Puff in the baby jogger. I've just felt out of whack the past couple days, kind of lethargic, although today I feel better.

June 30, 2005

Taking it Easy

This morning I ran an easy six miles on the bike path along the Parkway. It wasn't one of my better runs. My legs were sore, especially my calves, and my stomach was upset. When I turned around to head back home, I actually walked for a few minutes, hoping that would make me feel a little better. It did and I ran the rest of the way home. When I got back I made sure to stretch out, which is something that gets neglected during the week when I'm trying to quickly get ready for work after I run, and I'll use the Stick later.

J and Puff had quite the traveling adventure yesterday. They were supposed to come home from Orlando via a connecting flight in Charlotte. They missed their flight in Orlando and had to take a later one because a Disney bus caught on fire and backed up traffic. The flight they got on in Orlando was delayed due to bad weather, which caused them to miss their original connection in Charlotte. The flight they finally got on in Charlotte was then cancelled because bad weather in DC prevented any flights from landing at Reagan. Reagan also doesn't allow any flights to come in after 10:30 pm due to noise restrictions, and by this point it was 9 or so. It's a good thing J has a cousin who lives in Charlotte that was able to come pick them up. She's now scheduled to fly in this morning. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

June 29, 2005

Pluggin' Away

I didn't feel much like running this morning, but I still made it out the door for nine miles. I felt tired and sluggish at the start, but woke up as the run progressed, and actually finished at a steady pace. The warm and humid weather is still here; this is the third morning in a row I've run without a shirt at 5 am.

June 28, 2005

It's All Downhill From Here

This morning I ran on the bike path along the Parkway, 10 miles basically out and back. During those 10 miles, I did a little kilometer fartlek, 8k worth of about 1k on, 1k off. The path is rolling, and the way it worked out the first three on kilometers I ran were downhill. Despite that, I only managed to run two out of the four at the pace I wanted, and one of those four was the last, the flat one. The other two were a couple seconds slower than I was aiming for. I'm looking to run a half-marathon at the end of July, but that's when J's due, so we'll have to see what happens.

June 27, 2005

Swimming

Today's title sums up how I felt as I was finishing up my run this morning. This morning must have been the most humid it's been so far this summer. Not only was I soaked in sweat, but the air was so heavy I had to stroke to get through it. Mileage-wise, I did eight this morning. I had planned on nine or ten, but my legs were a little sore and I was tired, so I stopped after eight.

Sunday I tried to explore a little. The one trail that I know of near my house goes about a mile and a half in one direction, and it looks like there's also a part that goes in the other direction. I pick up the trail in the parking lot for the boathouse that's on the Occoquan River. I wanted to see where the other direction took me. It wasn't very far. The trail doesn't even seem to go a quarter mile in the other direction. So I turned around and went the other way on the trail. I even passed some friends who had been canoeing. Yesterday's run totaled seven miles.

June 25, 2005

Weekly Summary 6/19-6/25

Miles: 61
Workouts: 5000 meter tempo run
Races: None

Doggies

The highlight of my run today was two dogs I saw. One because I'd like one that looks just like it, and the other because it was having a great time rolling around in the weeds while its owner wanted it to get moving.

I did my long--14 miles--run for the week today. I wasn't able to run with the See Mommy Run group this Saturday morning because I had to take J and Puff to the airport. However, taking them to the airport did give me a chance to run on the Mt. Vernon trail. I haven't run there since last July 4. Then run itself only went OK. Because I had to go to the airport, I got started later than usual plus there was more of a gap than usual between when I eat and when I run. It was hot today, and that combined with being hungry made the run worse than it should have been.

June 24, 2005

Testify!

My workout for today was a tempo run on the track. I ran over to the track for my warmup, and found someone else running on the track. It was the first time in a few months I had not been alone on the track. I started to run, and when I reached the other runner, our conversation went something like this:

OR: Have you dedicated yourself to Christ?

Me: Yes. (I am Catholic)

OR: Then why do aid the devil?

Me: Huh?

OR: Why do you aid the devil?

Me: I don't follow you.

OR: Why do you mock His sacrifice? You should get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness.

At this point he goes ahead and leaves me alone. I run off the track because I don't want to deal with him.

OR: No one wants to look at you! Go home and repent!

Some people give organized religion a bad name. I ran into this a lot while at was attending Clemson. Even if you said yes, people assumed you were lying and just wouldn't leave you alone. I'm mad at myself for first slowing down, and then for not being more confrontational with the guy. Of course, if I were confrontational that just would have been the devil showing through.

Luckily there's another track across the street. The first one I went to today was at the middle school. That track is always open. The high school track is across the street, but sometimes it's locked. It was open this morning, so I was able to get in a 5000 meter tempo run. I felt pretty good, but just like in my races I need to work on maintaining my pace in the second mile.

June 23, 2005

Short Run

I ran an easy five miles this morning. I might have done a bit more, but I was leaving earlier than usual for work, so I wanted to make sure I was back in time to get ready. I say I might have done more, but the five miles I did run didn't feel great. I think I needed an easy day.

I was supposed to play softball tonight, but it's hard to play when your team doesn't have enough players. I'm kind of upset because the reason I had to leave early for work was that I was getting a ride with D. My normal carpool wasn't playing softball.

The US Track and Field Championships begin tonight. It's too bad that Ritz isn't running, although I find it curious that he hasn't actually scratched from either the 5000 or 10000. I wouldn't be completely shocked to see him on the track.

Update: Ok, so Ritz didn't run the 10000.

June 22, 2005

How Far Did I Run?

If you haven't heard about this yet, I suggest you check it out.

June 20, 2005

Training Partners

Saturday morning I did my first run with the See Mommy Run group. We did 11 miles at an easy pace. We didn't start very far from my house, so our route took us on roads I run often. It was a beautiful morning, about 60 degrees and sunny, a far cry from the hot and humid weather at the beginning of last week. It was nice to have other people to run with for once.

I think I should have stretched a bit more after the run Saturday, because I was pretty stiff Sunday. I worked at home and played softball too on Saturday afternoon, so that probably contributed to my stiffness. I got out Sunday afternoon for an easy five and then stretched out well. J and Puff and I had a nice Father's Day dinner.

This morning I was hoping to do a progression run on the track. I wanted to warm up and then run four miles on the track, with each mile a little faster than the last. It didn't work out quite as I planned. I did two miles, neither of which were as fast as I wanted (but at least the second was faster than the first), and then had to take a bathroom break. I came back and did one more mile before cooling down and getting ready for work. I guess I was a bit too tired to do the workout I wanted.

June 17, 2005

Easy Nine

This morning I got out for an easy nine miles. It's cooled off significantly this week; the 60 degree temp this morning was so nice for running. I felt a little stiff, but nothing too bad. Tomorrow morning I'm running with the See Mommy Run group. J told me they though I was intimidating, but they don't have anything to worry about. I'm just going to run their pace and stay with them.

I didn't get out yesterday for a run. J got home late after her party, and since she hadn't seen me for a few days she woke me up and wanted to talk. I chose sleep over running in the morning. Wednesday, my last day in Pittsburgh, I did five miles on the trail. I felt really tired for some reason. Maybe running in the heat caught up to me a bit.

June 14, 2005

Easy Day

I didn't see any deer today while I was running. I got out today slightly earlier than yesterday, and was planning on eight miles or so. I didn't take my water with me today because I thought I'd be OK, but I could have used some. I ran on the trail again today, but just continued on to the paved park and ran out and back for seven miles.

I haven't quite felt like myself running-wise while I've been in Pittsburgh. Even though I've been getting a little more sleep than I do at home I've felt tired, especially at the beginning of my runs. Hopefully when I get back to my normal schedule later this week I'll feel better.

June 13, 2005

Doe A Deer

The past two days I've run on a trail about a half mile from my parent's house in Pittsburgh. Part of it is crushed limestone (I think) and part of it is paved. To stay on soft surfaces, I've stayed on the crushed limestone section. That section is just under 2-3/4 miles (the trail is marked each 1/4 mile), so it requires some doubling back, but overall it's not bad.

Sunday I ran 8 miles at about 1:30 in the afternoon. It was about 85 and sunny, so I took my water with me. The good part about having to double back is I can drop my water bottle off and drink a few times when I pass it. Despite the heat I was moving at a pretty good pace and ran the 8 miles in just over an hour, including a 6:45 last mile.

Today I did 10 miles a little earlier in the day. When the sun was out, it was warm. Luckily, though, the sun was behind some clouds for most of the run so I didn't feel too hot. With about three miles to go, I came upon a doe that looked like it had a broken leg. Normally, if people get close, deer run away, but this one didn't. I've never been much of an animal person, so I really didn't just want to try to run by it. I had visions of it charging at me. The deer happened to be right by a parking lot, so I was able to cut through the lot and come back out on the trail past the deer. It was still there when I came back the other way.

June 11, 2005

See Mommy Run

Yesterday I ran with a few of J's friends at her See Mommy Run group. See Mommy Run was started as a way for new moms to get into shape with a group. J and Puff meet other moms and their kids a couple days a week. I had taken the day off work because Puff and I were to Pittsburgh in the afternoon for my mother's graduation.

We ran at Burke Lake Park, which has a nice 5-mile loop. I had though it was mostly paved, but actually it's mostly not paved. J hasn't been running since she's gotten further along with the pregnancy, but she walked. I ran with A and H. I felt a little silly running without a stroller, but it was nice to have some company for once. It turns out that A is training for the Rock-N-Roll Half Marathon, and there's a few other women training for Marine Corps. They're getting together on Saturdays to do long runs, and said they wouldn't mind if I joined them. Our ability level is close enough, and again, I like the company.

June 01, 2005

Weekly Summary 5/22-5/29

Miles: 30? or so. I need to keep better track in my log.
Workouts: Not really a workout, but I picked up the pace for two segments of Thursday's eight miles
Races: None

Peyton Jordan

J and I were up late Monday night flipping through the TV channel when we came across the Peyton Jordan meet at Stanford. I had meant to tape the coverage, but then forgot it was even on. The men's steeplechase, with all of three athletes in the field, was about to start. Now I can understand some athletes dropping out and having a small field, but what I found amusing was Larry Rawson's comment about the one Kenyan who still might show up. The three athletes are on the track, seconds away from the start, and someone might still show up? That would be a sight. Imagine him running on to the track, arms waving, shouting, "Hey! Wait for me!"

My running's been up and down this week. Sunday I did 11 miles, but Monday I felt very tired an only managed six. Tuesday I did 8 miles, and then today I didn't run. I'm hoping that once J's family leaves, my schedule can get back to normal.

May 25, 2005

Fair Comparison?

When it comes to my running, there are some people that I like to compare myself to. I feel like if I'm doing about as much as they are I'm doing well. These are people who I've never actually met, but through the wonders of the Internet I can find out exactly what they ran today.

Lately I've been disappointed in myself because I haven't been running as much. My life's been hectic and my motivation's been low, which have led to my lack of running. I've been wondering, though, are my comparisons fair? My situation is not the same as most of the people I compare myself to. They have different jobs, schedules, etc. I'd like to be able to only hold myself up to my standards, but it's not that easy.

Weekly Summary 5/15-5/21

I've decided to start dating these posts; I figure that will make them a little easier to understand.

Miles: 38
Workouts: 8 x 1000 meters, total time for the 8000 meters was 30:44
Races: none

I was still tired last week. I'm not getting the rest I need and it shows when I only run 5 out of 7 days. And on one of those days I cut the run short because I was tired.

May 20, 2005

Just In Time

I was out a little late last night since my softball game ended later than hoped, so this morning I planned to run easily for 45 minutes or so. I actually felt pretty good, so I ended up running for an hour. Heavy rain was forecast for today, so I thought it would be raining when I got up. Luckily, it wasn't. I checked the radar and there was a break in the rain just as I was heading out the door. It started to rain again about five minutes before the end of my run. I was glad for the break because it was pouring not long after it started to rain again.

I didn't run yesterday. I was absolutely exhausted when my alarm went off, so I took the day off and slept in. I was still pretty tired all day so it probably was a good idea not to run.

We lost our softball game by two runs. As I mentioned previously, it ended late. It ended late because it started late as well. We were just going to get started when this soccer team started to put goals out in the middle of our field. I play in the Congressional League, and we were playing out on the Mall near the Lincoln Memorial. The other team we were playing was saving the field and was there before the soccer team, but the soccer team claimed to have a permit although they couldn't produce it. Just as the Park Police were going to get involved, we found out that one of the players on the other team had found another field.

May 18, 2005

Mind Over Matter

After last week's mediocre running, I was kind of anxious to get back into the groove this week. I didn't run Sunday, as I had a headache and just felt achy. Monday I did 10 miles and Tuesday I did 8 miles. This morning I had a good speedwork session. My workout was 8 x 1000 meters with a 200 meter recovery. I ran it at the middle school track. I didn't want to go to the high school track and find it locked again. I didn't pay attention to each repeat's time individually as I did to the cumulative time. I wanted to see how fast I ran the 8k of repeats. The first four repeats didn't feel too good. I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to finish the workout. But I must have loosened up, because the second four went much better. I was hoping for my 8k time to be 30 minutes, and after 4k my time was 15:37. I ran the last 4k in 15:07 to finish in 30:44. I'm extremely pleased with the workout and also that I didn't quit at the beginning when I wasn't feeling great.

Weekly Summary

Miles: 18.5
Workouts: None
Races: Two-mile race at Fitness Day
This was not a good week of training. Between staying up late, being sick, and traveling I did not run much at all last week.

May 12, 2005

Bad Week

This week has not been too kind to me. I haven't gotten much sleep or done much running, and to make matters worse I think I've caught the bug Puff had. My stomach's been bothering me since yesterday. I've run a grand total of 15 miles this week. Since I've been up late almost every night this week I've been sleeping in.

Yesterday was "Fitness Day" at my workplace. I work right next to a school that has a track. We held various running and walking events on the track. Last year I won the two-mile race, but I was not able to defend my title. R., who came in second last year, won this year, while I came in third behind R. and J. (I think), the new guy who ran XC in college. Also disappointing was the fact that I ran slower than last year, although this year I ran in the relay before the two-mile.

I'm going to try running tomorrow. Originally, my plan was to do my long run tomorrow because I'll be in Blacksburg this weekend for M.'s graduation, but that plan has changed. I'm just going to run easily for around an hour, so about 6-10 miles.

May 07, 2005

Weekly Summary

I haven't done this for a few weeks, but I'd like to start again.
Miles-66
Workouts-None
Races-Hills of Cabin John 5k XC, 19:30

The Birds

This morning I did my long run of 15 miles. I decided about two weeks ago that I'd be better of running long on Saturday instead of Sunday like I had been doing. I ran out and back along the bike path, and then added on a little around the house to get to two hours. The run was uneventful, other than the birds. About 12 miles into the run I saw a few geese flying overhead. When my eyes returned to the path, I saw two more just standing there. They took off, and for a second it looked like they were coming right at me, but then they flew off. I probably saw more people on the path this morning than I have combined on my Sunday runs.

May 06, 2005

Recovery

If there's one aspect of my training that I would like to improve, it would be my recovery. It's not that I run fast/hard every day or anything like that, it's mainly that I don't get enough sleep. Most days I suck it up and get up and run, but occasionally I have a day like Wednesday where I hit the snooze button a few times or reset the alarm for an hour or so later. Then I'm likely upset because I didn't run as far as I had planned or worse yet didn't run at all.

I think this takes the most toll on my workouts. I wanted to do a tempo run Wednesday, but I hit the snooze button and got up late. I tried again Thursday, but just didn't feel like I had the energy so I just ran easily instead. I'm hoping since I can sleep in a little later on weekends that I'll get a good workout in tomorrow.

May 02, 2005

Race Report

Yesterday I ran the Hills of Cabin John XC 5k. It was my third XC race of the year. Right now, I'm leading the club's XC series, but I don't expect that to hold up. Maybe I'll be able to finish second or third, though.

The weather before the race was not very good. It rained Saturday morning, stopped for most of the afternoon, and the rained overnight. It was still raining when I woke up Sunday morning. The rain stopped before the race, but the course, which was mainly on trails, was muddy and full of puddles. I got off to a good start, and then settled in. I was in second place at the beginning of the race, but was passed by a few people and ran most of the race between fifth and tenth place. I almost managed to go off the course at one point. We ran behind some baseball fields and then back into the woods; I didn't know there was a little bend there and I had to grab a tree to stay on course. I passed a runner with about a quarter mile to go and held off another runner to finish in 7th place in 19:30.

Overall, I'm happy with this race. I would have liked to run faster (I was only a little more than 30 seconds out of third place), but the course was sloppy and I feel like I put forth a good effort. It helped that I was running with people for the entire race. Having others around helps me to maintain my focus. I think I'm not going to race for about a month now. I'll give myself a solid block of training and we'll see how I do then.

April 29, 2005

Coaching

La Woof posed an interesting question on the letsrun.com message boards earlier this week: Do you think you could coach an Olympic champion? I'd have to answer no. While I feel I have a good grasp of training philosophy, I don't feel like I know enough of the specifics to coach an athlete at that level. Coaching is definitely something I'd like to do in the future, though most likely on a high school level. I think I'd really enjoy it, provided I don't have the drama that exists on the high school lacrosse team J assistant coaches.

My own training went pretty well this week. After my disappointing weekend and a conspicuous beginning to this week, I feel like I'm back on track (excuse the pun.) I didn't run Tuesday because Puff's antics kept me awake for part of the night. Wednesday I went to the track to run 4 x 1 mile, with one minute rest. The high school track was closed, so I ran at the middle school. Based on my tempo run, I was aiming for 6:30/mile. I was pleasantly surprised when I ran 6:13, 6:11, 6:16, and 6:07. It did make me wonder, first if the track was short, and second if the fact that the middle school track is asphalt rather than tartan does that make it faster. Until proven otherwise, though, I'm counting the times as legitimate. Yesterday and today were easy days, ten and nine miles respectively. I was tired and fairly sore today. Hopefully I'll be able to get some rest this weekend.

April 25, 2005

Back to It

This morning I ran one of my eight mile loops. It was a nice morning to run, about 40 degrees with the sun poking through the clouds once it started to come up. One of these days I'd like to measure one of my loops and figure out where the mile marks are. That way I'd be able to figure out if the first couple miles of my runs are slower than the last. When I get back home, I often look at my watch and think I didn't think it took that long. My thinking is that since I run early, my first two or three miles are a little slow, and then once I warm up I get to my normal pace.

Who I Am vs. Who I Want to Be

I'd like to be more dedicated. To running. I didn't run a step this weekend, unless you count the little bit of running I did while at softball practice. What I don't understand is that why if I want to be more dedicated I can't. It would be nice if dedication was something that was sold by the bottle, something that I could just buy some more of when I needed it.

April 22, 2005

Slogging

These past two days I've really felt like I've been dragging on my runs, especially today. Yesterday I managed to make it 10 miles, but I was tired enough this morning to cut two or three miles off my planned total and only run six miles. My lack of enough sleep over the past couple nights has caught up to me. Of course, J has a simple solution: "If you want to go to bed at 9 or 9:30, just go to bed." Often, I end up waiting for her to be ready to go to bed, and then it's late.

Work is still hectic, and I think I'm beginning to see some stress come out at home. I think I'm more easily agitated now than I used to be. Little things bug me more. I do notice it and I try to relax, but I'm a little worried. I just need to remember it's not a big deal, and as my co-worker's screen saver used to say:"We're not saving lives, we're pushing paper."

April 20, 2005

My Eyes

Allergy season is upon me. Growing up I was never allergic to anything in Pittsburgh, but since I've moved to South Carolina and then Virginia my allergies have become progressively worse. There are just massive amounts of pollen in the air here, making me sneeze and making my eyes itch. That said, even though I thought my eyes would bother me this morning, running actually made them feel better. I ran over to the high school track and ran a tempo run on the track. Even though some lights were on around the school, the track looked pitch black when I got there. The track sits below the school. Once I got down to the track there was enough light. The tempo run didn't quite go as well as I had hoped, but it was still a good workout. I really think that if I did run in the afternoon I'd be able to do my workouts faster, but that's just not an option at the moment.

April 19, 2005

Marathons

This past weekend/Monday was one of the biggest in marathoning, with London and then Boston taking place. Congratulations to Paula for winning London and Alan for coming in fourth at Boston. I'm planning on moving up to the marathon eventually, although it seems like my time frame keeps getting pushed back. I wanted to run Pittsburgh, but I don't see that marathon coming back any time soon. Plus, I have no idea how two kids are going to affect my training, and the marathon is not a race I just want to run to say I've run it; I want to train properly and finish well. Based on what's happened at Boston the past few years, it seems to be better to run a fall marathon. Richmond or Philadelphia would work well for me. Both are big but not huge, and neither is too far away. I'm just going to have to take stock of my life and see when the marathon fits.

My running over the past few days has been OK. I raced Saturday at the Difficult Run 8k XC race and came in fifth. Despite my place, the race didn't go well. I got to the race later than I would have liked and didn't warm up much. I didn't feel good until halfway throughout the second loop of the race. Sunday I did 13 miles, Monday 8, and then this morning 9.

April 14, 2005

Invisible

Zeke wrote a little while ago about how he tries to make his running "invisible" to his family. I'd really like to be able to do that too, but it's difficult. I'd prefer to run in the afternoon, but leaving work on time when I go in early is not an easy task. Also, after being alone for pretty much all day with Puff, the toddler who can't sit still, J wants me to watch him when I get home. And my commute each way is about an hour. So I run in the morning before work. I don't mind, but then sleep becomes an issue. I don't usually do well on little sleep.

I've thought about moving away from DC, to somewhere where my commute each way would not take an hour. I can see it happening, but the part that worries me most is finding a new job. I can see myself progressing and being promoted where I work now, but who knows what might happen somewhere else?

April 10, 2005

Long Run

This morning I did the first true long run I've done for a little while. I ran out and back along the bike path for 14 miles. It was a great morning to run, clear and about 40 degrees. I actually saw some other people out this morning, although all of them were on bikes. Even though I call it the "bike path," I don't actually see very many people riding their bikes.

I felt pretty good even though I did the tempo run yesterday. I did the long run at a fairly easy pace, although I did pick it up a little and run the second half of the run faster than the first. I read in the training plan article in the latest Running Times that Joe Rubio's athletes have a hard day Saturday and then do the long run Sunday, so I though I'd give it a try and see how it goes. It gives me a chance to get two good runs in without having to worry about getting to work.

Weekly Summary

Miles: 55.5
Workouts: Hill workout Thu., tempo run Sat.
Races: Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, 1:05:53
Other than not running Wed., this week went well.

April 09, 2005

Checking In

I haven't written too much this week, as I've been pretty busy as usual. But since it's Saturday, I have some time to recap my week.

Sat-This morning I did a tempo run on the track. I warmed up for a half-hour, and then ran 5000+ meters on the track in 20:38. I say 5000+ because there was a bench and tables in lane one on the backstretch, forcing me to go around them and add a little more distance to my run. Sure, I could have moved them, but I didn't want to stop between my warm up and the tempo portion of my run. I was hoping to run a little faster, but I'm happy with my performance.

Fri-I ran 8 miles, about half of that in the rain. Luckily the temperature was about 60, so I didn't get cold. This run was pretty slow since I went to bed late Thursday night and was tired.

Thu-I did another hill workout this morning. I didn't run it where I usually do but ran it on another hill, where I grossly underestimated its length. It only took me a little more than a minute to run up the hill, when I was hoping to find a hill that would take me two minutes or more to reach the top. I did 10 repeats of the hill, so in essence my workout was more like hill fartlek, about 10 x 1 min on, 1 min off.

Wed-No running. I slept in. I was tired when my alarm went off, so I didn't get up. I left for work early and hoped to run in the afternoon when I got home, but I didn't leave work on time and it took me longer to get home than I had hoped.

Tue-I ran 10 miles. My groin was feeling better, and my legs weren't too sore, so I decided to add two miles to the eight I was planning.

Work was better this week, it wasn't quite as hectic. I learned last week that we're reorganizing again because apparently the first one didn't quite work. Honestly, though, I think the problem is more of a staffing issue than anything else. We don't have the people needed to do the work. Lacrosse is now in full swing for J, so she's gone almost every day when I get home from work. Coaching two teams, as well as being pregnant and having to watch Puff is stressful. Next year she's only going to coach one team.

April 05, 2005

Weekly Summary

Miles: 46
Workouts: Hill workout Wed.
Races: None

This week was better than last week, but still not where I'd like to be. Next week I'm going to get the mileage up and try adding a second workout.

April 04, 2005

Cherry Blossom Report

Yesterday I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile race. I was hoping to break one hour. I had been checking the weather forecasts for a few days leading up to the race, and it did not look good. I woke up to find it very windy outside. The wind was blowing 25-35 mph, with higher gusts. The temperature was in the mid-40s, which would have been great if not for the wind.

The race didn't start out well. I lined up near the front of the 6-7 minutes/mile pace marker, but still spent most of the first mile weaving around slower runners. I picked it up the next mile and ran 6:02. However, my legs just felt pretty dead and I wasn't able to run any faster. My next five splits were 6:26, 6:11, 6:21, 6:22, and 6:31. I was running into some pretty stiff wind in these miles. Sometime in the seventh mile, my digestive system started to act up and I slowed down. I almost felt like dropping out, but I finished. My last three miles were 6:45, 7:25, and 7:14. I finished in 1:05:53, 7 seconds better than last year, when I also had digestive issues.

I was hoping for a much better performance. I ran a 1:02:00 ten-mile race on a much more difficult course in February. But one day does not make a career. I'll continue to train, and I'm sure I'll break an hour. I'll be back next year.

This morning I did an easy six miles. I'm a little sore, but in a different place after this race. In February, my calves were really sore. This time it's my left groin. I'll use The Stick tonight and hopefully that will loosen it up.

April 01, 2005

Goal

Sunday--Cherry Blossom 10 Mile
Goal--59:59

March 31, 2005

Bipolar

I feel like I've had the least consistent feelings lately regarding my running. One day I feel great, like everything is going well, and then the next day I'm mad because things didn't go as planned. I had a great hill workout Wednesday morning even though I was pretty tired. I wanted to get to bed early, or at least on time, last night, but that didn't happen. I stayed up late and didn't run this morning, leading to my feelings of guilt and anger at myself.

Where should I draw the line between sleep and running? Should there even be a line? Right now, the line is basically at six hours. If I'm going to get up and run, I have to get that much sleep. I can't say exactly why my line is where it is, but it seemed like a good line at some point. Last night I only got a little more than six hours without running. I guess if I'm not going to sleep much, I should just get up and try running and see what happens. The worst thing would be I get a mile or two, decide I'm too tired, and turn around.

March 29, 2005

Wanting It

This morning I really felt like I wanted to do what it takes to reach my goals. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do what it takes. Reading Chelle's post today helped cement that feeling. I want it bad too.

This morning I ran 10 miles on the bike path. It was uneventful except for the fact that I seemed to think everything I saw was an animal. I saw two plastic bags caught up in the weeds, one that I though looked like a rabbit and on that I thought looked like a flying duck. I saw a thin stick that I thought looked like a worm. Finally I was passing some construction and on the tyvek-like fencing they had around the site I saw a piece of string that I thought was a bird at first. I have no idea why I had this animal fixation this morning.

March 28, 2005

New Loop

Yesterday's run took me over a new loop, one that actually includes some trails. Almost 100% of my running is done on the roads, mostly because I begin and end almost 100% of my runs at my house, which is in a highly developed area. I don't have the time to drive anywhere to run. I ran over to the park yesterday intending to run on the golf course, but I changed my mind when I saw some cars there. You're technically not allowed to run on the golf course, but I was just hoping no one would be out to see me. I ran a little further into the park to the boathouse (where a few local crew teams practice) and on to the trail there. I had run on it once before. I followed the trail to where it ended, about two, two and a half miles, and ran home. I ran six miles total.

This morning I ran eight miles in the rain. It wasn't raining too hard, but the combination of the raindrops on my glasses and car headlights made it hard too see at times. I can't wait until I go to the eye doctor and get more contacts so I don't have to run in the rain and in the dark wearing my glasses.

March 26, 2005

Weekly Summary

Miles: 27
Workouts: None
Races: None

This was not a good week. I was tired and/or sick for most of it. I'm feeling better now and this comin week will be much better.