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.