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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

How Far Did I Run?

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

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.

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.