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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Goal

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Stress

I'm not in the best mood right now. I'm sick, I've only run two out of four days this week, and work is making me upset. The worst part about work is that even though I don't cause the problems I have to fix them.

I got up this morning intending to run, but after I got dressed and went downstairs I changed my mind. I was tired, and it didn't help that it was raining. I went back upstairs and got back in bed for another hour.

I'm only working one more day this week, and then taking Good Friday off. Hopefully the three-day weekend will recharge me.

Weekly Summary

Miles: 65
Workouts: Hill workout Wed.
Races: Frozen Slopes XC-24:16
Super Sligo 4 Mile-24:48

Sick

I have a cold. At least my sore throat is pretty much gone though. Thursday night I came down with the sore throat, and then yesterday I got the runny nose and cough. I don't think it made a difference in my race today, though.

Today was the Super Sligo 4 mile race. It says four miles, but it's actually 4.1 or 4.2, as the start and finish of the two-loop course are not located in the same place. The race was late getting started to begin with because the kid's mile took longer than expected. The race starts on a path maybe three or four people wide, so it would not be a good idea to run toward all the kids. I just stood around, but should have jogged a bit to stay warm. I didn't feel good during the race until it was almost over, but at least I passed a few people in the last mile and a half or so. I ran 24:48 to finish in 14th place overall; I'm not sure how I did in my age group.

Yesterday I ran nine miles. I ran one of my normally eight-mile loops and added on some distance by running back on the trail rather than straight back to the house. Despite the fact that I slept well, I still was pretty tired when I woke up. I briefly considered staying in bed, but once I started running I woke up.

10 Miles

This morning I did 10 miles. I didn't run my 10 mile loop, but instead ran out and back on the bike path that goes out the Parkway. I felt pretty good after my workout yesterday. I did stretch out well after the workout, which is not something I do every day. I thought about going a little further than 10 miles, and even got up 10 minutes early so I could run some more, but I didn't get out the door quickly enough. Puff woke up, so I took a minute or two to put him back to sleep, and then I just took my time getting started. I'd like to get in a longer run during the week, something like 12 miles with maybe a few miles near tempo pace.

I'm running another race Saturday. This one's a road race; there's not another XC race until next month. I ran well at this race last year and hope to do even better this year.

Work has become incredibly hectic right now. My desk is just a sea of paperwork. I'm hoping to get some more help soon, but that does not seem likely.

Hill Work

This morning I did my first hill workout of the year. It was actually my first workout of the year other than the three races I've run. The workout was simple: just go up the hill and then come back down. The hill I ran was the parking lot for the soccer fields for the library/fitness center complex near my house. It's probably about 400 meters long, gradual at the bottom but steeper at the top. I did six repeats at maybe 10k pace, which along with my warm up and cool down gave me about 7 miles for the day. I would have done a few more, but I had to meet my carpool early. One of my coworkers moved down near me and I've been carpooling with them to work. She had an early meeting this morning, so she wanted to make sure she got in early enough.

Yesterday I ran my 10 mile loop. It was fairly uneventful, except that I was concerned about getting back late, so I picked up the pace a bit. In other news, I found out the the course for the Frozen Slopes race was long, so my performance was a little better than I thought. There's also some pics of the race at this site.

Race Recap

Yesterday I ran my club's first XC race of the year, the Frozen Slopes 6k. Rolling does not adequately describe the hills in this race. The race starts by going up a small hill on to the only extended flat portion of the race. After maybe half to three-quarters of a mile, the course goes up and down until you get back to the flat portion and then go down the small hill to the finish. I ran 24:16 to finish in sixth place. Last year I ran over a minute faster but didn't place as high. In fact, if you compare the times between last year and this year, they seem a minute or so slower. I warmed up and cooled down for a half hour each to end up with 11 miles for the day.

Saturday I did my 10 mile loop. I've had success running that loop the day before my last two shorter races (not the 10 miler) and why mess with success? My calves were a bit sore, but I still had a good run, running just under 8 minute pace.

This morning I did 8 miles. I didn't sleep too well, but I guess since I got a pretty good night's sleep Saturday I didn't feel too bad this morning. I stretched out well after the race and my legs weren't too sore this morning. My calves were still tight, though. I gave them a brief massage with The Stick in the hopes that it would help.

Tired

I felt pretty sore and tired for this morning's run, especially in my calves. This was likely due to yesterday's run. Yesterday I did another 10 miles. I didn't sleep too well the night before because J. was sick. She was still awake and watching TV when I went to sleep, and she woke me up when she got into bed. I wasn't sure how much I'd feel like running or if I'd need to take a break during my run, so I did some loops close to my house. I felt good enough to do ten miles, so that's what I did.

This morning, I had eight miles planned, but only did seven. I just never really woke up, and my calves were sore. I slept all night last night, just not long enough. I briefly thought about staying in bed, but I got up after a minute or so.

The first cross country race in my club's series is this Sunday. It should be fun. We're supposed to get a little snow Saturday. This is the third year they've had this race; the first year it was scheduled in February, since then it's been in March. Of course, when it was in February, the race had to be postponed until March because it was the weekend after the President's day blizzard that dumped two and a half feet of snow on us.

Update

I really need to try and update my blog regularly; otherwise, what's the point in keeping one? My training's been rather sporadic lately. J., Puff, and I have all been sick twice with some kind of stomach bug. Thankfully the second time around the illness was not as severe.

This morning I did 10 miles. It's really nice that the sun is coming up as I finish up my runs. It's a nice change from running in the dark all the time. I ran one of my eight mile loops and added on a two mile segment at the end to get to 10 miles for the day. The two mile segment goes in part on the trails behind the fitness center/library complex. I'm looking forward to all the snow and ice being gone so I can do some speedwork back there. Speaking of snow and ice, the freak weather that dropped temperatures almost 30 degrees yesterday and brought snow to northern VA left parts of my run kind of icy, but there was only one patch where I really felt like I was going to slip.

Work is going to only get busier in the next few weeks. One of the programs I work with has had its dollar limit increased, so we have to let everyone know, and then brace for the surge in orders that will come in. I'm not looking forward to it.

No Running

I didn't run today. I was up late last night and just decided to bag the run and sleep in instead. I knew I'd be miserable if I tried to get up and run, so I slept. Why is it that on the nights my wife and I are exhausted we end up staying up late?

The last two days I did 8 and 10 miles. I could still feel some soreness in my legs, but nothing that would hold me back like I felt on Monday. I tried each day to maintain a steady pace, but feel like I was more successful Wednesday.

The snow's coming down now, so I don't know what my run will be like tomorrow morning. Hopefully the snow won't be too deep and it won't be too icy. My biggest concern is that I'll be running in the dark, the I can stay in a fairly well-lit area and be OK.

Sore

My legs feel quite sore after yesterday's race. They didn't feel too bad when I went to bed last night, but they were certainly sore this morning. I had planned on running 8-10 miles today, but only did 6. I figured that was enough to loosen up my legs. I made sure I stretched out after my run, unlike after the race. I did stretch following the race, but only a little bit and not after I cooled down but a few hours later. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Luckily, the weather wasn't bad at all this morning. It was supposed to start snowing last night, and then change to rain by morning. But when I woke up, there was no snow and it looked like it had just rained lightly. It wasn't raining when I ran, and the sun was actually poking through the clouds.

RRCA 10 Mile Challenge

This morning I ran the RRCA 10 Mile Challenge, a race put on by the Howard Country Striders. The race serves as a team championship of sorts for the local running clubs, as team compete for what was described as "the world's ugliest traveling trophy" (or something like that). To be honest, my biggest incentive for running the race was that my club paid my entry fee since I competed for the team.

My goal for the race was to start out conservatively, 6:15-6:20 pace, and finish strong. I started out at what felt right, but was actually faster than I thought. The third mile marker was the first one I saw, (Note to race directors: please make your mile markers visible. The mile markers today were small yellow signs about six inches high.) and I passed it in 18:02. I was surprised to be running that fast at what felt like a slower pace. My next three miles were 6:22, 5:56 and 6:22. I'm not sure what my split was at seven or nine miles, but I reached mile eight in 49:25 and finished in 1:02:00. I felt like I picked up the pace for the last two miles, but my time doesn't really reflect it. Maybe it just felt faster because I was tired.

The net result of my race was a 45th place finish and a 10-mile PR by 36 seconds. The PR was a bit of a shock. The course, at least for the middle miles, was fairly rolling, and I haven't done any speedwork except for the one other race I had run this year before today. Today's race bodes well for Cherry Blossom, which is a much faster course.

Running in the AM

I've switched from running after work to running before work, again. This time, though, it should be for good. Running before work just makes more sense. I only have to shower once, and I don't have worry about not leaving work on time. And most of all, it's less stressful on the rest of my family.

Not a Bad Race

This past Sunday I ran the Country Road Run 5 mile race. I wish I could have finished a little higher than I did (14th), but at least my place was due to others running faster, not me running slower.

I went out a little faster than my last race and ran the first mile in 5:56. I was surprised to see so many people ahead of me and thought I had run slower. The second mile featured the biggest hill on the course and I hit the two-mile mark in 12:27. I reached the turn around at 15:43 and began to head back toward the finish. I passed three miles in 18:44 and can't remember my 4-mile split. During my last mile I was furiously trying to stay ahead of the people I could hear behind me. I turned on to the finish straightaway and managed to pass two people in the last 50 meters or so to finish in 30:44.

Overall I'm pleased with my performance. It feels good to have run a fairly large negative split. I haven't done any speedwork yet other than this race but did manage a decent pace.

Sporadic

That's what my running has been for the last two weeks or so: sporadic. For one reason or another, I haven't been able to get myself out the door on a consistent basis. Case in point: this week, I ran only four of seven days. I did spend most of Tuesday night at the emergency room with J. She got a bad case of the flu and couldn't keep anything down. She got some fluids via IV and is feeling much better.

I did have things to do two of the three days I didn't run, but I still could have fit in a run. I'm not sure what leads to my lack of motivation sometimes. I have begun to run before I go home i.e. I change before work and run from the commuter lot. That seems to help; it's harder for me to skip a run when I'm already dressed for it.

Do Not Try This at Home

J. and I decided to leave Pittsburgh Saturday morning, with the hopes of beating the snow across Maryland and making it home before anything major started to fall. It turns out we didn't make it. We didn't leave early enough so by the time we did leave the snow had already started to fall. We developed a false sense of security when we got to Morgantown and it was only raining, but then when we began to go up into the mountains the fun began.

The rain changed to snow as we went up, and when we got into Garrett County, MD, the conditions were terrible. Between the snow and wind, we couldn't see five feet in front of us. The wipers kept getting coated with ice and were actually making it harder to see. We pulled off twice to clear the windshield, and we tried to pull over a third time to get into a rest area. However, the rest area was up a hill which hadn't been plowed and we couldn't make it up. We cleared off the windshield again, and slowly backed down to the interstate. To add injury to insult, we skidded sideways at the top of a hill.

Once we made it out of Garrett County, conditions improved. The roads still had snow on them, but the snow had stopped falling from the sky. Overall, it took almost ten hours for what should be a five hour trip. It was also an experience I don't want to have again.

Calm Before the Storm

I'm in Pittsburgh for the weekend. I had Thursday off for the inauguration, and J. and I decided it would be a good weekend to take Puff and go see my parents, so I'm taking Friday off too. It is supposed to snow this weekend, however, so our trip back to VA might be treacherous. You'd never know that right now, though, as there's hardly a cloud in the sky. Don't let the sun fool you, it's still very cold.

I did 10 miles this morning. Weather.com said it was 9 degrees. It wasn't bad once my hands warmed up. I wore two pairs of gloves, but it still took two or three miles for my hands to get warm. I ran up to the trail, ran four miles there, and then did my six-mile loop. The six-mile loop goes right by the trail, so it's very easy to add mileage.

Running on snow seems to be harder than I remember. The trail was snow-covered, and the spots where it was packed down weren't bad, but it's difficult to get traction where the snow is still fresh. I was pleasantly surprised when I checked my watch after I finished to see that the snow didn't slow me down as much as I thought it might.

The First

I did my first run yesterday with the fuel belt that my wife got me for Christmas. I have to say the I like the product. At first I thought the sloshing sound would bother me, but I stopped noticing it after only 10 minutes or so. I took four of the six bottles with me since it was only 34 degrees outside. Three I filled with water and one with Gatorade. I also took one Gu with me. I ran out the Parkway for an hour and then turned around, ending up with 15 miles.

For next weekend's long run I'm taking more Gatorade. I ran the back portion of my run a couple minutes faster than the out portion, in no small part due to the fact that I had the Gu at the turnaround and the Gatorade on the way back. I only had some water on the way out.

Yelling in my Ear

Twice this week I've been yelled at while running. Both times it happened while I was running on the path along the Parkway. The first time someone screamed "Put some pants on!"(I was simply wearing running shorts, and not even the smallest ones I own), and the second time I couldn't make out what they said.

I wonder what possesses people to yell things out their car window as they pass by at 55 mph. Do they think that I actually care what they think, that some random stranger yelling something at me is going to make a difference?

Change in Plans

With the new baby on the way, I don't think I'm going to have time to train for a fall marathon. The marathon is not something I want to attempt half-heartedly, so it looks like the earliest I'll be marathoning is the spring of 2006. I can't say I'm terribly disappointed, only somewhat. This just may give me a chance to run the Shamrock Marathon in VA Beach; I've always enjoyed the 8k. I think what I'm going to do is make a half-marathon in July my goal race. It should happen right before the baby's born, so it'll give me some incentive to rest after the birth.

My back's been feeling better. I don't notice it while I'm running, and I've been making sure to stretch after I run. My hamstrings have loosened up as well, leading me to believe that they were a major factor in the back pain.

Motivation

Why is it that when my schedule is disrupted, I seem to lose all motivation to run? Take for instance Tuesday, when I was at work for an extra hour trying to finish up a job before I left (which didn't happen). When I left, all I wanted to do was go to sleep. Even my wife telling me to run if I wanted to when I called to tell her I'd be home a little late didn't get me out the door. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to make myself get out the door on days like that. There's no other way for me to reach my potential.

My lower back has been acting up the past couple days. I'm not sure what happened, but it's sore, especially when I bend over. I ran yesterday, but only three miles. My lower back was tight, especially going uphill. I did some internet research today and found some things to try. I'm going to take today off and try some of the stretches and exercises and then try running tomorrow. I'll run and do the stretches and exercises and see if that helps.

Merry Christmas!

I had a pretty good Christmas. My wife, Puff, and I spent the day at her family's. Her grandmother, grandfather, and great aunt are in town for the holidays. Their Christmas celebration is a little different than my family's. We would go to Mass Christmas Eve, and then on Christmas we would open present in the morning and then basically lounge around the rest of the day. My wife's family goes to Mass Christmas day, has brunch, and then spends the rest of the day opening presents. I would have liked some time by myself to just relax and possibly take a nap. I did get up early to run. It was also a long day because we had to make sure Puff wasn't getting into things he wasn't supposed to be getting into. Where we can more or less let him roam around our house, the same can't be said about my in-laws' house.

As far as running-related gifts go, I got a fuel belt, a training log, Gu, a water bottle, a light for running in the dark, a Metro Run & Walk calendar and pen, and a copy of the latest issue of Track and Field News.

After sleeping in and running around lunchtime Christmas eve, I got up early Christmas day and the day after. I ran 6 miles Christmas Eve, 10 Christmas day, and then 15 the day after. I has a good finish to last week as well as a good beginning to this one.

Update

Despite the fact that I'm pretty tired right now, this week's gone well. Work's slow due to the holidays; it's nice not to have the phone ringing every few minutes but a little lonely with quite a few people gone. I don't go back home for Christmas or else I'd probably be gone too. My family got Thanksgiving and my wife's family got Christmas, although my family is coming for New Year's.

My wife and I got some exciting news this week: the doctor called and confirmed she's pregnant. Every indication pointed to her being pregnant, but the doctor called back with the results of the blood work to confirm it. The baby's due date is July 25.

I ran 14 miles Sunday and 8 Monday, but then didn't run Tuesday. My wife wasn't feeling well and she wanted me to stay with Puff. Yesterday I did 10, so at least when I run I'm putting in some good mileage. I'm really trying to make sure I put in the miles because I do want have a couple weeks of at least 70 miles before I start the 20k training.

Bitter

I'm not very happy today. I'm tired, and I really don't want to be at work. Thankfully, there's less than an hour left. My commute this morning was terrible. Traffic was backed up from the HOV lanes all the way into the lot. We inched along, and then all of a sudden traffic started to move. I think it took just about as long to get out to the HOV lanes as it did to get into DC. I didn't see anything that would have caused the backup either.

I was planning on running 10 or 11 miles tonight, but now I just don't know. I later for work than I wanted to be, so I'll have to see how much time I have. My wife is running with some of her friends tonight; they're running in the dark so they can check out all the Christmas decorations. I'll be home with the Puff.

Jingle Bell Jog

This past Sunday I ran the Jingle Bell Jog 8k, the last race of the year in my club's Championship Series. This is the first race I've run in a while that really felt like a race.

I ran just under the first three miles of the race with the chase pack. Right before the three-mile mark, we went up a hill, turned left, and then down a hill. I had tried to make a break a little earlier in the race, but wasn't successful. Going down the hill before the three-mile mark, I made my break. I opened up a gap and held it until the end. I even caught the guy who had been out of sight in front of me for some of the race about a quarter mile from the finish to finish fifth overall in 30:20.

My splits were 6:09, 6:03, 6:10, 5:58, 6:00. I started to tie up a little near the finish, but was still able to finish strong. I'm not sure exactly what to credit for my performance, but I ran 10 miles the day before and maybe that helped hold me back a bit at the beginning.

Training Partner

I've wanted to find someone to run with for a while now. I'm not looking for an everyday training partner, although that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but someone to run with maybe 2-3 times a week. I think it would help most when my motivation is waning and I'm having a little trouble getting myself out the door. I managed to contact someone through of all places the letsrun.com message board.

My possible training partner works at one of the local running stores, so I dropped by to see if he was working Saturday. It turns out he's the guy I see fairly often running in my neighborhood. He's built like me, tall and skinny, and has short hair, so my wife refers to him as my running twin. He's a nice guy, but he's running a marathon in a few weeks, so our schedules don't really match up right now. After his marathon, he's considering retiring and getting a real job. It figures, I find someone to possibly trtain with and his "career" might be almost over.

All by Myself

Due to the rest of my plans for Sunday, I got up at 5:30 to run. I was planning on at least 12 miles, with possibly at little more. I ran the first six miles on the roads under the streetlights, waiting for the sun to come up enough so I could finish my run on the trails without fear of running into a tree.

The solitude during my run was amazing. Only three or four cars passed me, and I didn't see any other people. It was a welcome change from running at home that early in the morning. I've never run quite that early at home on a weekend, but during the week it's as if rush hour starts at about 5 am with so many people already on their way to work trying to beat the traffic.

Lydiard

pjm has a nice summary of a lecture from world-renowned coach Arthur Lydiard that he attended at Flashes of Panic . I highly recommend reading it.

Thanksgiving

Prologue: I'm still around, and hopefully will be blogging more regularly.

Thanksgiving has always been the bigger of the two end-of-the-year holidays for my family. Almost all of my family members from out of town (a group which now includes me) come to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving wasn't going to be quite as big this year since some of my relatives who usually attend weren't this year, but Thanksgiving morning the holiday got even smaller. My grandmother, along with most of the members of my aunt's family had come down with the stomach flu. Thanksgiving was scheduled for my grandmother's but was hastily rescheduled for the healthy members of my family at my parent's. We lost more relatives when another of my aunts decided not to bring her family, due to her fear of getting sick, despite the fact that everyone attending was well.

I ran my traditional race Thanksgiving morning. I finished 35th in the five mile race in a time of 31:07. Given the windy conditions, I'm pleased with the race.

One of the things I like about visiting home is the opportunity to run on some trails. There's one a half-mile away from my house and another about two miles away. It's a nice change of pace from all the running on the roads I do at home.

Training Update

It's been a little while since I've updated, but I've still been running. I'm working on getting my mileage up to build a good base over the winter. My last two weeks have been 37 and 50 miles, and I should be around 60 miles this week.

This past Saturday I attended the ACC XC Championships at the University of Maryland. It was fun to watch, and I ran into a friend of mine from high school who now runs for Duke. She's a grad student there in her last year of eligibility for cross. She didn't run Saturday, though, because she was injured. She's had a few injury problems over the last year or two.

I did vote today, and luckily it didn't take as long as it did for some of my friends. I was in line a few minutes before the polls opened at six this morning. It took 20 minutes for me to go through the line and vote, but some of my friends (who vote at other locations) waited up to two hours.

Mediocre

That's about how I'd describe my race Saturday morning. On a basically pancake flat course I managed an 18:51 5k.

My work week didn't come to a good end, which didn't help things with the race. I tried to leave early Thursday so I could get my run in before I went out to dinner, but I was held up half an hour taking care of a job that had to deliver the next day. Apparently planning ahead is not one of the National Park Services strengths; they didn't realize until Thursday that for a White House grounds tour on Sunday it might be helpful to put up a few signs.

I stayed an hour late on Friday waiting for tracking numbers that I couldn't even get until Monday morning because the person I usually deal with had left and no one else could help me. I did ask someone else for help, but he couldn't get me the information. And I know I told the agency the job would ship Friday, not that it would arrive Friday.

Desperately Seeking

Wanted: training partner. Must be willing to run every day. Indifference to the elements mandatory. Desire to be the best runner possible required. Following the sport at elite levels a plus. If interested, leave a message here.

Ah, Fall

The gorgeous fall weather is here. It was sunny and about 60 degrees for my run yesterday. I ran another 4 miles, still getting back into the swing of things again with my running. My knee pain is still lingering, so I did some quad exercises after my run. Hopefully the pain will subside soon.

My wife has started to run again. She ran some when we were in college, before we got married. When she started teaching, she was so busy and stressed out that she didn't exercise very much. She stays at home with Puff now, and gets together with other moms to run a few times a week. She found the group through the web site See Mommy Run. The group has been featured on the local news and supposedly will be featured in the upcoming edition of the Washington Running Report.

Back to It

After the pain in my knee came up, I took most of last week off to see if it would heal. I iced and took some drugs, and my knee felt better, but not completely healed. Saturday and Sunday I ran with Puff, and while there was still pain in my knee, it felt better as I loosened up. The same thing happened yesterday when I ran by myself, and even running some laps around the soccer field to run on grass didn't seem to make a difference. I think strenghtening my quads will help my knee, so I'm going to do some quad exercises a few times a week.

The cross country season is now in full swing, and I'm anxious to check out what happened over the weekend when I get into work Monday morning. Wisconsin and Stanford look good on the men's and women's side respectively, and I've been very impressed with Josh McDougal. There's a question at Trackshark about how he'll do at the NCAA championships in November. While I think he has a good chance of placing high, I wonder if he's racing too much right now and will be burnt out by November.

Work's been frustrating lately. It's amazing how hard it seems to be for some people to follow simple procedures, such as faxing a copy of an order they placed to me because we handle the billing.

Getting Back Into It

I ran yesterday for the first time since the half-marathon. I did 4 miles, along the bike path out and back. I felt some pain just below my right knee, which was rather surprising after two weeks off. I can't think of anything I did in those two weeks that would have caused it to hurt like it did. I iced it and took some ibuprofen, and today I'm going to run on the soccer fields in order to stay on soft surfaces.

Saturday I went to College Park because Maryland was hosting the Pre-ACC XC meet. There weren't many ACC teams there; besides Maryland the Clemson women and Miami men ran. Maryland won both the women's and men's race, but I'll be shocked if they do the same at the ACC Championships.

Half Marathon Report

The half-marathon did not quite go as planned, despite the fact that I ran a PR (of course I ran a PR, it was my first half-marathon). As is typical with my races, I went out too fast. I ran the first mile in 5:44, just about my 5k race pace. I slowed down for the next four miles or so and ran each of them at about 6:05 pace. That was still a bit fast, and I ended up running the last 8 miles or so of the race at more or less 6:45 pace. My watch did say I ran one mile in just over 7 minutes and the next mile in 5:51, but I think those mile markers were a bit off. I finished in 1:24:28, certainly a respectable time but not what I was hoping for.

I'm taking the next two weeks or so off, and then base building over the fall and winter. I hoping for a prolonged period of at least 80 miles a week, which should be a good start for the half-marathon and marathon I plan on next year.

Tapering

I've been tapering for just under the past two weeks now for my half this Sunday. I'm anxious to run it and see how I do. It will be my longest race to date, and hopefully it will bode well for the marathon I plan to run next year. Originally, the plan was to run Pittsburgh, but that's out the window now that the marathon is dead. The new plan is to run a 20k (I can't remember the name of the race) Memorial Day weekend, and then run the Richmond Marathon in November.

I've begun to run in the afternoon now instead of the morning. If I go into work early, I can beat some of the traffic, and I'm more loose in the afternoon. I can actually sleep a little longer and get to work earlier. Plus, I can take Puff in the stroller and give my wife a break.

Cross Country Season

Fall is my favorite season, not only for the cooler temperatures and multi-colored leaves, but for cross country. Cross country has always been my favorite of the three running disciplines I participate in, evidenced by the fact that I participate in multiple cross country races each year. I'm especially looking forward to this fall because the Pre-ACC and ACC cross country meet are at the University of Maryland in College Park. I'll cheer for my alma mater, despite the fact that they're likely going to be finishing toward the bottom of the standings.

While I'm on the subject of races I'll be attending, hopefully next weekend I'll have a chance to meet Carrie Tollefson. She's the "guest speaker" (I'm not sure exactly what they're calling it) at a race in Maryland. Meeting an Olympic athlete will be a treat.

18:08

So I didn't run a PR. It was still a good effort. I was only 9 seconds off my track best, and 13 off my road best. As usual, I slowed a bit after the opening mile, but not as much this time as I have in the past. The weather cooperated, with the cloudiness keeping it cooler than it would have been with blue skies. It was still humid, though.

Given my tendency to go out a little fast, I know I'm going to have to make a very conscious effort to go out at the right pace in the half. I'm not quite planning to copy Deena's race plan, but I don't want the second half of the race to be a death march, either.

Fans

I now know what it must feel like to run in one of the Golden League meets. Well, not exactly, but there were some people in the stands for my workout yesterday.

I ran 8x400 with 30 seconds rest at the high school track yesterday. As I arrived, the football team was leaving the field, so I thought Good, I got here just at the right time. I started my workout, and people began to walk down into the stadium and sit in the bleachers. More and more people continued to arrive as I ran each interval. The band was practicing on a field adjacent to the track, and were apparently going to perform for the "fans" in the bleachers, who I assume were their parents and siblings. I kept expecting to be told to leave, but no one ever even said anything to me. I had finished my workout and was just leaving the track as the band marched down to the field.

The workout went very well. I ran most of the 400s in 78 seconds, with two in 77 and one in 76 seconds. This workout gives me some confidence going into my race Saturday, where hopefully I'll break my PR, which I set at this race last year but have since broken.

I wonder what the people in the bleachers were thinking as they watched me run. I'm also shocked that no one even mentioned that I should leave, given some of the stories I've read about getting kicked off the local track.

Congrats Meb!

Meb's performance in the Olympic yesterday was incredible! It was inspiring to watch him get the silver medal. I was hoping he could catch Baldini and win the gold, but the Italian was just too much. It must have been great for him to be up on the medal stand during the closing ceremonies with all those people in the stands. I feel bad for Lima, but I think he would have been caught anyway, and he seemed very excited to get the bronze.

I had a halfhearted weekend of running. I was pretty tired Friday and only managed 6 miles at a slow pace. I slept in Saturday, but had another one of those days where I feel lethargic and tired all day so I didn't run. Sunday I got up early and ran 9 miles before Mass the Olympic and the Olympic Marathon. This morning I did 7 miles and some strides. I thought I was moving pretty good at the end of my run, but I must have started pretty slowly because my time didn't really show it.

I feel good about my half-marathon. The 5000 this weekend should be a good test of my fitness and let me know what to expect for the half.

Running with the Geese

You've heard of Running with the Buffaloes, now I bring you Running with the Geese. I went to the track for a workout yesterday. I was planning on going to the track at the middle school that I've run at recently, but it turned out that the track at the high school was actually open, so I ran there instead. There were a whole gaggle of geese on the infield at the track, surely there to watch me work out. The high school is across the street from the middle school, and since I had to wait to cross the road, I decided to run around the high school to extend my warmup a bit. I went by the track and the gate was open, so I decided to do my workout there. It's an actual rubberized track, as opposed to the asphalt track at the middle school.

My workout was 6x800 meters, with a lap recovery. I'm trying to sharpen for my half-marathon, which is in a little more than two weeks. My goal was to run the 800s in 2:50 to 2:55, which apparently was much easier than I thought. I ran the first in 2:40 and slowed down on the second one in 2:50. The last four were 2:42, 2:39, 2:42, and 2:39. It was nice for a change to run faster than I was planning on.

This morning I went out four a slow 4 miles. I was kind of stiff from the workout last night. I'm planning on another 7 or 8 this afternoon.

Regular Updates

Anyone who reads this blog will realize that it's been a little while since it's been updated. I don't think it's worth it to have a blog that's rarely updated, so I'm going to try and be more diligent about keeping it current. Now if I only did the same with my training log...

I took three days off last week after I got the blister during the race. I wanted to make sure that it had healed enough that running on it wasn't going to make it worse. I ran 9 miles last Thursday, and while I thought I was feeling the blister at times, it looked exactly the same when I returned from my run as it had when I left. I think it was more of a mental thing, e.g. I thought I was feeling the blister because I expected to.

Friday I did 7 miles and during the course of the run managed to get caught in a thunderstorm and get soaked. Coming inside to a cool air-conditioned house when you're dripping wet is not really a good feeling.

Saturday I felt sluggish and ran 6 miles easily, but I had a good workout Sunday. I ran 14 miles, with about 4 miles at half-marathon race pace. I ran the race pace portion on the track, so it's just shy of 4 miles (6400 meters to be exact), and I finished it in 24:59.

I ran Sunday evening, so I was pretty sore for my run Monday morning. I did a very easy 7 miles. I would have run Monday afternoon, but my dad was in town and was coming over after his meeting in the afternoon. Tuesday I did an easy 8 miles.

I've been watching some of the track and field action from the Olympics. The 10,000 meter and women's marathon coverage were excellent, and hopefully the men's marathon will be covered in the same fashion. I taped the steeple and women's 1500 heats last night. I also have tapes of the NCAA meet and Prefontaine Classic to watch when I get the chance.

Hurricane? What Hurricane?

Originally, we were supposed to get a couple inches of rain from the remnants of Hurricane Charley. So when it started to rain Saturday afternoon, I was expecting the deluge to come at any time. However, it rained lightly for a few hours and that was it. Charley must have been further east than originally forecast.

Since the rain was less than expected, the course for Sunday's race was not wet, except for a few muddy spots in the wooded areas. I ran 19:55 to finish in 10th place. I'm happy that I ran 24 seconds faster than last year, but I didn't feel like I had any wheels yesterday. I picked up the pace a bit at the end and passed someone about a half mile from the finish, but overall I felt kind of lethargic. Maybe it's a function of the longer runs and less intervals I've been doing to get ready for the half marathon. I'm going to do some shorter, speedier running over the days I have left before Sept. 12.

I learned an important lesson during the race Sunday--don't run in my new spikes without socks. I have a quarter sized blister on the ball of my foot. It was more painful yesterday during my cool down than it has been today, but I'm still taking at least a day or two off to let it heal before I run again. I want it to heal as soon as possible and I certainly don't want to make it any worse.

I'm anxious for track and field to begin at the Olympics. I'm particularly interested in seeing Geb try to defend his 10,000 meter title--and it doesn't look good for him if the reports that he's injured are true--and Deena try to take the marathon gold from Paula Radcliffe. I think the heat will be a big factor in the marathon and keep Paula with the rest of the field for most of the race.

Olympics

I watched a bit of the opening ceremonies last night, and one word pretty much sums up my feelings: "Blah." I'm sure they're exciting if you're participating, but watching them on TV was kind of boring. I would much rather watch the events themselves. And speaking of the events, why were there soccer games being played before the opening ceremonies take place?

Yesterday I ran 12 miles, 4 before and 8 after work. I was expecting rain, but Bonnie moved out and took the rain with her. It actually turned out to be a fairly nice day, partly cloudy and cool. Today I ran 9, with a few strides at the end.

I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow. It will certainly be wet, but the race is not until 5 in the afternoon so I don't have to get up early and I should be nice and warmed up.

My Week

This week's been pretty good. I'm a bachelor for most of it, what with my wife and son in New York Tuesday through Sunday. It's nice to get some time alone.

Sunday I didn't run. I didn't feel up to getting up early and running before church and in the afternoon I got sucked into Mystic River, so I took the day off. I was kind of sore from the race Saturday, but not enough to take the day off just because of it.

Monday I did 8 miles on the trail by my house in Pittsburgh. I still refer to it as "my house," despite the fact that I don't live there any more. It was very nice, cool morning.

Tuesday I was back in VA and ran 7 miles on the bike path. I ran after work and it was warm, but not sweltering.

Wednesday I doubled and finally got around to doing a real tempo run. I ran 4 miles in the morning before work, and then did the tempo run at the track after work. I ran 5000 meters in 18:55. It wasn't too warm, but the humidity was terrible since it rained earlier in the afternoon. My shorts were soaked when I was done.

This morning I did 8 easy. I knew it would be slow, but it took even longer than I thought. One thing I've noticed is that when I run in the morning I always think I'm going faster than I actually am. I think it's because I'm not as warmed up and it takes more effort than I think to maintain a certain pace, but if anyone has any other ideas feel free to let me know.

I'm running another XC race this weekend, a 5k this time. It's supposed to rain pretty heavily through Saturday, so who knows what the course will be like.

Race Report

I'm in Pittsburgh for the weekend, and this morning I ran an 8k XC race in Frick Park. Frick Park is a good-sized park with miles of trails. I ran this race three years ago and ran something like 32:30. This year I wanted to beat that time, but also get close to or below 30:00. The course is rolling, going both up and down. If you run the 8k race (there is also a 2k and 4k), you have to go up a 3/4 mile long hill, but then you get to come back down. I ran 31:32 and finished 5th. I'm pleased with my performance, especially since I caught the guy who had been ahead of me for about 6k of the race with 200 or so meters to go, but the hill just killed me. I'm not a strong hill runner, and that wil be something I work on before I run the Pittsburgh Marathon in the spring, since it is a hilly course.

I cooled down with some people after the race and was able to talk a little track. There's not many people I know who can hold a conversation about elite US or world distance running.

Attempted Tempo Run

My new shoes did arrive yesterday, but I didn't run when I got home. I was lazy and played with Puff. I wanted to do the tempo run this morning, and I tried. I just didn't get close to the pace I should have been running.

I ran out the bike path to warm up, and started the tempo part of my run when I got to the 11k mark. I ran to the 8k mark, turned around, and ran back to 11k. I was hoping to run it in about 24-25 minutes, but it took me over 28 minutes. It is a rolling loop, most of each k is either up or down (down, up, down on the way out and the opposite on the way back), but I just didn't have it this morning. I didn't feel all that great either; something I ate last night upset my stomach. I thought it would be gone when I got up this morning, but it was with me until about lunchtime.

On the plus side of things, I did read something inspiring on the message board at LetsRun.com. There's a thread about working full time and running high mileage, and when asked if it was worth it, one of the posters replied "Yes! It absolutely was worth it, even though I was never more than a passably decent local road runner. The thing was, I wanted to know what would happen if I did what guys like Clarke and Lindgren did." That pretty much sums up the way I feel. Now I just need to get out there and do it.

New Shoes, New Shoes

I was planning on doubling today, but decided not to run this morning. I was tired and I heard the rain falling on the roof, so I just stayed in bed. I'll run when I get home from work. I think I'm going to do a tempo run on the bike path.

Hopefully my new shoes will be there when I get home. I had been running in a pair Saucony Grid Azuras because I had read about the benefits of training in lightweight shoes/flats and wanted to give it a try. I've been running in them for about three months and probably have around 700 miles on them. Thursday, my knees were pretty sore for most of my run, and that coupled with the outsole being really worn made me decide I need to get a new pair of shoes. I'm going back to the Saucony Grid Trigon Light. I've been training in one version or another of the Trigons for two years now, and haven't had any complaints.