Ouch. I ran at Burke Lake today -- 4 laps. That's 18 miles. Ouch.
It started out great. It was 21 degrees and the sun was out. At 8:00 am, the ice on the path was still cold and non-slick. However, after 2 laps (or approximately 9:30 am), the sun was melting the top layer of the ice, making it a little treacherous. The last lap was mighty slick, and that's why I slowed down so much on my last lap (and I'm sticking to that... um... excuse).
It was actually a good run. I wasn't the only one who thought Burke Lake would be a good place to run. Even over the summer, I didn't see as many runners as this morning. After 10:00 am though, I didn't see as many (they probably saw the slick ice and said forget it -- which was probably the wise decision).
I ran 18.00 miles (again, no extra hundredths, although I was still a 1/2 mile from the car) at a 10:31 pace. The first 10 miles were a bit faster though -- probably by 40 seconds per mile.
I'm glad I ran it. It'll be interesting to see if I can run 18 again next week :)
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Treadmill Day
Okay, last night, while driving back home in my neighborhood, the streets didn't look too bad. I thought, hmm, maybe I could run through my neighborhood, a slightly boring run, but it would be outside. Then, when I was leaving my car, I proceeded to slide down the driveway, finally slipping and falling to my knees. I think that it was then I realized that this morning, the roads and sidewalks would not be a safe place for me to run.
Fast forward, this morning, I went to the dreaded treadmill. I managed to get 6.00 miles in (not one one-hundredth of a mile more) at a 9:08 pace. Not too bad considering that at one point, it was all I could do to get past 4 miles. I listened to a good podcast on Pheippidations that talked about why runner's get injured. There was also a good race report on the Walt Disney Marathon that I thought My Lovely Wife should hear :) as it described a really *fun* race!
Anyway, pretty boring run, pretty boring post.
Fast forward, this morning, I went to the dreaded treadmill. I managed to get 6.00 miles in (not one one-hundredth of a mile more) at a 9:08 pace. Not too bad considering that at one point, it was all I could do to get past 4 miles. I listened to a good podcast on Pheippidations that talked about why runner's get injured. There was also a good race report on the Walt Disney Marathon that I thought My Lovely Wife should hear :) as it described a really *fun* race!
Anyway, pretty boring run, pretty boring post.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Snowshoes and running
Well, I finally did it. I ran in snowshoes yesterday at Wisp resort. It's one of the only places close enough around here (Timberline's another) where you snowshoe. Usually, at these resorts, you can downhill ski, but you can't nordic ski or snowshoe around.
Wisp is a pretty neat resort. I was able to rent some fairly high end running snowshoes (can't remember the exact model, but they were Tubb's Catalyst running snowshoes, or something like that). I ran (walked, trudged) 4-ish miles in under an hour, averaging 13:20 (which included walking, stopping, wondering where I was, etc.). At points, I was under a 10 minute mile, but mostly was in the 10-12 minute range when I was running.
Great workout. I highly recommend it.
Why was I in Wisp? Some good friends of ours invited our family plus another family to their place in Deep Creek, Maryland. Lovely house, great location, and great company. All of us had a blast. I wish we could have stayed longer, but no rest for the weary -- as I had to be back at work this morning.
Okay, about 6 weeks to go before the marathon, and I decided to take an entire week off last week. Not good timing. Today, I ran 4-something at a 9:20-something pace. I was slow and creaky. Hopefully, I'll have a good week!
Wisp is a pretty neat resort. I was able to rent some fairly high end running snowshoes (can't remember the exact model, but they were Tubb's Catalyst running snowshoes, or something like that). I ran (walked, trudged) 4-ish miles in under an hour, averaging 13:20 (which included walking, stopping, wondering where I was, etc.). At points, I was under a 10 minute mile, but mostly was in the 10-12 minute range when I was running.
Great workout. I highly recommend it.
Why was I in Wisp? Some good friends of ours invited our family plus another family to their place in Deep Creek, Maryland. Lovely house, great location, and great company. All of us had a blast. I wish we could have stayed longer, but no rest for the weary -- as I had to be back at work this morning.
Okay, about 6 weeks to go before the marathon, and I decided to take an entire week off last week. Not good timing. Today, I ran 4-something at a 9:20-something pace. I was slow and creaky. Hopefully, I'll have a good week!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Icicles On My Face
Okay, I psyched myself to run this morning. Last night, I realized that with the forecast for this morning, my face had a good chance of actually falling off this morning. So, while we were in the Reston area, we stopped by Potomac River Running. Great store, by the way. Not only did they have the balaclava (or, face mask), but they had all the running belt accessories My Lovely Wife and I have been looking for. And we walked out with: one balaclava, one new running belt, two new running belt loop pockets (large, neoprene), and a bunch of sports beans. I made the mistake of talking about running in the cold weather with the workers there, and we were comparing stories about yesterday's run (very cold) and this morning's run (very colder), so, with witnesses now, I *had* to run.
Fast forward, 6:00am. It was 1 degree at Dulles Airport (compared to a balmy 4 degrees at the local elementary school) when I walked out the door, into my car, and to Oak Marr Rec Center. This was a formal parking area for the Fairfax County Cross County Trail. Once again, it was a great location for a run. The route I chose was mostly in park land, which meant single track trails, some gravel trails, a couple of creeks to cross, and very few paved surfaces. I started at Oak Marr Rec Center and ran all the way to Lawyer's Road, and back again (duh). I stopped at exactly 14.00 miles, with a pace of 10:26. Much slower than my last run, but I did stop a few times, once when I saw my manager walking his dog (hello Garry), once when there were three trails and no signs (of course, I took the wrong way), once to eat, and towards the end, several times to walk up steeper hills (hey, I was tired).
The run itself. Well, my feet got numb within the first mile, and stayed that way for quite some time. My hands were very cold (in cold weather I sometimes wear warm mittens, but my hands actually get too hot, so I usually wear those throw-away cotton gloves they hand out at races), and I couldn't get the face mask adjusted properly. I ended up pulling it down off my nose and mouth so that I could breathe properly, but it still covered by head, cheeks, ears and neck. At the turn around point, I pull up the face mask to eat a sandwich, when I noticed that I had icicles on my glasses as well as at the opening of my face mask. Wow. That's pretty cold. My water bottles, which usually do well when they are under my vest were also freezing up. One was unusable, and another was just open enough to get water out. When I got back to the car, I noticed that I had a frost beard where the face mask had gotten wet due to my breath and then frozen over. What a scary site, I'm sure. The good part was that it warmed up 10 degrees during my run, from 4 degrees to 14.
Not a bad week overall.
Fast forward, 6:00am. It was 1 degree at Dulles Airport (compared to a balmy 4 degrees at the local elementary school) when I walked out the door, into my car, and to Oak Marr Rec Center. This was a formal parking area for the Fairfax County Cross County Trail. Once again, it was a great location for a run. The route I chose was mostly in park land, which meant single track trails, some gravel trails, a couple of creeks to cross, and very few paved surfaces. I started at Oak Marr Rec Center and ran all the way to Lawyer's Road, and back again (duh). I stopped at exactly 14.00 miles, with a pace of 10:26. Much slower than my last run, but I did stop a few times, once when I saw my manager walking his dog (hello Garry), once when there were three trails and no signs (of course, I took the wrong way), once to eat, and towards the end, several times to walk up steeper hills (hey, I was tired).
The run itself. Well, my feet got numb within the first mile, and stayed that way for quite some time. My hands were very cold (in cold weather I sometimes wear warm mittens, but my hands actually get too hot, so I usually wear those throw-away cotton gloves they hand out at races), and I couldn't get the face mask adjusted properly. I ended up pulling it down off my nose and mouth so that I could breathe properly, but it still covered by head, cheeks, ears and neck. At the turn around point, I pull up the face mask to eat a sandwich, when I noticed that I had icicles on my glasses as well as at the opening of my face mask. Wow. That's pretty cold. My water bottles, which usually do well when they are under my vest were also freezing up. One was unusable, and another was just open enough to get water out. When I got back to the car, I noticed that I had a frost beard where the face mask had gotten wet due to my breath and then frozen over. What a scary site, I'm sure. The good part was that it warmed up 10 degrees during my run, from 4 degrees to 14.
Not a bad week overall.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Moon Shadow
This morning, knowing that there was a wind chill advisory and temps forecasts to be in the teens, I got up at 4:40 am. This should be enough, so I'll end it right here :-)
But, I got dressed, two layers of everything, had a GU energy gel, found out it was 9 degrees, with a wind chill of -4, and then ran 4.4 miles. Except for my face, I felt pretty good. I was a little sluggish, probably due to the cold and the two layers of pants, but I felt alright. My face got pretty cold, and it never quite warmed up, but I haven't gone to the next step of buying one of those face hats (or whatever they're called) because it normally doesn't get that cold here. Normally, cold = temps in the 20's. However, given that it's fairly early in the cold winter season, maybe I should find a sale someplace.
Anyway, the sky was very clear and there was a half-moon out (ever notice that in the winter, the clear sky seems much more clear than in the summer, especially at night?). The sky was so clear, and the moon (even the half-moon) was so bright that I had a shadow. I thought that was pretty cool. I usually don't see a moon shadow due to clouds, other lights, daytime, etc., so this was nice.
I didn't clock my run today because I didn't feel like it, plus, I didn't want to injure myself trying to keep pace when it was so cold out.
Tomorrow, a long run! (hopefully)
But, I got dressed, two layers of everything, had a GU energy gel, found out it was 9 degrees, with a wind chill of -4, and then ran 4.4 miles. Except for my face, I felt pretty good. I was a little sluggish, probably due to the cold and the two layers of pants, but I felt alright. My face got pretty cold, and it never quite warmed up, but I haven't gone to the next step of buying one of those face hats (or whatever they're called) because it normally doesn't get that cold here. Normally, cold = temps in the 20's. However, given that it's fairly early in the cold winter season, maybe I should find a sale someplace.
Anyway, the sky was very clear and there was a half-moon out (ever notice that in the winter, the clear sky seems much more clear than in the summer, especially at night?). The sky was so clear, and the moon (even the half-moon) was so bright that I had a shadow. I thought that was pretty cool. I usually don't see a moon shadow due to clouds, other lights, daytime, etc., so this was nice.
I didn't clock my run today because I didn't feel like it, plus, I didn't want to injure myself trying to keep pace when it was so cold out.
Tomorrow, a long run! (hopefully)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Not Too Cold in O'Fallon
Okay, I haven't posted in a few days, but I have been running -- sorta...
This week I have been in O'Fallon IL and I continue to enjoy running here. On Monday, I ran 6.5-ish on my favorite road -- Lincoln Ave. It was in the 20's but I had packed enough clothes to not get too cold. I ran a 9:06 or something like that.
Yesterday, I didn't run, but then again, it was in the teens in the morning, with a 20+ mph wind, making the wind chill about 0. If I was at home, I *might* have run (but probably not), but I didn't pack the right clothes for this weather.
Today, I ran again. I ran a new route, and I missed the turnaround point, thus making a 7.5 mile run into an 8.5 mile run. I ran a 8:55 mile, so it wasn't too bad. I just needed to be mindful of my overall time, as I didn't want to make myself late by running. It was a thoroughly enjoyable run, although I might have overdressed (although, when it got windy, I felt under-dressed). I ran within sight distance of a Veteran's Memorial, so maybe next time, I'll try to run by it. From a distance, it looked very impressive. Maybe it's karma, but I wouldn't have run by the memorial if I turned around when I was supposed to.
Oh, yesterday I purchased a Brook's LED arm band (at least, I think it's an arm band, but you could probably put it on your leg). It's made of reflective material and it has 5 blinking LED lights. I'm not sure how effective it is, but any active light is useful in the dark. I wear a reflective vest, but I'm still pretty dark out there unless there is a light shining directly on me. I like it.
Hopefully I'll hit my mileage goal this week, which would include a 14-16 mile long run (ugh). I'd like to run on the Fairfax County Cross County Trail again, if I can fit my run in with the drive to and from.
This week I have been in O'Fallon IL and I continue to enjoy running here. On Monday, I ran 6.5-ish on my favorite road -- Lincoln Ave. It was in the 20's but I had packed enough clothes to not get too cold. I ran a 9:06 or something like that.
Yesterday, I didn't run, but then again, it was in the teens in the morning, with a 20+ mph wind, making the wind chill about 0. If I was at home, I *might* have run (but probably not), but I didn't pack the right clothes for this weather.
Today, I ran again. I ran a new route, and I missed the turnaround point, thus making a 7.5 mile run into an 8.5 mile run. I ran a 8:55 mile, so it wasn't too bad. I just needed to be mindful of my overall time, as I didn't want to make myself late by running. It was a thoroughly enjoyable run, although I might have overdressed (although, when it got windy, I felt under-dressed). I ran within sight distance of a Veteran's Memorial, so maybe next time, I'll try to run by it. From a distance, it looked very impressive. Maybe it's karma, but I wouldn't have run by the memorial if I turned around when I was supposed to.
Oh, yesterday I purchased a Brook's LED arm band (at least, I think it's an arm band, but you could probably put it on your leg). It's made of reflective material and it has 5 blinking LED lights. I'm not sure how effective it is, but any active light is useful in the dark. I wear a reflective vest, but I'm still pretty dark out there unless there is a light shining directly on me. I like it.
Hopefully I'll hit my mileage goal this week, which would include a 14-16 mile long run (ugh). I'd like to run on the Fairfax County Cross County Trail again, if I can fit my run in with the drive to and from.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Happy 2009
Three days into 2009 and I've run two times already. That's quite a start. I doubt I'll be able to keep up a 66% run rate (get it?). Anyway, yesterday, I did run -- the standard 6 miler up the Fairfax County Parkway, and I did a 9:09 pace. I felt my left Achilles. That's not a good sign for 2009.
Today, in *trying* to keep up with My Lovely Wife's marathon training plan, I ran 14 miles. Ouch. I was planning on running on the W&OD bike/running/walking trail, but decided to run along the horse path next to it, to keep the impact down. Well, in doing so, I missed the bridge that crosses a stream. Well, at that point, I decided to keep the trail and run north, where it met up with the Fairfax County Cross County Trail. It was the first time I had been on that section of the trail. It was a very nice run, some very nice wooded sections and running along creeks and streams for a good part of it. It totally beat the W&OD trail for the scenery. Anyway, my pace suffered, which wasn't a bad thing at all, but I remembered the last time I did a trail run (at Bull Run Regional Trail), and that run kicked my butt. At the 12 mile mark, as I told My Lovely Wife, the wheels fell off. I had just picked up the W&OD trail again, and it was a long, slow jog back to my starting point. I had to walk twice in the last 2 miles. However, I did do 14 miles, but it was probably not a great thing to do.
I'm supposed to do 15 as my long run next week, but I'm thinking of dropping it back down to 12-13, to ensure that I don't injure myself any more than I need to :)
Today, in *trying* to keep up with My Lovely Wife's marathon training plan, I ran 14 miles. Ouch. I was planning on running on the W&OD bike/running/walking trail, but decided to run along the horse path next to it, to keep the impact down. Well, in doing so, I missed the bridge that crosses a stream. Well, at that point, I decided to keep the trail and run north, where it met up with the Fairfax County Cross County Trail. It was the first time I had been on that section of the trail. It was a very nice run, some very nice wooded sections and running along creeks and streams for a good part of it. It totally beat the W&OD trail for the scenery. Anyway, my pace suffered, which wasn't a bad thing at all, but I remembered the last time I did a trail run (at Bull Run Regional Trail), and that run kicked my butt. At the 12 mile mark, as I told My Lovely Wife, the wheels fell off. I had just picked up the W&OD trail again, and it was a long, slow jog back to my starting point. I had to walk twice in the last 2 miles. However, I did do 14 miles, but it was probably not a great thing to do.
I'm supposed to do 15 as my long run next week, but I'm thinking of dropping it back down to 12-13, to ensure that I don't injure myself any more than I need to :)
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