674.36. That's the total mileage of my Asics 2120 (no link -- they don't make that shoe anymore -- they have the 2130 now). I noticed over the past 100 miles or so that these shoes were breaking down. These 2120's are great shoes though. I have used Asics for years now. I felt a little bad abandoning them for the Saucony ProGrid Guide (mentioned here). However, I felt that it was necessary as I strive to move closer to a neutral shoe and away from the stability / motion control shoes. The next step is to find a shoe that is one step closer than the Brooks Adrenaline. These Brooks shoes (433 miles and counting) are also great shoes, but I would like to have less stability.
Keep in mind that I'm moving closer to a neutral shoe one (very small) step at a time. I started with removing my SuperFeet insoles. I also purchased Nike Free shoes (and only run in those once every 1 or 2 weeks). Now I'm moving one step away from the Asics 2120 (with the Saucony shoes). Maybe in a couple years I'll have totally neutral shoes. It's important to do it slowly to avoid injury. I've heard (from shoe sales people) that especially with the ChiRunning movement, people moving several steps at once and then getting injured. Essentially, you don't go from a leg cast to a 10k in one week. You need to build the strength up in your leg, and then slowly build up to a 10k distance. Okay, bad analogy, but the concept is the same -- running shoes have a *ton* of support that do the work that your lower leg and feet muscles should be doing. Because of that, these muscles are weak. As you reduce the support, you need to slowly build up your leg strength. If you try to transition too quickly, the end result is you sitting on the couch because you can't run due to injury. I don't want that.
Oh, I ran today as well. 4.4 miles with no time. Yesterday's 10 mile trail run really wore me out! Plus, My Lovely Wife and I are doing the SunTrust National Marathon (1/2 distance). They just announced that the Metro will be open early (5am) which is good and bad. Good in that we don't have to drive. Bad because they are open at 5am, and we'll need to catch the first train out (ouch).
Good luck to us tomorrow!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
What a nice day!
I ran 10 miles at the Bull Run Trail. It was so peaceful. Just me, some deer, tons of smaller, unseen (but heard) animals. The first 5 was from the Centerpoint Road access point to near-abouts Hemlock Park. The sign said that Hemlock Park was 5 miles away. I got to the 5 mile point (on my GPS), but I guess I didn't make it all the way to Hemlock Park. I was too tired to keep going even 1/4 of a mile to see if I would find it. I rested for 5 minutes and then turned around and headed back. My return time was a little slower, as I was more conservative and power walked (actually shuffled) on the more steep hills. However, on the flats and slight downhills I actually kept up to my normal 'road' pace. Overall, I am VERY happy I ran the 10 miles on the trail. However, I am *exhausted*! After running this distance on the road, I still wouldn't be feeling so tired after 6 hours. I guess trail running is good for you after all.
Blisters... Can you believe it? I got my first blister in *years* today. I don't know if it was the new sock brand or the Montrail shoes (trail running shoes). Hey, I like the Montrail shoes. I think they are great. However, my breaking-in period consisted of a 2 mile run, a 5 mile run, and some general walking around. Given that these shoes are heavy-duty, I guess they take a little longer to break in. I guess I'm used to the 'new generation' running shoes that require almost *no* breaking in.
Gosh, I remember back in high school when breaking in shoes consisted of about 2 weeks of blisters and pain in all areas of the foot. I *hated* breaking in shoes. So did the others on the track team. Now, after a 5 mile run, I consider my running shoes to be broken in.
One last note... you know that you live in a suburb when, on a beautiful and scenic trail run, you know you are close to the finish because you can hear the traffic. The traffic noise around here is considered background noise. You don't *hear* it anymore.. that is, until you actually *don't* hear it. It was quite noisy when I heard it again after running 8 miles of not hearing it. Wow.
Blisters... Can you believe it? I got my first blister in *years* today. I don't know if it was the new sock brand or the Montrail shoes (trail running shoes). Hey, I like the Montrail shoes. I think they are great. However, my breaking-in period consisted of a 2 mile run, a 5 mile run, and some general walking around. Given that these shoes are heavy-duty, I guess they take a little longer to break in. I guess I'm used to the 'new generation' running shoes that require almost *no* breaking in.
Gosh, I remember back in high school when breaking in shoes consisted of about 2 weeks of blisters and pain in all areas of the foot. I *hated* breaking in shoes. So did the others on the track team. Now, after a 5 mile run, I consider my running shoes to be broken in.
One last note... you know that you live in a suburb when, on a beautiful and scenic trail run, you know you are close to the finish because you can hear the traffic. The traffic noise around here is considered background noise. You don't *hear* it anymore.. that is, until you actually *don't* hear it. It was quite noisy when I heard it again after running 8 miles of not hearing it. Wow.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Ughh (part 2)
Ughh again. This time, I *did* run yesterday, but yesterday's 12:30pm time, plus the fast pace caught up with me on what turned out to be a 6 mile recovery/HR Run.
I had originally planned on doing a HR Run with no timing, since I *did* run a fast 8 yesterday. But 1/2 mile into the run also made it a recovery run. I felt just about every muscle in my legs, including my right hamstring (that's not good). Since I aim to run 10 miles on a trail tomorrow, I didn't want an 8, 10, 10 set, but more of a 8, 6, 10 set (yeah, that's the ticket). Plus, I *am* running the National Marathon (1/2 distance) with My Lovely Wife on Saturday. Wouldn't have been too good to hobble through it if I ran three hard days in a row this week. However, *next* week I need to ramp it up a notch. It'll be just 4 weeks away from the Frederick Marathon (ouch!).
We went to Pacers running store today. Wow. What a great store! They just opened up a new location in downtown Fairfax. They are a family-run business with at least three locations (all run by family members). They helped me find the right shoe (I'm trying to move away from a stability shoe into a more neutral shoe, very very slowly). I ended up with a Sauceny ProGrid Guide. So far it's a nice shoe (all 30 minutes of walking around in it). I'll let you know in a few weeks. The Fairfax store is still filling up, but they had the Yankz sure lace system. That's one of the reasons I went there. That, plus it's about 4 miles from my house, by far the closest running store (of about 5 total --wow, that's great too!).
Hopefully, tomorrow I'll be telling you how wonderful my trail run was... Wish me luck.
I had originally planned on doing a HR Run with no timing, since I *did* run a fast 8 yesterday. But 1/2 mile into the run also made it a recovery run. I felt just about every muscle in my legs, including my right hamstring (that's not good). Since I aim to run 10 miles on a trail tomorrow, I didn't want an 8, 10, 10 set, but more of a 8, 6, 10 set (yeah, that's the ticket). Plus, I *am* running the National Marathon (1/2 distance) with My Lovely Wife on Saturday. Wouldn't have been too good to hobble through it if I ran three hard days in a row this week. However, *next* week I need to ramp it up a notch. It'll be just 4 weeks away from the Frederick Marathon (ouch!).
We went to Pacers running store today. Wow. What a great store! They just opened up a new location in downtown Fairfax. They are a family-run business with at least three locations (all run by family members). They helped me find the right shoe (I'm trying to move away from a stability shoe into a more neutral shoe, very very slowly). I ended up with a Sauceny ProGrid Guide. So far it's a nice shoe (all 30 minutes of walking around in it). I'll let you know in a few weeks. The Fairfax store is still filling up, but they had the Yankz sure lace system. That's one of the reasons I went there. That, plus it's about 4 miles from my house, by far the closest running store (of about 5 total --wow, that's great too!).
Hopefully, tomorrow I'll be telling you how wonderful my trail run was... Wish me luck.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Better run today
I had a better run today (than yesterday). I ran 8.03 at an 8:34 pace. Halfway through, I still felt good. That's a good thing. I ran at 12:30 pm today, very sunny, about 42 degrees, but quite windy. The wind was at my back for the first half, and I got very hot. I took off my outer layer at halfway, but I was thinking that maybe the wind would be in my face and I would get cold. Turns out I was right. But after mile 5, I was warm again. After the wind dried my base layer, I got warm again.
Tomorrow, I *hope* to get a 10 miler in, but I might lose the watch and run the standard 10 mile run as a HR run. Since it'll be two 'hard' days in a row, I know that my second run will be slower. So why not make it a HR run, and base my speed on my exertion rather than a watch? We'll see how it goes...
The National Marathon is in 4 days....
Tomorrow, I *hope* to get a 10 miler in, but I might lose the watch and run the standard 10 mile run as a HR run. Since it'll be two 'hard' days in a row, I know that my second run will be slower. So why not make it a HR run, and base my speed on my exertion rather than a watch? We'll see how it goes...
The National Marathon is in 4 days....
Monday, March 24, 2008
Ughhh
Ughh... taking three days off and then running again is *tough*! I keep saying that I will never take more than 2 days off, but then I do, and then I suffer through my first run (or two) after starting to run again.
Today I settled on running 6. Although my pace was below 9 (8:52), it felt much slower. I was tired, tight, achy, and I never got a rhythm going. The good part of the run was that it was daylight (I ran after Number 1 Son went to school). I saw the dead deer that I saw last week (this time, I remembered to alert VDOT about it) -- that part wasn't so good.
Not much to say. I begin a new job next Monday, so this week is the last, best week to get a trail run in (hopefully, I'll be able to do so!).
The National Marathon is Saturday. I'm glad My Lovely Wife and I got a long run in last week, and this week is a taper (for my wife). I need to actually ramp up for the next 4 weeks for the Frederick Marathon in early May. Ouch.
Today I settled on running 6. Although my pace was below 9 (8:52), it felt much slower. I was tired, tight, achy, and I never got a rhythm going. The good part of the run was that it was daylight (I ran after Number 1 Son went to school). I saw the dead deer that I saw last week (this time, I remembered to alert VDOT about it) -- that part wasn't so good.
Not much to say. I begin a new job next Monday, so this week is the last, best week to get a trail run in (hopefully, I'll be able to do so!).
The National Marathon is Saturday. I'm glad My Lovely Wife and I got a long run in last week, and this week is a taper (for my wife). I need to actually ramp up for the next 4 weeks for the Frederick Marathon in early May. Ouch.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to My Lovely Wife! We ran 13.11 miles at Ocean Isle beach this morning as sorta a celebration (okay, running 13 miles as a birthday celebration may not be the 'standard' celebration, but this *is* a running blog you know). We are preparing for the SunTrust National Marathon in a week and two days. We wanted to run the full distance (but at a slower pace). Our goal was to run a mile, then walk for a minute. We did that for the first 11 miles, but then increased the amount of walking (no need to to get injured before the race!).
Boy, was it Windy! There were times that the wind was full on our faces, and it felt like we were standing still. Then, when we turned around, we wouldn't need to push off very much but we were still a sub 10:00 pace almost totally due to the wind.
Overall, we were happy with the run. I'm glad I got extended time on my feet (2:35 hours) and My Lovely Wife was glad to get the full distance in before the race.
Boy, was it Windy! There were times that the wind was full on our faces, and it felt like we were standing still. Then, when we turned around, we wouldn't need to push off very much but we were still a sub 10:00 pace almost totally due to the wind.
Overall, we were happy with the run. I'm glad I got extended time on my feet (2:35 hours) and My Lovely Wife was glad to get the full distance in before the race.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Ahhh... the beach
Knowing that it is raining very heavily back home, it makes it a little easier to run at the beach. It doesn't hurt that it's 66 degrees a little overcast.
Ran an easy 4 today (4.32 to be exact). My pace is little mis-leading though (8:32). I was exhausted at the end of the run. Plus, the course is pretty much entirely flat (according to the USATF map site, there is a total climb of 61 feet and total elevation change of 116 feet) -- yes, very flat. I believe my exhaustion has to do with the fact that my family and I were in the car from 8 am or so until about 3:30 pm (with some stops for food, etc.). Plus, when we are on trips, my nutrition pretty much goes out the window -- McDonald's and cookies aren't a basic 4 food group sort of meal. Regardless, I wanted to run to a) get some mileage in; b) get ready for My Lovely Wife's and I 13 miler tomorrow; and c) because we are at the beach!
I'm a little worried about the weather actually -- I've been used to colder temps (although getting warmer). Not sure about how my body will react to 60+ degrees for a long, slow run. We will have nutrition with us (PB sandwiches) and of course, lots of water. We'll see though.
Ran an easy 4 today (4.32 to be exact). My pace is little mis-leading though (8:32). I was exhausted at the end of the run. Plus, the course is pretty much entirely flat (according to the USATF map site, there is a total climb of 61 feet and total elevation change of 116 feet) -- yes, very flat. I believe my exhaustion has to do with the fact that my family and I were in the car from 8 am or so until about 3:30 pm (with some stops for food, etc.). Plus, when we are on trips, my nutrition pretty much goes out the window -- McDonald's and cookies aren't a basic 4 food group sort of meal. Regardless, I wanted to run to a) get some mileage in; b) get ready for My Lovely Wife's and I 13 miler tomorrow; and c) because we are at the beach!
I'm a little worried about the weather actually -- I've been used to colder temps (although getting warmer). Not sure about how my body will react to 60+ degrees for a long, slow run. We will have nutrition with us (PB sandwiches) and of course, lots of water. We'll see though.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Sluggy Slug
When our kids were much younger, we had a book called Sluggy Slug (see Amazon review here). This book was about, well, as sluggy slug, who just won't go, no matter what. I felt like a sluggy slug today.
My intent was to do a HR run (what is an HR run? click here). Well, I did an HR run (33 minutes, 6.78 miles), but boy, was I sluggish! I couldn't run fast at all. My legs were heavy throughout, and my left heel was a little painful for the first two miles as well. If I had the time this morning, I would have extended my run to 70 or 80 minutes, but after my run, I'm glad I didn't. I'm not sure how I would have felt to run longer today!
My intent was to do a HR run (what is an HR run? click here). Well, I did an HR run (33 minutes, 6.78 miles), but boy, was I sluggish! I couldn't run fast at all. My legs were heavy throughout, and my left heel was a little painful for the first two miles as well. If I had the time this morning, I would have extended my run to 70 or 80 minutes, but after my run, I'm glad I didn't. I'm not sure how I would have felt to run longer today!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Good Morning
Good morning. Weekend was good (ran 16 on Saturday with no ill effects on Sunday). Ran 8 this morning, half expecting it to be a recovery run, but ended up running quite well. Mile 1 was sorta a warmup (Winter is coming back -- this morning was 29 degrees at the start), Mile 2 was slow as I had to wait at a traffic light (due to starting at 7am versus 6am). However, Miles 3-8 were all under 8:30, with Mile 8 at an 8:06. I'm quite happy with my run today. I ran 8.05 at 8:31.
My left heel hurts a bit. It started hurting a couple weeks ago, but perhaps due to increasing my mileage as well as speeding up has aggravated it a bit. I need to research what the issue is. I know that flexing my foot up and down tends to warm up my heel and makes it feel a little better (especially after sitting down for awhile).
I'm going to do a long run with My Lovely Wife this week, so that'll be fun. Somehow, I need to head back to the trails. I thought with this extended time off that I'd have lots of time to sit around, watch tv, and run. But oddly enough, I haven't had the time. I'd like to get back (back? I only did one trail run so far) to trail running.
Speaking of trail running, the GEER 50k is out for this year. Found out that a good friend is getting married, and events like that trump any sort of 'personal fulfillment' activities. However, the North Face Endurance Challenge is coming to DC (http://www.thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge/races/2008/wdc_overview.html). There's a 50k route (as well as a 50m route). No real info on it yet (it's all 'coming soon'). The timeframe is good (it's a week after Labor Day). Plus, it's in DC, so we don't have to travel anywhere. I'd probably need to train for it though -- ya think?
My left heel hurts a bit. It started hurting a couple weeks ago, but perhaps due to increasing my mileage as well as speeding up has aggravated it a bit. I need to research what the issue is. I know that flexing my foot up and down tends to warm up my heel and makes it feel a little better (especially after sitting down for awhile).
I'm going to do a long run with My Lovely Wife this week, so that'll be fun. Somehow, I need to head back to the trails. I thought with this extended time off that I'd have lots of time to sit around, watch tv, and run. But oddly enough, I haven't had the time. I'd like to get back (back? I only did one trail run so far) to trail running.
Speaking of trail running, the GEER 50k is out for this year. Found out that a good friend is getting married, and events like that trump any sort of 'personal fulfillment' activities. However, the North Face Endurance Challenge is coming to DC (http://www.thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge/races/2008/wdc_overview.html). There's a 50k route (as well as a 50m route). No real info on it yet (it's all 'coming soon'). The timeframe is good (it's a week after Labor Day). Plus, it's in DC, so we don't have to travel anywhere. I'd probably need to train for it though -- ya think?
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Long Run Today
Did a long run today on the W&OD Trail. Started near Weihle avenue and went east. Good run overall. Turned out that I had a slight tail wind going out, and felt that head wind the entire 8 miles back. The first 15 miles felt very good. The last mile was up hill (I guess that means that the first mile was downhill).
I wanted something different today, as I've been running from my house for my long runs lately. I had a good one on Rocky Run trail, but managed to only get 14 miles out of it. I've run up the Reston Parkway for awhile as well. I have run at Burke Lake too, but since each loop is 4.6 miles, I'm left with a 13.5 mile, or 18 mile loop. I'll probably do it again as my get my long run up a little more. The only downside on the W&OD trail is that its mostly flat. I know that I could run on the gravel/dirt trail that runs along side of it, and that will go up and down with the terrain, and maybe I'll do that soon. However, today wasn't the day.
I'm happy I got 16 miles in.
I wanted something different today, as I've been running from my house for my long runs lately. I had a good one on Rocky Run trail, but managed to only get 14 miles out of it. I've run up the Reston Parkway for awhile as well. I have run at Burke Lake too, but since each loop is 4.6 miles, I'm left with a 13.5 mile, or 18 mile loop. I'll probably do it again as my get my long run up a little more. The only downside on the W&OD trail is that its mostly flat. I know that I could run on the gravel/dirt trail that runs along side of it, and that will go up and down with the terrain, and maybe I'll do that soon. However, today wasn't the day.
I'm happy I got 16 miles in.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Short, Quick Run
Today I ran a short 4.35 miler. I need to be in Rockville just after 8:00 am this morning, and if you anything about rush hour around here, you know that I need to leave early! I also have some appointments this afternoon, so an afternoon run is out of the question (however, I *am* getting used to afternoon runs!).
I anticipated running yesterday afternoon, but I ended up having an appointment in the afternoon, so there ya go.
No watch this morning, so no time, but it felt good. It was short enough to wake up this morning, but not too long so I'll be dragging this afternoon (mostly due to waking up at 4:00 am).
For some reason I thought I had nearly 26 miles going into today, rather than nearly 24. I had hoped to hit the 30 mile mark without a long run (scheduled for tomorrow). Oh well. I don't think I could have added 2 miles and still stay on schedule this morning anyway.
I anticipated running yesterday afternoon, but I ended up having an appointment in the afternoon, so there ya go.
No watch this morning, so no time, but it felt good. It was short enough to wake up this morning, but not too long so I'll be dragging this afternoon (mostly due to waking up at 4:00 am).
For some reason I thought I had nearly 26 miles going into today, rather than nearly 24. I had hoped to hit the 30 mile mark without a long run (scheduled for tomorrow). Oh well. I don't think I could have added 2 miles and still stay on schedule this morning anyway.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Another good day
Another good day! I ran 8 this afternoon, at an 8:33 pace. Yesterday I ran 10, and today I ran 8. Can't complain about that!
It was quite windy out this afternoon, but it was 50 degrees at 2:15pm when I ran, so it was good. This time I wore a short sleeve shirt under my long sleeve shirt (as opposed to two long sleeve shirts worn yesterday), so when the sun started beating down on me, I was prepared. I also had some left in me to do a 8:03 mile for mile 8 (including the dreaded hill just before the 1/2 mile mark towards my house).
I don't seem to be following any sort of plan, but after reviewing some online, I'm sorta between the 'traditional' training plan (some tempos, some speed, lots of shorter runs, and the long run on the weekend) and the Hansons-Brooks Project training plan. The Hansons-Brooks training plan is actually MUCH tougher than my plan, as you do a fast long, short-ish, long, then long, 4 days straight. Then you run for 2 more days. You only get 1 day / week rest. Although the longest run is only 16 miles, you run 10 miles the day before. Sooo... the only real aspect I am following is two hard-ish days in a row. I'm still doing a long run on weekends. You get the picture.
Just realized the National Marathon is 2.5 weeks away. I'm planning on doing a long run with My Lovely Wife next week (while we are taking a spring break away from home), so that'll be fun. This'll probably be the longest run for my wife prior to the race. I still haven't signed up for the Frederick Marathon in May, but I really should think about it soon....
It was quite windy out this afternoon, but it was 50 degrees at 2:15pm when I ran, so it was good. This time I wore a short sleeve shirt under my long sleeve shirt (as opposed to two long sleeve shirts worn yesterday), so when the sun started beating down on me, I was prepared. I also had some left in me to do a 8:03 mile for mile 8 (including the dreaded hill just before the 1/2 mile mark towards my house).
I don't seem to be following any sort of plan, but after reviewing some online, I'm sorta between the 'traditional' training plan (some tempos, some speed, lots of shorter runs, and the long run on the weekend) and the Hansons-Brooks Project training plan. The Hansons-Brooks training plan is actually MUCH tougher than my plan, as you do a fast long, short-ish, long, then long, 4 days straight. Then you run for 2 more days. You only get 1 day / week rest. Although the longest run is only 16 miles, you run 10 miles the day before. Sooo... the only real aspect I am following is two hard-ish days in a row. I'm still doing a long run on weekends. You get the picture.
Just realized the National Marathon is 2.5 weeks away. I'm planning on doing a long run with My Lovely Wife next week (while we are taking a spring break away from home), so that'll be fun. This'll probably be the longest run for my wife prior to the race. I still haven't signed up for the Frederick Marathon in May, but I really should think about it soon....
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
16 minutes of fame?
I was going to talk about my run today and I probably will, but I want to diverge a little first. I was listening to an old Steve Runner podcast, where Steve and his friend were looping around Steve's neighborhood and decided to run the Philadelphia marathon. His friend (I forget his name!) mentioned that on google, if you search on 'Steve Runner', you get tons of hits. Steve was a little uncomfortable about that, but that got me thinking -- how many hits are there? I think I mentioned him at one point (since phedipidations got my blogging about my running in the first place). One thing led to another, and I googled 'yagerrunner' -- this blog. Since google owns this blogspace, I figured that they would ensure that their blogs were added to their search engine. What I *didn't* expect was a link from NBC 4 (the local NBC affiliate), who, on their National Marathon page, had my blog on their list. I certainly hope that it's a rolling blog, as I'm sure that there's MUCH more interesting running blogs to read. Oh, to create a circular reference, I'll reference the NBC 4 link here: http://www.nbc4.com/nationalmarathon/index.html.
Anyway, my 15 minutes of fame ended last year when we were featured as a family running group in the Shamrock Marathon guide. This link is minute number 16.
So, if anyone is reading, here's my run info. Since I ran last night, I didn't want to run this morning. I ran this afternoon though. It was very nice outside (50 degrees at start time), so I ran 10 at an 8:33 pace. I ran a little faster going out as someone was running ahead of me and the competitive part of me didn't to lose him. He was faster than me, but he eventually turned off my route before I lost him completely. I did keep my pace up (or down, depending on your point of view) for the first half.
Going back home still felt good, although I wasn't pacing anybody. All in all, I'm very pleased with my run today. I only hope that I can keep it up tomorrow. I hope to run 8 (sorta following the moderate, consistent training plan from the Hanson Project [as mentioned by Steve Runner]).
Anyway, my 15 minutes of fame ended last year when we were featured as a family running group in the Shamrock Marathon guide. This link is minute number 16.
So, if anyone is reading, here's my run info. Since I ran last night, I didn't want to run this morning. I ran this afternoon though. It was very nice outside (50 degrees at start time), so I ran 10 at an 8:33 pace. I ran a little faster going out as someone was running ahead of me and the competitive part of me didn't to lose him. He was faster than me, but he eventually turned off my route before I lost him completely. I did keep my pace up (or down, depending on your point of view) for the first half.
Going back home still felt good, although I wasn't pacing anybody. All in all, I'm very pleased with my run today. I only hope that I can keep it up tomorrow. I hope to run 8 (sorta following the moderate, consistent training plan from the Hanson Project [as mentioned by Steve Runner]).
Monday, March 10, 2008
Finally...
Finally got a run in.... finally got a post in. Noticed that I didn't put my mileage into buckeyeoutdoors.com on Saturday, so I didn't post either (whoops).
Saturday run: was scheduled to do a 8-10 miler. Was spring-like outside (rain, sun, rain, downpour, sun, repeat), was I was sorta looking forward to running in the rain. However, at 1.8 miles out, I *thought* I heard thunder. Since t-storms were forecasted, I didn't really want to be stuck out there when lightening struck, so I turned around and headed back home (so much for my long run). However, to make the most out of the situation, I nearly sprinted up every hill I found. Mile 3 was a 8:06, mile 4 was a 7:50, and the last .3 miles was a 7:26. great last half, but still, only 4.3 miles total. It did get my mileage up past 40, but that also included a 14 miler on Sunday (thank God I did a long run on Sunday!).
Today: mis-set my alarm, so I didn't get up in time to run this morning (also didn't help that daylight savings time made it dark again in the morning). I didn't want two days off, so I ran tonight at 9:00 pm. Thought I had a 6 mile loop planned, but turned out to be a 5.72 mile loop. Didn't feel like extending it the last 1/4 mile or so (it *was* nearly 10:00pm you know), so I left it at that. At least I ran today!
Saturday run: was scheduled to do a 8-10 miler. Was spring-like outside (rain, sun, rain, downpour, sun, repeat), was I was sorta looking forward to running in the rain. However, at 1.8 miles out, I *thought* I heard thunder. Since t-storms were forecasted, I didn't really want to be stuck out there when lightening struck, so I turned around and headed back home (so much for my long run). However, to make the most out of the situation, I nearly sprinted up every hill I found. Mile 3 was a 8:06, mile 4 was a 7:50, and the last .3 miles was a 7:26. great last half, but still, only 4.3 miles total. It did get my mileage up past 40, but that also included a 14 miler on Sunday (thank God I did a long run on Sunday!).
Today: mis-set my alarm, so I didn't get up in time to run this morning (also didn't help that daylight savings time made it dark again in the morning). I didn't want two days off, so I ran tonight at 9:00 pm. Thought I had a 6 mile loop planned, but turned out to be a 5.72 mile loop. Didn't feel like extending it the last 1/4 mile or so (it *was* nearly 10:00pm you know), so I left it at that. At least I ran today!
Friday, March 7, 2008
Two Runs
Didn't update my posts yesterday. Just as well. I felt terrible. Is 'sucky' a word? I couldn't find a groove, I couldn't go fast, I couldn't do anything. I originally wanted to go 8-10, but had to turn around at 3 (for 6.01 total). I *did* go back to a morning schedule though. I wonder if that has anything to do with it. Over the past week, I had been running in the afternoon, and with the nice spring-like temps, it was great. I'm trying to get back to morning runs though, as my day-time schedule is surprisingly busy (in a good way). We'll see...
... that is, we'll see today. I ran an easy 4.35 today, at a better pace (8:44). It was a short run, and I was able to increase my speed towards the end, so that was good. Again, I ran in the morning, and for my long run tomorrow, I'll be running early again.
Some good news, my weeking mileage so far this week just passed last week's total mileage. The long run on Sunday (which counts as this week) is pretty much the reason why.
... that is, we'll see today. I ran an easy 4.35 today, at a better pace (8:44). It was a short run, and I was able to increase my speed towards the end, so that was good. Again, I ran in the morning, and for my long run tomorrow, I'll be running early again.
Some good news, my weeking mileage so far this week just passed last week's total mileage. The long run on Sunday (which counts as this week) is pretty much the reason why.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Top Ten!
Better check it quick, 'cause it ain't gonna last long. I noticed that I was in the top ten (number 8) in the total miles run in the past week (2-26 to 3-3) (the caveat being that I'm only showing public logs). There must've been a running holiday that I didn't know about. We'll check after the re-count. By the way, I'm talking about the Leaderboard in BuckeyeOutdoors (www.buckeyoutdoors.com). To keep my ego in check, I'm number 12 for the entire month and number 249 for lifetime. Number 1 lifetime has 26,218 miles. It'll take me awhile to catch up....
Well, I ran 8.24 miles today at a pretty good pace. That makes it 25 miles so far this week. Not bad. I'm off to a good start, but we'll see how long it lasts. Dunno when I'm going to run tomorrow (FIOS is coming - yay!). If I could, I'd love to get 10 miles in, but don't know if that's possible. It was even hard getting started today. Running in the afternoon -- it's tough to start, because I'm already moving around. It's one thing to wake up and head out the door; it's quite another to stop what you are doing, change, and get outside. I think my only saving grace is the weather. It was 65 degrees when I ran today (but cloudy and quite windy).
Well, I ran 8.24 miles today at a pretty good pace. That makes it 25 miles so far this week. Not bad. I'm off to a good start, but we'll see how long it lasts. Dunno when I'm going to run tomorrow (FIOS is coming - yay!). If I could, I'd love to get 10 miles in, but don't know if that's possible. It was even hard getting started today. Running in the afternoon -- it's tough to start, because I'm already moving around. It's one thing to wake up and head out the door; it's quite another to stop what you are doing, change, and get outside. I think my only saving grace is the weather. It was 65 degrees when I ran today (but cloudy and quite windy).
Monday, March 3, 2008
Post Long Run.... Jog
Ran 3.3 miles today. Waited until this afternoon to give my body 24 hours rest. Actually gave it 26 hours.... My legs felt very tired, although I averaged an 8:40 pace. Did the Route 50 loop. Beautiful day outside. It was sunny and 65 degrees. Wore shorts and a t-shirt. The weather felt great! I just hope that it's not a calm before the storm.
I've already made my predictions public, that we have seen the last of the Winter storms. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. However, now that I've experienced warm weather (today's 60+ not included), I don't want to go back. I've said before that now that I'm getting older, I enjoy summer-time MUCH more than winter-time. I even prefer 90 degree weather with high humidity over winter. Anyway... it's a little too early to talk about summer -- I need to get through spring first!
Haven't signed up for the backyard burn yet, nor the GEER 50K. I did check to see if registration was full yet -- it's not full (yet); however, I should probably sign up soon.
I've already made my predictions public, that we have seen the last of the Winter storms. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. However, now that I've experienced warm weather (today's 60+ not included), I don't want to go back. I've said before that now that I'm getting older, I enjoy summer-time MUCH more than winter-time. I even prefer 90 degree weather with high humidity over winter. Anyway... it's a little too early to talk about summer -- I need to get through spring first!
Haven't signed up for the backyard burn yet, nor the GEER 50K. I did check to see if registration was full yet -- it's not full (yet); however, I should probably sign up soon.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Just noticed...
Just noticed that I didn't post after my run last night. I started out doing something close to Junk miles to get my mileage to 30 for the week. Due to crazy schedules on both Friday and Saturday, I didn't get a run in on Friday, nor could I do a long run on Saturday. Around 8:50 pm Saturday night, I started out with a 6 mile run in mind. Since it was Saturday night, I didn't want to run along the Fairfax County Parkway, nor anywhere where there might be heavy traffic. I had seen that Thompson road had a trail/sidewalk on it, so I ran there. The trail didn't last that long, but turned down another road. Then it ended. Fortunately, the sidewalk continued on a side street, and I was thinking that I would run along all the sidewalks, and then go down another neighborhood to round out my 6. However, the road I was on -- never ended. I ended up going down (and up) and very long road, so I figured it would hit West Ox road and I would finish from there. Unfortunately, it ended in a cul-de-sac (I found out later that it was very close to West Ox, but I needed to take another road to actually hit it). So... I was long in my mileage, and needed to get home before My Lovely Wife started to worry.
Ended up running over 7, getting my mileage to 31 (whew!), ran fast (well, not as fast as I thought -- a 8:54 mile), and got home before 10:00pm. Long story short, I got my miles in.
And I won't call them Junk miles, even though I wanted to round out my 30, as I hadn't run since Thursday and wanted to prep before my long run on Sunday.
Ended up running over 7, getting my mileage to 31 (whew!), ran fast (well, not as fast as I thought -- a 8:54 mile), and got home before 10:00pm. Long story short, I got my miles in.
And I won't call them Junk miles, even though I wanted to round out my 30, as I hadn't run since Thursday and wanted to prep before my long run on Sunday.
Rocky Run Trail
Ran Rocky Run Trail today, from Middle Ridge to Ellanor C Lawrence park. Pretty good, run, but slower than a normal road pace. The trail plus the small but numerous hills at the park, plus all the road crossings slowed me down. Thought I was going to hit 16+ miles due to the wrong turns, etc., going to the park, but ended up running almost exactly 14 miles (14.06). Sore right now (4 hours afterwards).
Since I'm Quartermaster at my Cub Scout pack, and since I had equipment from our Blue and Gold dinner (plus stuff from the Fall Campout (still) in my garage, I went to put it all away after the run. Seven (!) trips from the car to the building, down a very long hallway, plus 2 flights of stairs (21 steps each flight -- I counted) made me a little tired at the end.
One neat thing... I was listening to Phedippidations (www.steverunner.com) today (I've started listening to music on my long runs) and he was reading an email or playing a voicemail (I forget) from a listener who was talking about how his long runs were his way of being closer to God. Now get this... I wasn't on a road, wasn't waiting for traffic... I was running on a beautiful portion of the Ellanor C Lawrence trail and was totally alone. Very nice portion of the run, and it was interesting to hear that part. Huh.
Probably not running far (if at all) tomorrow due to my long run in the afternoon today.
Since I'm Quartermaster at my Cub Scout pack, and since I had equipment from our Blue and Gold dinner (plus stuff from the Fall Campout (still) in my garage, I went to put it all away after the run. Seven (!) trips from the car to the building, down a very long hallway, plus 2 flights of stairs (21 steps each flight -- I counted) made me a little tired at the end.
One neat thing... I was listening to Phedippidations (www.steverunner.com) today (I've started listening to music on my long runs) and he was reading an email or playing a voicemail (I forget) from a listener who was talking about how his long runs were his way of being closer to God. Now get this... I wasn't on a road, wasn't waiting for traffic... I was running on a beautiful portion of the Ellanor C Lawrence trail and was totally alone. Very nice portion of the run, and it was interesting to hear that part. Huh.
Probably not running far (if at all) tomorrow due to my long run in the afternoon today.
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