Catching Up...

Thursday, July 16th
4.5 miles, easy
90 degrees, humid

Ran easy after work... first hazy, hot, and humid day of the summer.

***

Wednesday, July 15th
10 miles, hard
80 degrees, humid

Track workout at BCC with Reaves, Jake, Dixon, Bain, Dirk, and Carl. It was my first track workout in several weeks, so it was a bit of a shock to the system. I was determined to run the entire 4xmile workout, so I deliberately (and thankfully) ran a slower pace than most of the group. It felt like one of my toughest workouts in a while.

Splits: 5:09; 5:11; 5:09; 5:09

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Tuesday, July 14th
10 miles, easy-moderate
75 degrees, sunset

Ran the RCP-AG-Canal-RCP loop and listened to the Sotomayor Judicial Committee Hearings on NPR. Good run.

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Monday, July 13th
0 miles.

I just worked 100 hours in the last 8 days (a PR!). No running for me.

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Sunday, July 12th
14.5 miles, easy
85 degrees, sunny

Zoo Loop with a big group of GRCers. Someone (*cough* MAX *cough*) pressed the pace from the start, so it became a tough run early on. Billy and I hung back from the Zoo back to The Line and chatted about Le Tour. Then, in true Tour de France fashion, we reeled in and blew by the early sprinter just before the finish. Tough day... I hate the heat.

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Saturday, July 11th
10 miles, easy
80 degrees, sunny

Ran the reverse RCP-AG loop from the store with the team, and followed up with a great brunch at Dylan's.

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Friday, July 10th
10 miles, easy
70 degrees, humid

Ran with Dickson in the AM around Haines Point. Exhausted.

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Thursday, July 9th
0 miles. Work...

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Wednesday, July 8th
6 miles, hard

80 degrees, sunset

Ran ~6 miles while my load calcs ran at work. Since I was missing a track workout, I ran a 15 minute tempo.

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Tuesday, July 7th

0 miles. Stuck at work.

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Monday, July 6th
6 miles, easy
75 degrees, sunny

Sneaked out for a short run on the Mt. Vernon Trail while my calculation was running at work.

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Sunday, July 5th
10 miles, easy
75 degrees, cloudy

Met up with Bain and Shannon in RCP for an afternoon run. We ran through an incredibly crowded zoo... felt like running through campus between classes.

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Saturday, July 4th - Independence Day
14 miles, easy
75 degrees, sunny

Ran the Zoo Loop from The Line (via Calvert) with Dylan, Jake, and Timm. It felt great to take it easy. Followed the run with a brunch to watch the first stage of the Tour de France!! Then a fantastic Independece Day Fireworks Party, with even more fantastic deserts.

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Friday, July 3rd
10 miles, easy
70 degrees, partly cloudy and breezy

Met with Dylan, Billy, Sloane, Max, Sam, Dickson, and newcommer Rachel for a run from the store. In honor of our nation's birthday, we ran around the monuments... Jefferson, down the Mall, around Capitol Hill, and back down the Mall. Beautiful day for a run in DC! At the end I ran some strides to loosen up... my hamstrings were still a little tight.

My cousin Liz and her roomates got into town last night, and we walked around Georgetown in the afternoon stopping at Agraria for a fabulous lunch on the waterfront, and at Timothy Sweets for ice cream. Great summer day!

***

Thursday, July 2nd
8 miles, easy
75 degrees, sunset

Ran alone after a long day of work, and dentist and DMV Inspection appointments. I headed up Connecticut, down Tilden, a variation of the CL loop, and back. My hamstrings felt very tight from the squats I did at the gym yesterday.

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Wednesday, July 1st
9 miles, hard
70 degrees, sunny

Planned to meet Dickson for a morning workout downtown, but we never crossed paths. I went ahead on my own and ran a fartlek of 6x 3min/1min. I felt pretty good towards the end. I hit the gym to lift and do core work, and clean up for work. I think this arrangement will work for me in the future... it's great getting the run in before work.

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Tuesday, May 30th
0 miles. Stuck at work.

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Monday, May 29th
0 miles. Just played volleyball.

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Sunday, June 28th

11 miles, moderate
75 degrees, mostly cloudy

Ran from The Line with a group of GRCers. Reaves and Valerie hosted a blueberry pancake breakfast afterwards... de-lish.

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Saturday, June 27th
16 miles, easy-moderate
75 degrees, sunny

Long run from the store with the GRC crew. We ran down the canal, up Earnst Hill, down Connecticut Ave, through the Zoo, and back down Rock Creek Park to the Boathouse. Dickson and I added on to the Roosevelt Bridge to make it 16. It's starting to get hot in DC, so I'm glad to get this run out of the way early.

***

Friday, June 26th
9 miles, easy
70 degrees, sunrise

Met with Max and Owen for an easy morning run in RCP. They debated the merits of Wardian's racing strategies, I followed silently. I felt pretty fatigued this morning, but was glad to get the run in before work. Celebrated Snizow's b-day at Pizza Paradiso in the evening.

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Thursday, June 25th
9 miles, easy
70 degrees, sunset/evening

Today Michael Jackson died and Gov. Mark Sanford breathed a BIG sigh of relief. After work I ran the RCP-AG-canal loop Murray taught me and listened to Michael on my iPhone the last few miles. I have lots of memories of traveling to track/XC meets and jamming to Beat It and Billy Jean on someone's boom box. Whatever you think of the guy, Michael could perform like no other.

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Wednesday, June 24th
10 miles, hard
75 degrees, hard

Ran a track workout with some old and new GRCers, including the debut of Deserie and Jake. I completed 2x 2K/1K plus 1K and strides. It felt pretty warm, so I bailed on the last 2K/1K interval. After the workout I swung by John's farewell happy hour and Bain's birthday happy hour.

Splits: 6:2X (5:11/mi); 3:0X; 6:35 (5:16/mi); 3:11; 3:07

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Tuesday, June 23rd

AM: 1 mile + Gym

PM: 6 miles, easy
80 degrees, sunset

Hit the gym at lunch and went for a late-afternoon run from work down the Mt. Vernon Trail.

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Monday, June 22nd
0 miles

Drove the new car from NY to DC. Today Metro experienced its worst tragedy as two trains collided outside the Ft. Totten Metro Station. 9 people ultimately perished, and hopefully lessons will be learned to make public transportation safer.

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Sunday, June 21st
2.5 miles, easy
70 degrees, cloudy

Started a run in Otsinengo Park, but I only had my racing flats to wear... I decided to turn around and cut the run short rather than injure myself.

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Saturday, June 20th - Vestal XX
15 miles, hard
65 degrees, cloudy and light showers

Today was the 39th Annual Vestal XX. I went into the race as the two-time defending champion, but quickly found a worthy opponent in the first mile. He went on to pull away through the entire race, but I stuck to my conservative race plan and hoped he would pay for pressing the pace up all those hills. He didn't, unfortunately, and I found difficulty shifting gears to chase him down. I ran the second half of the race with Mike Murphy and pulled away over the last mile to take second. I finished in 1:13:29 (5:55/mi pace), the same time as my first win in 2007. Oh well.

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Friday, June 19th
6 miles, easy
70 degrees, sunrise

Ran an easy pre-race 5 miles in RCP, then some striders at Pierce Mill. Hit the road after a half-day of work and arrived home just in time for dinner at Little Venice (!).