1.02.2011

Friday, December 31st

9 miles, easy
45 degrees, cloudy

Ran with Klim, Ernst, Chuck, Dickson, Max, and Wiggy from The Line on the last run of the year.

Thursday, December 30th

6 miles, easy
40 degrees, dark

Ran recovery with Ben in the early evening.

Wednesday, December 29th

11 miles, hard
45 degrees, dark

Ran the track workout with the team at BCC.  I wasn't sure how I'd feel going into the workout since my legs were so tired yesterday, but I was pleasantly surprised how strong I ran.  We started the 5xmile with a large group at 5:21, and cut it down to 5:17 on the next two intervals.  I held onto the pace set my Dickson and Sam over the last two mile repeats, finishing in 5:05 and 4:59.  It was a great way to end the year.

Tuesday, December 28th

9 miles, easy
35 degrees, sunny

Ran the RCP-AG-Towpath-RCP loop on my own in the morning.  Legs felt very tired.

Monday, December 27th

8 miles, easy
30 degrees, sunny and windy
I ran on my own through RCP, starting at Pierce Mill to avoid the wind.

Sunday, December 26th

13.5 miles, moderate
30 degrees, cloudy and flurries
I drove back to DC early to beat the blizzard, only to arrive in DC to absolutely no snow.  I took advantage to the remaining daylight and went on a long solo run through RCP along the Western Ridge to The Line, and back.

Saturday, December 25th – Christmas

7 miles, easy
25 degrees, cloudy
I snuck out of the house after Christmas morning with the niece and nephews, and before dinner to join my buddy Patrick Matolka on our annual Christmas run.

Friday, December 24th

0 miles.


Went skiing with Meg instead of going for a run... great quad workout.

Thursday, December 23rd

10 miles, easy
25 degrees, cloudy
Ran with Dickson around The Mall and Hains Point before hitting the road to go home for Christmas.

Wednesday, December 22nd

10 miles, hard
30 degrees, dark
Met with a small group for a track workout at BCC.  Jim Daly and I made up the B group, and ran 8x800 in 2:41; 2:40; 2:37; 2:36; 2:32; 2:33; 2:26; 2:24, and felt pretty good about it.  It was especially nice to have Coach Jerry clear lane 1 of snow and ice for us.

Monday, December 20th


4.5 miles, easy
30 degrees, windy
I met with Carl Fudge on a break from work to run along the Mt. Vernon Trail.  

Sunday, December 19th

10 miles, easy
30 degrees, sunny
I met with Jarrin, Bain, and company for a run at The Line the morning after 1MT4, and another Penn State Volleyball National Championship.

Saturday, December 18th – Chemistree Run

5 miles, moderate
30 degrees, sunny
Ran the Chemistree Run in McLean, a nice community race in honor of a local high school science teacher.  There was no competition at this race, so I ran a tempo 5K in about 18 minutes flat.  Won tickets to a Wizards game, a pair of shoes, and a gift certificate for a Road ID.

Thursday, December 16th

10 miles, easy
30 degrees, cloudy
Ran easy with Dickson before work, my first run since returning from Charlotte.  Oddly, my calves felt sore today for the first time since the race.

Sunday, December 12th

7 miles, easy
45 degrees, rainy
Ran a slightly hungover 7 miles with the guys in Charlotte before heading back to DC.

Saturday , December 11th – USATF Club XC Nationals


12 miles, hard
45 degrees, partly sunny

Finally it was time for USATFs.  We brought a larger team to this year’s race in Charlotte, and arguably our best team for any race ever.  Arriving after dark Friday night prevented us from scouting the course, so we were relieved to se that the course was “pancake flat” when we arrived.  Also, it was primarily made up of packed gravel like the canal towpath, which presented some choices on race footwear.
After a team warmup and cheer, 13 of us toed the line against over 400 of the country’s top runners.  I was somewhat relieved that I wasn’t being relied upon this year to score for the team, so I could run my own race.  At the start, I settled in at just faster than my goal race pace.  The first lap saw me trying to find my place in the pack and settle into race pace.  I hit 5:17 for the first mile, but slowed to 5:32 for the second mile.  I tried to surge to a faster pace, but found myself averaging 5:35-5:45 for the next few miles.  I aimed to keep up with a pack just in front of me, and battled the guys around me, but still couldn’t find a way to speed up.  Finally, with about a mile to go, I was able to steadily pick off other runners and put together a kick I didn’t think was in me. 
I crossed the line in 34:28, somewhat disappointed and much more exhausted than I had anticipated.  I had hoped to run nearly a minute faster, but acknowledged that I couldn’t have run much faster that day.  The better news was that the team finished 14th overall, an improvement of five places over last year, while competing against even more teams.  In fact, our team finished among the top “working runner” teams in the race, beating Manhattan Track Club, Central Park Track Club, Atlanta Track Club, New Balance Boston, Greater Boston Track Club, and Bull City Track Club.  We were also excited to have Coach Jerry attend the race with us, and we’re looking forward to continuing our improvement in 2011.


12.06.2010

Sunday, December 5th

8 miles, easy
35 degrees, sunny

I drove down to Pierce Mill and ran up RCP to meet the team on their run from The Line.  The run felt rough after a long night out with our guest Justin last night.

Saturday, December 4th

9 miles, hard
32 degrees, sunny

I joined the guys for our annual XC workout on cell tower field.  The weather and faces were different this year, but the terrain was just as tough.  I had difficulty keeping up with any of the guys, and couldn't get my legs to turn over.  Despite the discouraging workout, at least my leg pain dissipated.  Two days off and a night at the gym doing stabilization work last night seems to have helped.

Wednesday, December 1st

9 miles, hard
38 degrees, dark

I returned to running by hitting the track with the team, which even at the time seemed foolish.  I joined the guys for as much as I could, and managed a somewhat decent ladder workout.  I followed or paced Dusen and Dickson for 800-1200-1600-1200-800 of their 5xmile workout.  At the end of the workout, I had some serious pain in my left shin and knee, and speculated that I had a stress reaction/fracture.

Splits:

800:  2:38
1200: 3:53
1600: 5:01
1200: 3:50 (fell off pace badly the last lap)
800:   2:30

Sunday, November 28th

4 miles, easy
30 degrees, sunny

I was able to sneak in a few miles before hitting the road to return to DC.  The hills around home are incredibly large and steep, so I didn't make it too far. 

Later on Sunday I came down with food poisoning from a Wegmans Chicken Caesar Baguette sandwich, which took me out of commission for the first half of the week.