7.25.2009
Wednesday, July 22nd
9 miles, hard
90 degrees, humid
It was a hot one at BCCHS. We planned on a 4 mile tempo on the track at 5:20s, and only ran 3 (at far slower than that...). We followed up with a set of 6 x 300s, but I felt fatigued and tight and stopped after 4. Just one of those days... probably due to the heat, humidity, going to the gym, and lack of sleep. Live to fight another day...
90 degrees, humid
It was a hot one at BCCHS. We planned on a 4 mile tempo on the track at 5:20s, and only ran 3 (at far slower than that...). We followed up with a set of 6 x 300s, but I felt fatigued and tight and stopped after 4. Just one of those days... probably due to the heat, humidity, going to the gym, and lack of sleep. Live to fight another day...
Monday, July 20th
9 miles, easy + Gym
75 degrees, sunrise
Met with Dickson for a run around Haines Point/The Mall. Great morning for a run, and ran early enough so I could still go to the gym before work. Lifted and did core work at the gym.
75 degrees, sunrise
Met with Dickson for a run around Haines Point/The Mall. Great morning for a run, and ran early enough so I could still go to the gym before work. Lifted and did core work at the gym.
Sunday, July 19th
12 miles, easy
80 degrees, sunny
Ran with Niel and Jake at Greenbelt Park before going to work. Felt pretty good despite racing the night before.
80 degrees, sunny
Ran with Niel and Jake at Greenbelt Park before going to work. Felt pretty good despite racing the night before.
7.24.2009
Saturday, July 18th - Rockville Twilighter
9 miles, hard
75 degrees, twilight
We were blessed this year with the most comfortable conditions possible for the Rockville Twilighter: warm and dry. I approached the race with doubts about my fitness. With only one workout in the previous three weeks, I had done little to prepare for this race.
Somehow I felt comfortable through the first two miles of the race, even though I was running as fast as I had the past two years (years I was in better shape). I made a conscious effort to hold back knowing that I didn't have the endurance to last 5 miles at that pace, and ended up pacing with Sloane and Askey. At the turnaround at 5K, I hoped to rally the troops for a surge over the last mile and a half. While Neil was surging to catch up with us, nobody seemed ready to go with me. As I began my surge behind Montgomery College, I saw that Reaves was in trouble. I caught up with him at 4 miles, and helped pace him for the next ~400m. Then I pressed forward and tried to reel in everyone I could. I finished in a surprisingly good time of 26:28 for 26th overall.
The GRC men had a solid evening with two top ten finishes, and another 5 guys within 30 seconds.
Splits: 5:12; 5:25; 5:26; 5:26; 4:58.
75 degrees, twilight
We were blessed this year with the most comfortable conditions possible for the Rockville Twilighter: warm and dry. I approached the race with doubts about my fitness. With only one workout in the previous three weeks, I had done little to prepare for this race.
Somehow I felt comfortable through the first two miles of the race, even though I was running as fast as I had the past two years (years I was in better shape). I made a conscious effort to hold back knowing that I didn't have the endurance to last 5 miles at that pace, and ended up pacing with Sloane and Askey. At the turnaround at 5K, I hoped to rally the troops for a surge over the last mile and a half. While Neil was surging to catch up with us, nobody seemed ready to go with me. As I began my surge behind Montgomery College, I saw that Reaves was in trouble. I caught up with him at 4 miles, and helped pace him for the next ~400m. Then I pressed forward and tried to reel in everyone I could. I finished in a surprisingly good time of 26:28 for 26th overall.
The GRC men had a solid evening with two top ten finishes, and another 5 guys within 30 seconds.
Splits: 5:12; 5:25; 5:26; 5:26; 4:58.
GRC TV: Twilighter 2009 from Tow Path on Vimeo.
Friday, July 17th
8 miles, easy
70 degrees, sunrise
Ran a few laps of the National Mall/Capitol Hill with Dickson before work. A nice change of scenery, and glad to get the run out of the way early.
70 degrees, sunrise
Ran a few laps of the National Mall/Capitol Hill with Dickson before work. A nice change of scenery, and glad to get the run out of the way early.
7.17.2009
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
***
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.
***
Monday, July 13th
0 miles.
I just worked 100 hours in the last 8 days (a PR!). No running for me.
***
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.
***
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.
***
Friday, July 10th
10 miles, easy
70 degrees, humid
Ran with Dickson in the AM around Haines Point. Exhausted.
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
***
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.
***
Monday, July 13th
0 miles.
I just worked 100 hours in the last 8 days (a PR!). No running for me.
***
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.
***
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.
***
Friday, July 10th
10 miles, easy
70 degrees, humid
Ran with Dickson in the AM around Haines Point. Exhausted.
***
Thursday, July 9th
0 miles. Work...
***
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.
***
Tuesday, July 7th
0 miles. Stuck at work.
***
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.
***
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.
***
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.
***
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.
***
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.
***
Tuesday, May 30th
0 miles. Stuck at work.
***
Monday, May 29th
0 miles. Just played volleyball.
***
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.
***
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.
***
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.
***
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
***
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.
***
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.
***
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.
***
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.
***
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 (!).
6.17.2009
Wednesday, June 17th
10.5 miles, hard
67 degrees, cloudy
Met with Reaves, Dirk, and Dickson after work for a farlek (8 x 3 min/1 min) in RCP. It's been a while since we ran this workout, and I forgot how tough it is. Good effort by all.
67 degrees, cloudy
Met with Reaves, Dirk, and Dickson after work for a farlek (8 x 3 min/1 min) in RCP. It's been a while since we ran this workout, and I forgot how tough it is. Good effort by all.
6.16.2009
May 11th - June 16th 2009
181.5 miles
I'm back, and hopefully for good. I fully acknowledge that I dropped the ball for the past five weeks. May was a month of recovery from spring training and racing, and now I am beginning to build up my mileage again. That mileage is recorded in the spreadsheet at the side of the blog, and most of my runs have been commented about by one of the GRCers.
PS - Munro, get a life.
I'm back, and hopefully for good. I fully acknowledge that I dropped the ball for the past five weeks. May was a month of recovery from spring training and racing, and now I am beginning to build up my mileage again. That mileage is recorded in the spreadsheet at the side of the blog, and most of my runs have been commented about by one of the GRCers.
PS - Munro, get a life.
5.10.2009
Saturday, May 9th
0 miles
I'm definitely in off-season mode now. I've also been advised by Dr. John not to run so I don't aggravate my scar.
I'm definitely in off-season mode now. I've also been advised by Dr. John not to run so I don't aggravate my scar.
Wednesday, May 7th
6 miles, easy-hard
75 degrees, sunset
I planned to run a 5K at the UMD track meet tonight, but did not look forward to it after a stressful workday that also saw my face swell up, bruise, bleed, and ooze. Gross. When I got to the track I watched Reaves run a PR in the alumni mile (woo!) with Valerie. As soon as Patrick walked up to us he saw my face and after the obligatory "What happened to you!?" asked "Do you want to switch to the 1500?" Thank you, Patrick. After a nearly two years of running together he can read me well.
So I jumped in the College Men's 1500. I haven't run that distance since a meet at Bucknell in 2007, but I was interested to see what my mile time would equate to. I toed the line with 17 other guys, two of whom were rabbits. I was in way over my head. After the gun went off I settled in at the back of the pack and battled with two other guys for the first three laps. I finished DFL, but crossed the line in a respectable 4:15 (=~4:33 mile).
75 degrees, sunset
I planned to run a 5K at the UMD track meet tonight, but did not look forward to it after a stressful workday that also saw my face swell up, bruise, bleed, and ooze. Gross. When I got to the track I watched Reaves run a PR in the alumni mile (woo!) with Valerie. As soon as Patrick walked up to us he saw my face and after the obligatory "What happened to you!?" asked "Do you want to switch to the 1500?" Thank you, Patrick. After a nearly two years of running together he can read me well.
So I jumped in the College Men's 1500. I haven't run that distance since a meet at Bucknell in 2007, but I was interested to see what my mile time would equate to. I toed the line with 17 other guys, two of whom were rabbits. I was in way over my head. After the gun went off I settled in at the back of the pack and battled with two other guys for the first three laps. I finished DFL, but crossed the line in a respectable 4:15 (=~4:33 mile).
Wednesday, May 6th
9 miles, easy
60 degrees, sunrise, wet
Met with Jarrin, Max, Huge, and Murray for a morning run in RCP. Good run with good company.
60 degrees, sunrise, wet
Met with Jarrin, Max, Huge, and Murray for a morning run in RCP. Good run with good company.
Tuesday, May 5th
0 miles
The road to hell is paved with good intentions... I put off a morning run with plans to run from work to the first volleyball game of the season. When I realized I had scheduled my dermatologist surgery in the afternoon everything got screwed up. I made my appointment, but wasn't able to run the rest of the day lest I bleed too much. It also rained and the game was cancelled. Lesson: just run in the morning and consider any evening run to volleyball a "bonus" run.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions... I put off a morning run with plans to run from work to the first volleyball game of the season. When I realized I had scheduled my dermatologist surgery in the afternoon everything got screwed up. I made my appointment, but wasn't able to run the rest of the day lest I bleed too much. It also rained and the game was cancelled. Lesson: just run in the morning and consider any evening run to volleyball a "bonus" run.
5.04.2009
5.03.2009
Sunday, May 3rd
12 miles, easy
50 degrees, cloudy, wet
I woke up early to watch the Pittsburgh Marathon and cheer for DaveO and Laura. DaveO told me about the massive hills between miles 11 and 13, so I joined him and ran up to the half-marathon mark with him. Then I turned around and ran back down the hill to meet Laura and run with her. I saw them again at mile 22 and they were fighting for top 5 male and female! I also ran for a block with my old teammate 'Nedy who was the anchor leg for a relay team and was hawking down the full marathon leaders. Great races by all.
50 degrees, cloudy, wet
I woke up early to watch the Pittsburgh Marathon and cheer for DaveO and Laura. DaveO told me about the massive hills between miles 11 and 13, so I joined him and ran up to the half-marathon mark with him. Then I turned around and ran back down the hill to meet Laura and run with her. I saw them again at mile 22 and they were fighting for top 5 male and female! I also ran for a block with my old teammate 'Nedy who was the anchor leg for a relay team and was hawking down the full marathon leaders. Great races by all.
Saturday, May 2nd
10.5 miles, easy
60 degrees, sunny
Clark showed me around Pittsburgh as he rode his bike next to me as I ran. It was great to have the company and a guide. Perfect day for a run. And I'm glad I got some exercise in before we went to Pimanti Brothers for lunch... famous for their sandwiches with french fries and sauerkraut IN the sandwich! We met my old teammate Ben Niebel and his girlfriend Erica for lunch, then went to "The Strip" to check out the Italian markets.
In the afternoon John and I attended the wedding of my good friend Laura from Penn State. It was a beautiful day, a beautiful venue, and a beautiful bride. Best wedding I've been to so far.
60 degrees, sunny
Clark showed me around Pittsburgh as he rode his bike next to me as I ran. It was great to have the company and a guide. Perfect day for a run. And I'm glad I got some exercise in before we went to Pimanti Brothers for lunch... famous for their sandwiches with french fries and sauerkraut IN the sandwich! We met my old teammate Ben Niebel and his girlfriend Erica for lunch, then went to "The Strip" to check out the Italian markets.In the afternoon John and I attended the wedding of my good friend Laura from Penn State. It was a beautiful day, a beautiful venue, and a beautiful bride. Best wedding I've been to so far.
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