got the runs

A fairly leisurely run along the W & OD trail that begins in DC and heads west for ~45 miles or so.  Not quite the river trail, but it is well-maintained, there are many short stretches through old-growth forest, and it has very nice gravel shoulders (for those of us who appreciate softer surfaces).  This followed by an hour of fairly strenuous weight-lifting at the gym--i felt like a truck ran over me this morning, if you want to know the truth.

By the way--I haven't looked at who else is on this, but "hello" to all you Logan Transplants.  I'd give Paul's left arm to go for a nice saturday morning run with y'all.

If you're ever in the nation's capital, you've got a place to stay.

5 miles at ~7:30 pace. 

I had planned on a long trail run on saturday, but felt a cold coming on that bullied me into a more restful weekend.  I felt great this morning, though; that eastern sunrise wooed me along and promised me a great start to the week.  Oh, and there's lots of little workout stations along the trail, so i get fun breaks to do chin-ups etc--cool!

Have a great day, all.

Windy and cold, ~7:30 pace.  But felt really quite nice.  I felt like a dog with his head out the window or something--eyes a'watering, struggling to breathe, ears a'floppin'.  My beep beep alarm didn't go off, but my running alarm did--and it even allowed me one snooze's-worth of sleeping in.  Good times.

5 miles at ~7:30 again.  A fairly brisk morning, but nothing like yesterday.  The snow started falling when i was doing my post-run stretching, and is supposed to continue for a couple hours.  I found myself thinking nasty thoughts when I ran past all those DC runners who, for whatever reason, can't seem to conjure the energy say "hi" or wave or even make eye contact.  I mean seriously.  Maybe I'm blinded and therefore simply can't see their faces on nice sunrise days, and so I just THINK people are looking in my direction with smiles on their faces, as I do, thus making me look like a proverbial idiot every time i run past someone with a big ol' grin on my face.  "Hi everybody!". 

(it was a good run today, by the way.)

Howdy howdy,

A gorgeous sunday afternoon run in shorts and a t-shirt and my new shoes.  I was in West Virginia thursday-sunday for a ski trip, which took the place of running for the weekend.  Some warm temperatures and springy snow--nice for getting in those last (seemingly first) turns for the year.  Unfortunately, someone was generous enough to share a cold with me, and now I feel pretty worn out.  I keep blaming daylight savings, but I know it's the cold.  I like to tell myself that running helps the healing process, but I know this isn't true.  Good times.  Good times.

Went out of town for a conference tuesday-wednesday.  Found a nice bike trail to run on in Cambridge Maryland tuesday evening after consuming lotsa sea-food.  Not bad, actually.  It's frustrating because as the weather approaches "perfect" for running, I find myself out of town in situautions that don't lend themselves well to sneaking out for runs (unless I sacrifice a a dangerous amount of sleep).

Six miles between 7:00 and 7:30 mpm on saturday afternoon down in lovely Charlottesville, VA with my friend Adam.  I felt really fresh because I had taken friday off to swim rather than run to give my legs/feet an extra long break.  A great way to usher in the joyous St. Patty's Day festivities.  We picked it up at the end, and it motivated me to get back into speed training.

5 miles somewhere between 7:30 and 8:00 minute miles (so i guess is should probably buy a watch one of these days...)

Pretty brisk out, but felt great!

2 miles out at 7:30 pace,

2 miles back doing strides between nicely spaced telephone poles along the W&OD trail.  Smacked greatly of doing speed training out west of logan by the dumps.  Oh, the good ol' days...

A relaxed 7.5 mile run on a gorgeous northern Virginia day.  I took wednesday off to do a 45 minute swim and an hour of lifting, so my legs felt well rested and strong for this run.  I have phantom tickles of plantar fasciitis while walking around town, so I'm keeping things rather chilled out for the moment, and I think swimming is the best cross-training option for me. 

7 miles through Georgetown and on a gravel trail along the beautiful Potomac River.  A wonderful run with ~2 miles of strides in the middle up tempo for the last mile.  Finally some consistent springy weather around here.

3 easy cheesy miles during my lunch break, and the exact same three after work.  I was stuck near the office for about a half hour so I figured why not.

Hope the arizona runners are having a good time.

4 miles out and back.  The first 3 or 4 miles were pretty groggy, and i was feeling my legs from the previous day.  These were followed by a couple of auto-pilot miles, and the last couple miles felt great.  I felt my form slipping a couple of times, and sped things up a bit to get everything back in place.  Beautiful weather! 

A liesurely run with a friend.  Sorta bloated, if you wanna know the truth...

After taking two days off of running due to work related things, I went out pretty hard on this run.  I felt pretty crappy for the first couple miles, but finall fell into my groove around mile 4.  I did strides the last few miles and felt quite strong.  Another beautiful day--i could have run forever!

I didn't know I was going to run this race until the previous afternoon.  If I had known, I probably wouldn't have gone out so hard on saturday morning (or thrown that house party saturday night, incidentally).  But sometimes these are the best races!   I got up at 6:00 after getting mimimal sleep, metro'd to downtown DC, grabbed a bib from a friend (some 15 year old girl named Abigail couldn't compete and gave me her number) and hit the asphalt.  It was a really cool run that (needless to say) weaved through the cherry blossoms of DC around all the monuments etc.  I've heard there were upwards of 10,000 people there (second largest race in thea area), which was quite evident in the tight packing of runners.  I had to get off and into the grass for most of the race in order to maintain the pace I wanted (given my circumstances, I was shooting for 8 min miles, which I achieved).  I don't know my exact time, because I didn't start at 0:00:00 due to the large group of racers (in fact, I was still in the port a john long after the gun went off, and I certainly wasn't the last one) but I kept track between miles and they were all around 8:00.   I didn't take this race all too seriously (obviously), which made it a great segue for me to get back into the scene in this part of the country.  Lots of fun to be by so many happy runners!!  Then i ate lots of eggs.  Lots and lots of eggs.

A splendid 6 miles along the tidal basin and major monuments of DC at sunset under waves of cherry blossoms with a good friend.  Doesn't get much better than that.

3.5 miles out to the gym at a pretty chilled out pace.  An hour of lifting.  3.5 miles back home feeling like a truck ran over me.  good times.

A good solid run at ~7:30 min miles. I've been striding out more and more on my returns and pounding out the few hills that I come across, and my legs are really feeling strong. I've been wanting to run to work, and I think next week it's finally going to happen (~12 miles).

A pretty chilly run on the W & OD trail with a friend.  Save for a couple of strides toward the end, we kept it at a chilled out 7:30 - 8:00 pace.  It was more of a maintenance run, as I wanted to stay fresh for another such run this evening. I'd be all in favor of that spring weather bouncing back this way again...

8 miles right at sunset.  I was a little worried that my legs would be a bit overworked due to increasing my mileage more quickly than usual this week.  However, after a 2 mile warmup, it became immediately clear that they were stronger than on any other run this week, so I stepped it up a bit.  Somewhere around 7:15 average.  I'm also realizing (thanks largely to Paul's blog) that I'm just not really meant to take entire days off.  It throws everything out of whack and, as Paul suggested, it becomes a mental game.  I know I'm perfectly capable of cranking out a run/day as long as I plan my runs appropriately, and if can just keep my brain wrapped around that my training will be that much easier.  It's those runs following full days off that really throw me for a loop (especially with regards to endurance and hill attackability).  Oh, the things we learn...

just digesting that easter dinner.

3 brisk miles at lunch running through the Reston Woodlands.

6+ miles to the park just beyond the 495 bridge and back. A couple short strides at the end, but otherwise a consistent 7:30 pace. Beautiful night for a run.  Nothing like a good double.

Around 8.5-9 miles along the W & OD.  I was wiped out all day, so I didn't expect much, but it actually went quite smoothly.  It necessitated a longer-than-usual amount of stretching afterwards, and we'll see if it paid off when I get on the trail today with Paul(!)

A beautiful 10 miles with Paul and Jon up the river trail, over the upper loop of Spring hollow, and back. Having gotten up at 3:30 am eastern time (1:30 here), eaten crappy food for lunch, and not being used to the altitude, I got the snot beaten out of me. Surprisingly, I feel great today though. The only upshot was my early bedtime yesterday. Yeah, i was a bit smelly.

It was great to run with some friends.  I never took this for granted--the terrain and the people--but being back here makes me realize how much I miss it.

A soul-cleansing run from the main parking lot at Temple Fork up to the saw mill and back.  Paul tells me it is about 7.5 miles, though it felt longer to my sea-level lungs.  Save for being a bit dehydrated, and a couple small muddy/snowy patches far up the trail, conditions were absolutely perfect.  Luckily, I had no watch, so all attention was paid to my surroundings, where it should be.  What a fabulous canyon.  It imparts peace and contentment and everything else that is good in the world.

Finally got a run in!  I was plagued by a nasty flu in Utah that left me weak and unrunnable for a few days.  Then I was crunched by grad school deadlines to get that stinking thesis in to the editor.  Then buddy came into town and had to entertain.  Busy busy busy.

I felt better on this run than I thought I would after such a lengthy hiatus.  A beautiful day for the W & OD trail.  Looped around the park after the 495 bridge and came back.  A couple strides on the return. 

7 miles along the Potomac. I'm feeling my week off bigtime.  I'm going to lay off a bit for a while--try to back off to 5/day or so and supplement in the pool and gym.  My legs weren't happy with me today.  Ease back in for a week or so and then get back on schedule.

3 miles.  To the bridge and back.  Before going to the gym. REALLY stiff.  But loosened up afterwards.

3 miles in the am.  A gorgeous morning to get out and stretch the legs.  Am headed for the pool this evening, with the potential for a few more road miles afterward.  If I'm too beat, I'll do a decent run in the morning.

6 miles in the am to the bridge and back.  I still feel slight stiffness in the legs from taking a few days off, but it's finally starting to pass.  Everything should be back to normal by the weekend.  A beautiful cloudy day.  I'm with you, Paul.  It's nice to feel the thick air and smell the humid smells while lumbering along through rolly terrain.  I miss Utah, but this has its perks.

I swam for 45 minutes yesterday evening which really seemed to help bring the core (lower back, abs) back into place.  I just felt horrible earlier this week, so i'm glad things are coming together again.

it's a great day to be alive.

5 miles along the W & OD trail.  To the street before the hill by the rt 66 bridge.  

Felt really good.  Approximately 7:30 miles.  Lower mileage to save myself for a longer run tomorrow.

cheers. 

11 miles west on W & OD.  Felt very strong.  Approximately 7:30 miles.  A gorgeous overcast day perfect for running.  Lots of kind folks on the trail today smiling and waving and nodding.  my longest run in DC yet, and I feel great.  Very encouraging.  About time for a new pair of shoes, though...

7 miles along the C & O near the Potomac.  A very relaxed sunday afternoon run, taking it easy after a 10 miler yesterday.  I felt fairly tight, but good otherwise.  Perfect, perfect weather.  DC allegedly doesn't get any better than this, and I believe it.

Feeling very blessed to have healthy knees and feet these days, but I don't want to push my luck.  Taking to the pool tomorrow to recoup a bit and take a break from all the impact. 

45 minutes in the Washington Lee pool

3 miles there and back by bike on the Custis trail

nice break for the legs.

 sick sick sick.

am: easy cheesy 3.5 miles to the Broad st. bridge and back.  Still drowsy from Nyquil last night.  Ran around like in a dream.  perfect weather. 

pm: ~3 miles roundtrip to the YMCA, 30 minutes swim in between

Feel pretty run down from cold.  Not quite sure where this thing came from...

4 miles on the W & OD.  This was just to stretch the legs and keep everything happy.  I can tell i'm kicking this cold, as this was an especially snotty run.  Felt fiine. 

A beautiful morning run from the USGS to Vienna on the W & OD.  This portion of "the wad" is orders of magnitude prettier and more enjoyable than my section of trail in Arlington/Falls Church.  Gorgeous forrested portions and a large gravel trail to the side.  I ran this morning with "the geostriders"; a group of cool old geologists who have been doing this run (followed by breakfast at the Vienna Cafe, a local greasy spoon) about once a month for the past 30 years, weather permitting.  The pace was painfully relaxed--literally.  Sort of hurt the joints to go that slow.  It's like driving a car with the parking break partially on--not good for the moving parts.  But lots of good conversation and stories from these seasoned geologists and runners, and I'm sure I'll join them in future runs.  Sort of tough waking up at 4:30 to ensure my punctual arrival at the survey...

Time for a donut.

1 hour in the Washington and Lee pool.

Felt very strong up top, but the legs were a bit weak.  A good workout.

12 miles out-and-back trail-ride on the Cross-County Trail.  A great trail with a couple technical sections and several stream crossings that ends at Great Falls National Park--gorgous!!

4 easy cheezy miles in the am to Shreve Rd and back.

One hour in the gym at night to work on some of the core and upper body.  Feel pretty good.

6.5 miles around the park and back.  Legs felt pretty heavy today.  Perhaps a remnant from biking so hard on sunday??  A beautiful morning nonetheless.  Washed it down with some highlander grog and oatmeal.

4 miles along adam's favorite route in Charlottesville, VA.

I had a few mantatory days off of work last week, so i've been down south canoeing.

ah, the good life.

6 miles just past the 495 bridge and back.

felt pretty strong today, despite taking some time off.

Deliciously new shoes. 

A friend and I meant for a nice 7 miler along the potomac, but the bugs by the river were so.  freaking.  bad.  i ate about 27 in 10 minutes and said "screw this".  so we ran through georgetown and dupont for a bit and then leisurely strolled around town.  lots going on right now, so i don't mind taking it a bit easier.

45 minutes freestyle in pool, 1 hour lifting at the gym.  all upper body.

6.5 miles roundtrip to the park and back.  Pushed it rather hard on the second half and actually felt my calves getting worked, which was nice. 

am: 12 mile bike ride to work.  A gorgeous overcast morning.

Six miles along the Potomac.  Felt STRONG!!

Am looking forward to a good week of running. 

AM:  Six lovely miles on the W & OD this morning.  My legs were a bit heavy, but not painfully so.  My upper back felt a little out of whack this morning, which disturbingly coincides with some adjusting I did on my own yesterday.  I hope I didn't screw it up.  It already feels better right now, but I'm also sitting at a desk right now.  We'll see what happens on tomorrow's run...  Beautiful weather in the forecast for this week!  Very excited to put some miles in.

PM: 12 miles biking home from work on the WOD.  Beautiful evening!!  Nice to use the quads differently.

Same ol' 6 mile out-and-back on the WOD.  The upper back started to give me trouble again today near the beginning of the run, and my legs were a bit heavy from biking last night.  About half-way into the run, however, I felt a bit of a kick, so I took it and sped things up.  When I did this, my form improved and my back felt fine.  Hopefully that's what my problem was, but I'm going to keep monitor it.  I don't want to screw myself by needing chiro visits.

8 STRONG miles on the WOD  trail.  The first 2 miles were a bit groggy, but everything clicked quite well thereafter.  Could have easily tacked on a couple extra miles at the end if it weren't for time constraints.

7 miles from my brother's house to my parents' house in Byron Center, MI..  Strong headwind the entire way, but the legs held up nicely.  Nice to be putting in some miles in the midwest again.  

am: Took a couple of days off for the holiday in beautiful West Michigan. Back at it this morning with a simple 4 miles on the WOD. Lots of field work coming up--i hope i can stay active to some degree. Hope everyone had a nice holiday.

pm: 45 minutes in the gym.  back, shoulders, arms, abs. 

3 miles after a day of fieldwork in the sun surveying coastlines along Pope's Creek.  Ran to the beach and back, quickly cooked up some quinoa and grabbed a beer, and drove them back to the beach for a dinner, a refreshing dip in the Potomac, and a great sunset. Life is good.

7 hours paddling/walking coastlines with a Trimble in the sun. That's enough for today.

am: 45 minutes in the pool.  Freestyle, breast, back.

6 miles on the WOD followed by an hour of weights at the Y.  

The first of many painfully humid days to come.  I'm not sure i'm ready for this...but I s'pose I have no choice.  The trees breathe on you.  It's sick. 

4 miles along some horrible highway in Cambridge, MD crowded with lots of hillbillies. 

7.5 miles along the same horrible highway in Cambridge, MD crowded with the same hillbillies.

1 hour in the gym.  upper body.

The usual 6 miles on the WOD.  Couldn't get "in the groove" very easily due to lack of mileage lately.  The legs just felt...funny.  Like they were confused whey they weren't sleeping or something.  But I had a good time and a strong finish.

Right around 10 miles (likely a bit more) on the C & O trail near Georgetown.  A glorious day for a run--absolutely perfect.  I felt abnormally strong and could surely have kept going, but I wanted to save some for the morning.

4 miles on the WOD.  Definitely felt heaviness in my legs from yesterday's run, but was able to pick it up in the last 1.5 miles.  Time for some Grogg.

Standard 6 mile out-and-back on the WOD.  My whole body was pissed off that i tore it from my bed and made it run, and I'm not quite sure why.  Energy levels should be higher in general, and I might have to start paying more attention to nutrition.

I've noticed that the quads are taking longer than the rest of my body to heal after runs, so I massaged them vigorously and it seemed to help quite a bit.  Should have thought of that earlier...

Had such a tough time deciding whether i wanted to do 4 or 6 miles this morning, when it dawned on me that I could do a compromise.  A good day for 5 miles.  It felt really quite nice.  I finally felt strong again and thoroughly enjoyed the run. 

am: big bowl of cereal with bananas

pm: 30 minutes lapswim, 45 minutes weights

Ran on the WOD around the park.  The best, most crisp morning we've had in a long time with no clouds in the sky and smiles on everyone's face.  A great morning to get out.  I think it helped my legs substantially to take a day off yesterday and hit the pool.  My legs felt very fresh and I was able to get into my groove right away and stick to a faster pace.   Ahhhh...friday....

A fine day for an hour at the pool and an hour at the gym.  fun fun fun.

On the WOD around the park and back.  Really tough to get excited about the run when it's this hot outside.  It completely destroyed me for the rest of the day.  Probably my fault...shouldn't be running at 2 in the afternoon when it's this hot and humid.  oops.
 

am:  6 miles to the park and back on the WOD.  Incredibly hazy/humid/poor air quality morning, but it made for a pretty cool looking sunrise.  Felt relatively strong, once my body agreed with my brain.

pm: 1 hour in the gym working on upper body and glutes

The ol' standard--to the park on the WOD and back.  Felt way better than I have the past few times, despite the fact that it was especially difficult to get out of bed.  Such beautiful weather this morning.  Post storm, still a bit drizzly and overcast.  The cloud cover is sort of like a comfort blanket, and it makes me happy.

10 miles on the WOD.  A gorgeous day for a run.  Exactly what I needed to process things on my mind and work out the kinks in my body.  Perfect overcast day.  Felt strong to the end and did some strides in the last 2 miles.

4 miles out to Shreve Rd. on the WOD.  Just stretching legs and making sure they don't tighten up after yesterday's 10.  Felt really good and sped things up for the last 1.5 miles.  Pretty tired right now, though.  Key = plenty of sleep.

Nice work in the WBR, fellas.  I hope you made do without the likes of Wally around.  Wish I could have run with you--or at least chugged coffee and biked alongside you.

Pool and gym day!!

Standard 6 mile out-and-back to the park.  The air was so thick and humid today that I could barely get any air when running with the wind.  It was like going up to 6,000 feet or something with no warning.  I was absolutely drenched with sweat by the time i got home.  yick.

Crazy "electric shock" pain in the back of my left leg whenever I bend it (say, to sit down.  or to walk....)  began last night for no apparent reason.  Hoped it would better itself by this morning.  Nope.  Will monitor over the next couple days and take things easy.  Grrr.

6 Mile out-and-back on the WOD.  An absolutely gorgeous morning for a run.  Simply beautiful.  Took me a couple miles to warm up (~8 min pace), but felt great thereafter.  Fastest mile today was 7:15, but wasn't pushing too hard.  Avergate 7:49.  (i bought a watch...fun!)

8 mile out-and-back on the WOD.  Ahhh, a beautiful day for a run, and nice after a day off in Philly.  Average 7:30, best 6:58.  I'm starting to get annoyed with not seeing any improvement do to my  "recreational runner" approach right now.  I think I need to set my sights on a race so that I have a goal to work for to motivate a little improvement. 

Standard 6 mile out-and-back on the WOD on a very non-standard day.  Absolutely beautiful in the part of the world!  Crisp and cool and sunny.  Averaged about 8:15's; a very chill run.

6 mile out-and-back on the WOD.  Nothing too special here.  A little on the tired side.  7:55 avg., 7:35 best.  Crisp/cool morning!

Standard 6 mile out-and-back on the WOD.  8:00 avg., 7:14 best.  A nice morning for a pretty chill run, and felt strong after a couple days spent with friends.  Had hoped for a bigger mileage week, but had a wonderful time hangin' out.

6 mile out-and-back on the WOD.  7:42 avg.; 7:22 best.  Could have gone farther, but had to get back to eat breakfast with the folks and start the day!

10 mile out-and-back on the WOD.  A nice but quite warm morning.  Felt strong, but decided to take a nice chill run so i'll be fresh for the week.

8:55, 8:16, 8:21, 8:27, 8:37, 8:29, 8:28, 8:28, 8:11, 8:13
Avg. 8:26  

I think it's pretty obvious what my "comfortable" pace is these days...

5 mile out-and-back on the WOD.   Legs are feeling a bit on the sluggish side, but strong nonetheless.  7:25 best; 8:00 avg.  Very thankful to be healthy, and am trying to stay that way!

1 hour in the pool, another at the gym. 

Standard morning 6 mile out-and-back on the WOD.  Nothing special except for an exceptional amount of sweat.  Yeah humidity!  Wanted to stay in bed, but will be in the field for the next couple days and wanted to get a few miles in before I go.

10 miles out in the sticks near Cambridge, MD.  A fairly strong run, but all on asphalt which did a number to my quads.  Not used to that hard crap anymore.  A gorgeous night for a run, though.  Flat as can be.

am: Standard 6 mile out-and-back on the WOD. Forgot to look at the stats on my watch, but probably averaged just under ~8 minute miles. Returned home, changed clothes, and hopped on bike to go to work.  14 mile ride. Beautiful morning! 

pm: Biked back home with a quick stop in Vienna for a couple glasses of Bell's Oberon.

6 miles on the WOD.  Felt a bit heavy after yesterday's biking, but not too bad.  Kept it incredibly chill at 8:30 avg.

8 mile out-and-back on the WOD.  A glorious morning for a run.  I have been feeling closed in due to the 9-5 schedule, and it can really put me in a funk.  This morning's run broke me free of these bonds and I felt very spiritual on the second half of the run.  It's easy to lose sight of this when obsessively checking your pace at each mile marker and stressing about what lies ahead of you at work.  Running is one of precious few opportunities we have throughout the day to let our souls catch up with our bodies, and wasting that is a bitter shame.

Wow!  What a beautiful morning!  The good ol' 6-mile WOD run at about 8:15's

Absolutely gorgeous day.  Feels like a breezy, overcast, autumn day.

~6 miles out near Cambridge

6 miles out near Cambridge

8 miles near Cambridge; 5-4-3-2-1 fartleks.  Felt great!

2 barefoot miles  on the beach at Assateague--just stretching the legs.

6 mile WOD out-and-back.  Overcast, foggy, humid.  Nice morning! Heading back in the field in a bit.  Tough to get a routine, but worth it.

another 6-er out in Cambridge, MD.  The place is growing on me.

6 miles again.  Nothing to report.

4 quick miles, just to stretch the legs.

5 miles on the WOD.  I felt surprisingly sloppy and out of form.  I knew that taking 3 days off due to friends in town would throw me off, but I underestimated it.  Now that I'm out of the field and on my home trail, I'm looking to get it all back as quickly and carefully as possible. 

biked 28 miles roundtrip to work and back.  Trying to strengthen legs a bit. 

Good ol' 6 mile WOD run.  Jimminy Crock it's humid here.  It completely kicks my trash to run in air this thick and smoggy.  I'll be worthless for anything other than sitting today.  Sick.

35 minute lapswim, 45 minutes lifting.  Upper body.

4 mile out-and-back on the WOD.  Pretty warm day, but I felt really strong.  ~8:30 average.

4 mile loop in Byron Center, MI.  7:30 average.  Nice to be on the roads of years past!

3 mile out-and-back on the WOD.  Incredibly tight hamstring from sitting on planes too much this weekend.  Aside from that, everything was perfect.  The humidity has lifted a bit, which just helps the psyche.  At this point, I'm just running for maintenance and giving up on improvement, as I will be off my feet and in a canoe in AK for quite some time.  I plan to hit things much harder upon my return in late august.

~30 min swim across the potomac from VA to MD.

am:  A gorgeous morning for the classic ol' 3 mile out-and-back on the wod.  7:35 best; 8:02 avg.  With all the travelling I've done lately, i haven't been able to keep the core nice and strong, so I'm feeling a little flimsy out there.  Need to keep swimming and hit the gym when i return from AK.

pm: 45 minutes in gym: back, shoulders, arms

First day back on the legs since I left for Alaska a couple weeks back.  Felt pretty nice to get off the legs for a while and paddle, actually.  I did 4 miles this morning at 8:00 pace just to see how everything's working.  So far so good--the legs feel great, although my back felt a bit tweaked after a few miles.  Something to keep my eyes on.

am: A quick leg-stretcher with one of my house-mates.  He used to run but is quite out-of-shape at the moment.  I've been trying to get these guys to run for months, and i'm hoping this is a sign that i've got a taker...

5 hot hot hot miles on the WOD.  It sucks to be this hot.

5.5 miles on the straight and flat roads near Cambridge, MD.  Nice to run again!

Approximately 5.5 miles out in the flat Cambridge roads.  Nice mornings out here this time of year. 

Good ol' 6 mile run on the WOD trail.  It's been a while!  Felt quite strong running later in the morning, despite warmer temps.  Once a coldfront comes through, I may just switch back to evening runs.  I'm always stronger when I've been awake a while.

45 minute lapswim and 45 minutes lifting weights.  Trying to find fitness again after a couple weeks in Alaska and a week in the field.  Tough schedule, man.

Standard 6-mile out-and-back on the WOD with 8:20 avg.  Felt very strong and would like will play this week out in such a way that I can tackle a long run this weekend.

6 miles on the WOD with 8:01 avg pace.  The days sure are getting shorter.  Pretty dark when I started this morning at 6:20.

noon: 1/2 hour lapswim.  Finally feeling the groove in the pool.  It's nice to feel strong again!

noon: 45 min lapswim.  Liquid nitrogen'd some plantar warts on my foot friday...F - U - N!!

Needless to say, off the foot for a couple days.  (i hit 'em hard...pinched some N from the radiocarbon lab at work and went to town). 

Foot still hurts--45 minute lapswim again.  Upper body getting much stronger; core feels great.

Foot pain is much more tolerable, so i hit the trail again.  I just did the standard 3 mile out-and-back and loved every second of it.  That fabled lovely DC fall weather has finally struck, and it makes running seem like a vacation.  Happy to be healthy for this coming season!

7 miles on the WOD in the TO THE EAST!!  I ran it east just once, when the trail was still icy, and deemed it not nearly as good as to the west.  So i've stuck to the western route since.  Stupid.  It's gorgeous and hilly to the east, and lots more people to see/say hi to/pass.  Not nearly as straight either, and it goes through some amazing forest.  It's basically just plain old better, is what I'm trying to say.  Very, very happy I gave it another shot, and that I'm aware of it for the fall running season.  The run was very, very needed, and it helped steam off a lot of things. 

Noon: Leisurely 6-mile hike to loosen up and enjoy immaculate late summer/early fall Virginia sunshine.

pm: 6 Mile loop on the WOD.  This run was incredibly necessary after a relaxing weekend of shooting doves and listening to bluegrass near Berryville, VA.  I feel way stronger on this new portion of trail I'm running, largely due to the hills.  Flats make me tired and bored.  Such a beautiful evening for it.

Half hour in the gym; upper body

30 min lapswim.  Felt great to get back in the water!

4 mile out-and-back on the WOD with ~7:30 pace.  Felt tired and happy at the end.

noon: 37 minutes in the pool: freestyle stroke

pm: 45 minutes weights--upper body

I was rather pissed off that my alarm didn't go off this morning, which prevented a run with Chill Winston.  So I decided to attack the Wod with my vengence.  12 miles at 8:30 pace.  Psshht...not that impressive, but at this point, it kicked my trash.

It stinks, cuz i'll be outta town for the next month, Randy.  

I guess we'll meet up when the autumn winds are really blowin'. 

Completely sore from running/football yesterday, so did a half hour in the pool.

Can't wait for a lazy evening!

Back in the field again.  Consistent running will be difficult to come by for a while here.  We're drilling an 1100' hole on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake, which translates to approximately one month of on-and-off field work.  I've got the time to run, but a long run after a 12 hour day in the field is less than desireable. 

1 hour weights at the YMCA today.  I also need more muscles to lift drill strings...

1.5 miles to the YMCA and back.

27 Minute lapswim; 15 minutes weights

1.5 miles to the YMCA in Easton, MD and back.

~1 hour weights, upper body

5 miles in Easton, MD.  Tough to conjure the motivation after these 12 hour days in the sun...

ran about 10 miles total this week while being in the field.  plus a couple days of swimming and lifting. 

haven't had a chance to update the blog...so here's my mileage for the week.  just to keep track of october.

Finally back from the field.  Looks like i'll be back for a while, too.  I haven't put in many miles the past few weeks because, well, it gets tiring being on your feet for 11 hours/day.  But I managed to do a couple runs here and there, about 5 miles a pop.  Also spent some time at the YMCA in Easton swimming laps and lifting weights.  I'm pleased overall with the fitness i was able to maintain while being away from home. 

Pm: 14 mile bike ride home from work followed by ~4 beautiful miles on the WOD into a setting sun.  Gotta love fall, man.

Good ol' 3-mile out-and-back on the WOD.  Felt uber happy to be out in this glorious weather.  So stinking nice.

nooner: 30-min lapswim for lunch

am: 13 miles on bike (commute to work).  Beautiful out.  First frost!

noon: 35-min lapswim

pm: 1 hour lifting; upper body

am: 14 mile bike ride to work. Gorgous out!!

pm: 14 miles back home--a bit slower this time...

After three long days of field work, i was finally able to catch up on sleep a bit and jog a lovely autumn 6 miles today.  felt completely spoiled by my good health, beautiful surroundings, and delicious weather.  an absolutely gorgeous day.

~ 1 hour in the gym...upper body.  Pretty weak this days...

A beautiful 7 miles on the WOD.  Perfect morning.  8:05 average, felt strong.  Will be in the field until next week thursday or so...might be tough to keep anything up...

4 slow miles after work today.  The feet and legs are pretty fatigued from standing all day, so it was sorta brutal.  But nice to stretch the legs.  Kicked up scores of deer!

~7 miles on a great trail in Grasonville, MD.  I'm happy to be able to keep up some fitness while doing field work!

5 miles on the trail in Grasonville, MD.  Again, glad to be able to get a few miles in after hours of work. Good times.

Another run in Grasonville, MD.  I feel incredibly antsy with life lately, and I was just dying to get out on this run.  Many memories of the beautiful west have me in a tailspin, and the only way for me to cope with this is to stay outside and make something happen.  I guess it's a funk.  The quality level of several spheres of my life are a couple notches lowere than where I'd like them to be, so I get antsy and crazy and need to get out.  This run helped, but likely only fueled the fires.  Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing remains to be determined.

6 mile WOD run.  Booyah.

noon: 35 min lapswim

pm: 1 hour weights, 3 mile run muscle-stretcher

6 slow-'n-easy Holiday miles with my friend Eek in Shadyside, MD.  Making room for turkey.  Gobble gobble.

7 miles on the WOD. Pushed it a bit harder than usual; ended up with fairly tight hamstrings. Felt great to burn off some food and lazyness.

~25 mile bike-ride on DC trails.  Beautiful day for a ride!  Thoroughly enjoyed cruisin' and bruisin' and seeing some sights. 

am:  4 miles on the WOD.  This run served as a muscle-relaxor.  My hamstrings were sore from saturday, and the soreness was exacerbated slightly by yesterday's bike ride.  I just needed to heat them up a bit and do some serious stretching.  Still a bit tight, but they should be ok by this evening.  Beautiful overcast day!

pm: 1 hour weights at the gym.

Good ol' 3 mile out-and-back on the WOD.  It's been a while!  I'm feeling my deteriorated running fitness, as I was pushing it to average 8:00 min/miles.  7:30 used to be my "comfortable" pace, and it looks like some speed workouts are in order to make this my reality again

feelin' good in the neighborhood.

am:6 miles. 

pm: 1 hour weights

A gorgeous morning.  I never could have guessed during this run what the day would bring....

today marks a sad day.  my little truck--one of my best buddies--has just hopped on the Great Highway.  She's off to better destinations.  (actually, she's still in the driveway..but she's not leaving it without some aid).  Here's to an old friend.

pm: 3.5 mile leg-stretcher; 1 hour at the gym.  Upper body.

Ahhh, how I missed the ol' 3 mile out-and-back WOD run.

Weather's alternating between perfect and dicey these days...looking like a pretty dicey weekend, after a fantastic friday.

3.5 miles to the gym, followed by 45 min. workout.  Mostly upper body.

another 3-miles out and back on the WOD.  I planned on taking it easy, but then got pissed off about a couple of things and sped up without really planning on it.  7:30 avg, 6:45 best.  Great overcast evening for a spooky, foggy run.

6 miles from home to the Vienna Cafe to meet the Geostriders for breakfast.  Stayed out til 1:30 and woke up to run at 6:00, followed by enjoying far too many cups of coffee.  caffeine coursing through veins.  sort of going crazy.  mapping the geology of the DelMarVa peninsula.  leg won't stop bouncing.  considering pushups.  good grief.

biked all over town in holiday traffic...SCARY!

1:15 at the gym; mostly upper body.

a BEAUTIFUL day to be outside...and i spent it playing football.  I was completely wasted after ~2 hours, and the only reason I ran 3 miles was to stretch so I wouldn't be quite as sore today.  didn't work.  feel like old man. ugh.

am:~35 minute lapswim.

pm: ~35 minutes at the gym.  incredibly tight hamstrings from football..

A quick 2 mile out-and-back on the WOD. I'm trying my best to get rid of the cramping in my legs, and it's taking a long time. A few more intense stretch sessions and some smaller runs and it should HOPEFULLY be back in business.

4 mile loop in loverly michigan.

6 chilly miles in lovely michigan.  STILL HAVE FREAKING TIGHT HAMSTRINGS.

35 min lapswim, 40 min weights