got the runs

Finally just about finished with holiday hooplah, and excited to get back into somewhat-serious training.  An easy 2-mile out-and-back tonight at ~7:40 pace.  Once I rid myself of the last 2 squatter friends I'll be able to catch up on sleep and put in some longer runs.  Can't wait!

7 glorious miles on the WOD.  A beautiful evening, relaxed pace, no watch, smile from ear to ear.  This is why i keep doing this.

30 mile road-ride.  Today the temperature got in the lower 60's here in DC, and I had to take advantage of it.  Took off with a couple friends cranked the afternoon away.  Will likely ride the bike to work tuesday if this weather pattern holds...

noon: Approximately 6 (a bit more) on the WOD during lunch.  What a gorgeous day!  Lower 60's and sunny.  I had to pull the shirt about half-way through because i was sweating so bad.  Nice to get out during the workday, but i was really winded for some reason.  Not quite sure what to think of this--body may still be recovering a bit from 2 hours on the bike yesterday after several-month hiatus?  Regardless, a pleasure to run on a day like today.

am: Biked 14 mi to work.  Beautiful morning for a ride!  Around 60 degrees and very few people on the trail, by virtue of it being January?? 

pm: Feisty little 3.5 mile run to the gym, followed by ~1 hour of upper body workout.

14 mile bike ride home from work.  The weather remained beautiful, but threatens to return to "normal" january temperatures.  Glad I took full advantage of the January thaw!!

noon: 3.65 mile out-and-back on the WOD in Reston.  I think i'm officially converted back to the noon-time runs, just like David and I used to do back in Logan.  So bright out, and i'm so alive and ready for action.  Felt great today keeping it between 7:30 and 8:00 pace.

A lovely sunday afternoon run! I haven't been able to achieve the the mileage I've wanted for a couple weeks now on account of my blown out shoes and the ~2 week difference between expected and actual delivery date of my new pair. They arrived yesterday!! I celebrated with some extra miles.  It felt amazing today--fresh shoes, great weather, and hordes of happy, smiling people. I averaged a comfortable 7:50 pace and felt confident that i'll be ready for some speed workouts in the next week or so. At this point, i'm just hoping this weather holds out for a while...

A relaxed 3.5 mile jog to my gym followed by ~60 min of light upper body lifting.  boo yeah.

noon: 6 miles on the WOD near the USGS.  I went out right as a snowy cloud was coming overhead, and was out there for its climax.  Felt great to feel some winter air poking at my bare face and numbing my lips!  Finally a little seasonality.  The hamstrings are acting up and tightening up everytime I get out--very possibly due to pushing it a little harder than desired on sunday.  Kept a very mellow pace; around or slightly above 8:00.

Extremely relaxed 3.5 mile run to the gym, followed by an hour of light upper body lifting.  After discussing hamstring tightness with Paul, I've decided to take it easy.  I plan to maintain my present fitness with moderate mileage at a slower pace, but I won't push anything until my legs are up for it.  Why must hangstrings be such a pain the butt?  What'd we ever do to them?

I'm with Dave--no need to increase mileage by too much in a single week.  And since it was snowy/rainy yesterday and I wanted to make a huge batch of Chili, I took the day off.  Conditions will be better this weekend anyway (hopefully??)

Just a touch more than 6.5 miles on the WOD west of Leesburg, VA.  Always nice to house/dogsit for someone closer to the country where a person can explore new trails (or portions of the same trail...)!  The hamstrings are feeling a wee bit better.  This was very much like an out-and-back run on the river trail in Logan; long gradual up followed by long gradual down (~8:10's on the way up, 7:30's down).  I was hoping to swim today (saturday), but apparently the Leesburg Y is closed on weekends.  So: to the trail with my butt again.  I'm already at the mileage I wanted for the week, so I'll probably just keep it very relaxed (no watch).

Just a pinch over 9.5 miles on the same portion of the WOD again near Leesburg.  I'm happy to report a solid run with healthy hamstrings!  I averaged just over 8:00 pace, with one mile at 6:47.  I didn't think I could push it to this pace with my stupid legs, but they finally decided to submit to their master.

I'm really starting to dig this section of the W&OD! Nice to go all up and then coast on down back to the house. Averaged ~7:45 pace today, with one 6:48 mile embedded in there somewhere. Hammies are still smiling, and so am I. Finally starting to feel a bit of fitness!

A quickie 3.5 mile run to the gym followed by ~1 hour of upper body.  Upper body strength is now about where I want it to be, so it's time to stop increasing weight and increase numbers of reps. 

3 mile out-and-back on Mr. WOD.  A gorgeous sunny 40 degree day, as predicted.  I was perfectly happy dolluping along at 8:00 pace.  Now I am sleepy and wanting a nap.

2 mile out-and-back with 3 half-mile strides in the middle.  Felt very good to pick up the pace!  Looking forward to a few workouts over the next several weeks.

A full day of hiking in the St. Mary's Wilderness south and west of Charlottesville, VA. 

noon: Good ol' nooner run on the WOD. No weird aches or pains from hiking the other day, just felt plain ol' ready to go! No watch; ~7:45 miles.

pm: an hour at the gym. primarily upper body, but also did some inclined leg presses and hamstring curls (light)

Noon: another solid nooner 6.25 miles. Great deay for a run! Drizzly and lower 50's...nice to come in soaked and happy! Pace ranged from 7:45 to 8:00.

The ticket is officially purchased for my Utah work/ski/run week. I could see some of you as early as March 2nd!

Noon: Same out-and back. Hamstrings whispering threats of purgatory and hell. Starting to listen...kept to 8:00 miles. I think it's time to start an intense nightly icing and stretching regime. nip this thing in the butt.

pm: ~1 hour gym. maintaining upper body strength and increase core strength. Mostly upper body once again with a couple leg curls and quad exercises.

noon: another sunny, chilly day. Perfect!!

half-mile strides today at 6:00 pace, 8:00-pace halves as rest. 49 min total.

Taking today off so iI'm rested for a longer run tomorrow, when it's sunny and beautiful and not chilly and rainy.  Amazing that I didn't plan this.  I think Virginia likes me to be happy when I run...

5-mile out-and-back on the WOD near my house.  First time I've run that portion of the trail in a while, and it felt great!  Lots of enthusiastic people out on the trail. ~7:45 avg pace.  No problems with legs, but left quad was rather tight by the end.  I smelled the barn for the last mile and a half, which was likely the cause of the fastest pace of the run.  I was hungry and I knew i had some  of my leftover Chipotle burrito waiting for me.

Approximately 20-mile spin on my roadbike in this glorious weather.  Nice to give the legs a break but still crank the heart a tad.

Virginia winter has its merits.... 

Lunchtime WOD run. 

Felt nice 'n strong.  Great weather at low 50's.  ~7:40 pace.  Good to see that this is my comfortable pace nowadays, as it was ~8:30 throughout most of the late summer/fall season.  My only problem these days is not quite enough sleep... 

3.5 mile out-and-back on the WOD near home.  Felt oddly strong tonight; averaged ~7:30 with best mile at 7:05.  I think I actually felt fit for the first time in a while!

My enthusiastic running of yesterday caught up with me a bit, with a bit of tightness in the legs.  Still, a wonderful evening of running, averaging close to 7:45 pace.  Incredible weather, these past couple days!  65 degrees of pure t-shirt and shorts bliss.  Ahhh...

Looks like we have some competition...crazy.

http://sweat365.com/signup/?gclid=CIPr05j9tJECFQUalgodiGEodw 

Nooner WOD run today.  Beautiful day for a run, averaged ~7:45 pace.  I'm having strange pains just behind the large bone that's behind the big toe...left foot.  I feel like it started from wearing my Keen casual shoes, but i'm not entirely sure.  If it continues/worsens, I think I'll go buy a new pair of Wave Rider 11's, as the WR 10's are complete disappointments.  Long run tomorrow.

I decided to shoot for 12 today because:

1) i felt like it, and

2) it was beautiful out.

I was out near Great Falls, VA today for a day of hiking and running.  I hiked the Billy Goat trail with some friends in the morning and thought that, following a small nap, I could run a 6-mile out-and-back on the C&O trail.  This is precisely what I did, but I should have rested a bit more in between and I should have done a better job of hydrating.  The 12 went quite well:

7:48, 8:09, 8:09, 8:13, 7:53, 7:57, 7:45, 7:44, 8:21, 8:20, 8:15, 7:54

Slight downhill on the way out, slight up coming back.  I was pretty dehydrated by the end, but felt pretty good.   The quads were a bit tight by the end, but I think it was related to stressing them on the hike before running.  Encouraging run! 

Lunchtime run. Tight quads, but still functional. 50:03

22 degrees is very different from 68. hmm....

pm: 1 hour gym; mostly upper  body 

same ol' nooner run. Quads still a bit tight, but feeling much better.

~7:45 pace.

What with the freezing rain and low temps and all, i figured this was a good day to lay low.  One hour in the gym at night.  Minimal leg exercises because a speed workout is in order for thursday. 

Great to have the sun back again!  I stretched the lunchtime run a bit today because it was so gorgeous and i felt strong (after a day off).  ~7:20-7:30 pace and a big smile on my face.  Now that's just sweet.

Wow wow wow!  Absolutely gorgeous out today!  Best run I've had in a while, and i've been having some good runs.  Just the standard lunch-time run, but felt very strong (given my sleep deprivation and general fatigue).  Miles were between 7:14 and 7:30.  Happy friday.

10 mile hill-workout on some roads in West Virginia.  First hill workout in a really long time, really got the heart going and blood pumping.  I was quite happy to hop into a hot tub at the end of this run, what with my burning quads and all...  A pretty good run!
 

A nice, slow little 3-mile leg-stretcher with some good friends and their dogs in Charlottesville.  

No miles today--just a travel day getting back up to DC.  

nooner 7-miler at <7:30 pace. Feelin' so fresh after a day off, but ready to dig right back in. Shooting for a solid running week with enough SLEEP!

pm: ~1 hour at the gym.  Mostly upper body, but some lower to try and built just a tad more strength before next saturday. 

noon: 6.25 miles. Great weather and felt strong. Between 7:10 and 7:30 miles. So far so good...just gotta do one more decent-sized run and then maintain (stay healthy) now! (47:19)

Typical noontime run today. Sunny, crisp, and surprisingly chilly. Perfect for running. ~7:40 pace, and didn't want to push much beyond that. A bit tight from yesterday. (48.43)

A brisk 4-mile run.  good times.

Long run for the week.  I waited until around 3:00 in the afternoon to take advantage of some warmer temps, and I initially thought I screwed myself by doing so.  I was dog-tired for the first two miles, but was happy to switch over to auto-pilot soon thereafter and crank out a decent run.  miles were:

7:46, 7:43, 7:47, 7:42, 7:35, 7:25, 7:32, 7:38, 7:35, 7:32, 7:34, 7:31, 7:26

for a total of 1:31. (Average 7:36)

I was very pleased with these times, mainly because I wasn't necessarily pushing it at all meaning I have finally brought my "comfort pace" down to where I've wanted it.

BUT, all this fun at the price of some peace of mind.  My knee is threatening a slight "tickle" in the same spot where I injured it 1.5 years ago.  I was very "delicate" in the last ~2 miles or so so as to baby it a bit, and then I was as lazy as possible the rest of the day and spent some frozen peas'ing it.  Walked ~3 miles sunday and things felt agreeable.  We'll see how things transpire the next couple weeks...

Zero running miles today, ~3 miles walking.  great weather, good times.

This was sort of a test-drive of my potentially-injured knee.  I tried to take it easy at first, but quickly realized that "taking it easy" = going slower = putting breaks on = easier to hurt a knee.  So, I probably proceeded at around 7:45 pace with little/no discomfort.  However, a couple hours after running, I started feeling phantom pains creeping in.  Sure enough, i need to be careful.  I iced it last night and took some ibuprofins and will stay off it for a couple days.  I don't want to stop running, but i know i don't have an option...especially if i want to race moab.  don't worry, Dave, you won't be alone.

Took today and yesterday off to appease the knee and let it simmer down a bit.  I'll take her for a test run tomorrow...

~4 miles today during lunch. I felt some serious "tickle" in my knee, so i will only run enough to keep the legs savvy in the next couple weeks, and will supplement in the pool. crap.

pm: half hour lapswim; freestyle.

 2 miles to test out the knee.  I think it's pretty healthy, but I will continue to baby it.  I tried to do two relaxed miles, but I was so excited to run again that I accidentally did a 7:00 pace.  Finished the workout by swimming 40 minutes.

Does anyone know anything about Cho-Pat products? (http://www.kneeshop.com/products.asp?cat=32)

Looking at the description, I think the "Cho-Pat original knee strap" could actually help me out. Would Salt Lake running stores carry something like this?

SKI!!!!

30 minute lapswim, 35 minute upper body lifting.  New shoes should arrive today...

XC ski up to the single track (the yurt) up Green Canyon and back.  

5 hours hiking up cougar mtn followed by an amazing shoot down an avalanche scar.  now that's cross training.

3 mile leg-stretcher with Paul, David, and Cody near the Pack Creek cabin.  I'm writing this in hindsight, but i recall running feeling quite foreign to my legs, and particularly to my quads.  

I thought this race was going to be pretty painful in a completely euphoric sort of way. I hadn't been running much in the two weeks prior to the race due to a faint "tickle" I started feeling in my knees after a 13-mile training run, and my legs were feeling like they were settling into the sleepy lifestyle. Several trips to the pool, some time spent in the weight room, and a few hikes along the Potomac were supposed to keep my body savvy to action, but let's be honest--these things just don't quite cut it. So: I fully planned on showing up on race day as a (happy) pig to the slaughter. In other words, I expected to love every second of staring off into beautiful SW landscapes while killing my knees and, potentially, my quads etc. But I surprised myself. From the first step, I felt amazing. Mile 1 went by in a swift 6:42, to which I responded by promptly slowing down. The next couple miles averaged around 7:15, which felt much more reasonable to my legs, but still seemed risky to the thought. I maintained this pace for the next few miles and found it to be completely relaxed and perfect for said landscape staring. At mile 7 (with a quick gatorade/pee break), I realized that everything really was cool, the knees and muscles felt great, and that I could stop worrying and chill out.  I then decided that as long as I was still having fun and smiling, I would continue or even quicken the pace. The rest of the run proved to be thoroughly enjoyable and I allowed myself to drift off and contemplate the cross-beds in the sandstones to my left and the sounds of the river to my right. Sounds completely corny, but it's the absolute truth. I couldn't have had a better time, and I was so happy to to feel healthy again.
Mile times:

1: 6:42
2,3: 14:28
4: 7:17
5: 7:15
6: 7:19
7: 7:19
8: 7:20
9: 7:22
10: 7:22
11 7:07
12: 7:04
13.1: 7:27

It strikes me that I felt so good after the time off.  I know everyone's body works differently, and perhaps mine is especially wired for a hearty taper.  I've never really tapered before because I never had much reason to (i'm not a marathoner; seems more appropriate for the 20+ mile runs).  I'm going to play around with this a bit more and experiment over the spring and summer to see how my body responds. 

Such a great race! I'm so glad I could make it back for this thing.  Of course, an important hi-light is the post-race brurgers, which I'm sure will be described in full detail on David Nelson's blog (with pictures??). Thanks for a great time at the cabin, guys.  Much needed good times. 

Hiking in/around Goblin Valley SP

Just in case, I let my body rest a bit following the race.  Went out for a lovely evening run on the WOD with friend/neighbor Kerry Lutz, a local yokul who's clueing me in to some new residential routes that lead to some bomber hills.  Body felt a bit tight (due mostly to airplane travel and inactivity), but was better by the end.

Back to the ol' standard lunchtime run!  Was nice to hit the WOD out in Reston once again and soak up some sun.  Kept it pretty chill at 8:00+ pace; 50:45.

am: Morning run on the WOD to the Vienna Inn on meet up with the USGS Geostriders.  I was shockingly sore and tight this morning, so I took it nice 'n slow (8:00 pace).  Spent a fair amount of time stretching afterwards and then promptly went inside for an omelette.  Yum.

A Sunday biathlon...why not?  Around 5.5 miles on the WOD at ~7:30 pace immediately followed by a half hour lap swim.  Then a huge meal of corned beef, cabbage, soda bread, and guinness.  life is good.

Back to the standard noon-time run. Ran ~7:25's quite comfortably. Starting to explore slightly different stride/biomechanics to minimize impact on joints (slightly less impact on heal; moving impact slightly forward on my foot) to avoid future injury. (47:53)

pm: About an hour at the Y, mostly upper body. 

Lunchtime 6 miles on the WOD. I went out sorta hard (built up tension) and then slowly tapered off thereafter. Averaged ~7:40's. (45:44)

35 minute lapswim.  I wanted a mid-week break from leg impact...and i think it helped.

Extremely windy lunch-hour run!  It was actually a lot of fun--gusts of wind up to 40 mph.  I kept the pace chill (it was actually hard to gauge with wind swirling around me all the time), but it was right around 7:45's.  Everything feels great!

Left work at 3:30 to go climbing at Great Falls.  It's saturday afternoon now and i've got a slightly sore bum and back right before heading out for 10 miles.

 A pretty chill 10 miles on the wod this afternoon. Average pace 7:46; 1:17.  Everything feels very good, mechanics feel "correct", and i don't feel tired at all.  For some reason I thought I'd be rusty after some relaxed weeks, but i'm feeling very good!  And hungry.

Hmmm...don't know whether to count this or not.  ~7.5 mile roundtrip hike to Old Rag at a fairly fast clip.  Some small gusts of snow at the summit!  Beautiful Easter hike.

pm: 3 mile out-and-back on the WOD close to home.  Felt very energetic on a gorgeous evening; ran low 7's for pace.  Followed by a fruit smoothie, and then an hour at the gym.

noon: Lunchtime 6.25 on the WOD near work.   I was a bit run-down today.  It could be that I didn't have enough food between last night and this morning, because it's all I could think about during the whole run.  ~7:45's.

pm: 6 miles on the WOD near my house.  It took half the run to find my stride...~7:30's to start, down to 6:45 at the end, with an average pace of 7:13.  Looks like we'll be getting some rain for a couple days here...we'll see what happens!  Hopefully a cherry blossom run this weekend...the prequel to actual Cherry Blossom 10-miler (potential free entry from roommate??) the following week.
 

6 miles on the WOD near home.  Really shouldn't have eaten chips and roasted red pepper hummus directly beforehand.  My stomach was truly pissed.  Couldn't wait to get home, to be honest.  Followed by ~40-minute gym session.

45-minute lapswim followed by ~35 minutes in the gym.  The knees told me they wanted a bit of a break, so i'm giving it to them.

I took out the ol' mountain bike today and checked out some local trails.  I was awestruck by how fun the trails are out here--just technical and hilly enough to be a challenge and a lot of fun.  Rode for about 3 hours and felt very tired and happy afterwards.

An afternoon of climbing at Great Falls directly followed by an 8-mile run.  I ran with a roommate for a couple miles at ~8:30, and then he dropped out and i took it down to ~7:40's.  Everything feels good!

pm: legs still sore from biking/running over the weekend, so i spent the little energy i had at the gym for about an hour.

noon: 3-mile out and back on the WOD near work.  A very gusty spring day with constant threat of showers.  Smells/feels/sounds wonderful!  I was a bit groggy, pulling out ~7:45's.  I haven't been achieving stellar mileage lately, but I feel great about the cross-training.  Everything just feels a bit more solid and happy, and i'm building strength in my legs, so I think it's a great option for the spring season.  I'm excited to step it up this sunday at the Cherry Blossom 10-miler (running under the alias of Jonathon Strong for money-related reasons)! 
 

Noon: 6 miles on the WOD for a lunch break.  Everything felt pretty darn good, including this sunny, breezy, low 60's weather.  Ran ~7:40's.

Noon: Six miles on the WOD at lunch today. Started nice 'n strong and ended a bit slower than I started, but stuck it around 7:30's. Everything's feeling fine, except for a small twinge in the groin. I've been trying to stretch it robustly, but it's still a bit of a bother. We'll see if i can kick it before the race on saturday...and no, i don't need help with that.

pm: ~ one somewhat sleepy hour in the gym.  Not the best energy state for flinging steel. 

Half hour lapswim...felt fantastic!

The weather was dramatically better than the forecast, so Great Falls beckoned for a good hike.  A few walkin' miles seemed appropriate the day before the race.

Ok.  Finally time for the full report!

The Cherry Blossom 10 miler rolled around at a very busy time of year once again.  I had company in town and was a bit strung out about some presentations I would be giving for work the following week.  This, coupled with the fact that I was running under the alias of my roommate (free entry!), made it rather difficult to take the race too seriously.  When I came home saturday night under rainy skies and saw a weather report that promised no change, I seriously considered bagging it and having a lazy, rainy sunday morning.  But alas, the alarm sounded at 6:00 and I jumped right up, despite a measly 4.5 hours of sleep.  I downed a bit of oatmeal and a banana and started the long, sleepy metro ride to the race with my roommate, Roger, and a couple friends. 

The race start was partitioned off from elite -> yellow -> red -> blue -> green.  Jon Strong (I) was placed in the "blue" group, which started ~5:00 after the actual race start.  I went out rather hard with Roger, running just over 6:00 for the first mile.  But I had to pee.  Badly.  So I stopped at some porta-potties, waited about a minute in line, and then realized that they were all pad-locked except one! (jerks)...so I ran another mile or so and ducked behind a large electrical box, where I stepped in ~5" standing water.  Soaked.  I left the puddle and some curse words behind with super-saturated shoes.  I almost gave up the race attitude at this point, but then laughed at the whole scene and decided to push through a bit longer.  Problem is, I was still basically asleep.  I think I was asleep until I was well into mile 4.  But then something happened at around mile 5 (I woke up??), and I felt my groove.  I pointed my shoulders forward and decided to push it.  I have no idea what my miles were like, as I couldn't find my watch in the morning chaos, but I must have been doing a pretty fast pace for me.  This course double-backs on itself a couple times, so I could see Roger ahead of me on two different occasions.  I knew I couldn't catch him, but I played with the idea in my mind and used it as a game/tactic to push a bit harder.  I whizzed past the blues (squeek squeek), infiltrated the mass of reds (squeek squeek), and then started to pass some yellows.  The final ~1.5 miles were bordering on anaerobic (there's some racing jargon for that, i'm sure...) and it felt good to punch it.  I ended in 1:15 flat, which translates to 1:10 for the blues.  Interestingly enough, it wasn't raining at all during the race, and the rain resumed exactly when i got my raincoat back. 

I was very pleased not only with this race, but also with my body's response to it.  I wasn't completely pooped afterward, and I never felt any soreness or fatigue worth mentioning.  I took a solid nap, but this was due more to sleep deprivation than anything else.  Oh...and the breakfast burrito.  I think that was the finest breakfast burrito I've ever had in my life. 

Just a short lil' leg-stretching 4 miles to stretch the legs.  I'm feeling remarkably good following yesterday's race, and tonight I averaged a very relaxed 7:40 after a steak and a baked potato without really trying.  Usually I'm pretty much worthless for a day or two following a race, so I'm quite pleased.

noon: I went out for my standard lunch-time run into a beautiful drizzly day.  The only two miles I can measure accurately came out to 7:09 (with the wind) and 7:23 (against the wind).  I took some time during this run to survey my body for any sort of pain or fatigue, and am happy to report no peculiarities.  My legs are feeling strong, my back straight, and my feet happy (ie. void of PF).  I don't know why I'm so shocked at my health; I guess I should just be happy and drop it.  But right when my running gets good is when the poo usually hits the fan.  I s'pose I'll just keep doing what I'm doing.

day off.  meeting in Cambridge, MD.

pm:  4 mile out-and-back on the WOD close to home.  After skipping wednesday and then eating lots of food and sitting in a conference on top of it, I was ready to run.  These 8 miles were pure enjoyment.  I averaged around 7:30, did some strides in mile 7, and then pulled a 6:45 for mile 8.  There are a few things that feel a bit out of whack in my back and right shoulder.  One of these days I just may consider the ol' chiro route, even though it freaks me out.

Took today off to spin some miles on the mtn bike.  Peddled ~2.5 hours and was completely wasted by the end...stumbled into my car right at dusk.  

6 miles on the WOD close to home.  Felt strong and averaged 7:15's.  I decided to do a couple smaller runs this weekend rather than one long one...seemed more enjoyable.

6 rather sleepy miles.  My sleep has been a bit erratic and I think it's throwing my energy levels off a bit.  Averaged 7:45 and was happy to come home and eat a breakfast burrito.  My one true love. 

Cross-training day.

50-minute lapswim followed by ~45 minutes in the gym.  I was letting the core/upper body slowly dwindle away...

Off for field work for a couple days now.  It may be tough to get out there this week.

My boss graciously waited to go out for dinner while I logged somewhere between 5 and 6 miles out in Cambridge, MD. It felt great to stretch the legs!

I wanted a mini biathlon today.

3.5 mile run on the WOD at a good clip directly followed by a solid 35-minute lapswim.  A great way to prepare for a visit from my bro!

No miles...just a full day of climbing out at Great Falls.

Walked and did touristy stuff for hours and hours.  Walking is tough!

Casual 4-mile run to stretch the legs and get back into the swing of things.  The April showers have officially started, and I was happy to run under overcast skies in a slight drizzle.  ~7:30's

The same 4 miles today, equally as drizzly.  I'm feeling strong, but I just found out today that I leave tomorrow for 10 days of field work down in North Carolina.  We'll see how these guys work and what the area is like.  There is potential for anything from piss-poor mileage to great mileage during this time, and we'll see what happens.  I may not have a computer til late next week...so I guess I'll just peace out and log some runs when I get the chance.  Cheers!

Approximately 3-3.5 miles to stretch the legs after ~6 hours driving to southern North Carolina.  Followed by lots of food.

A perfect 7 mile round-trip run around White Lake near Elizabethtown, NC.  Didn't quite know where I was going, as I hadn't looked at a map of the area at all.  Turned out to be the perfect run!  Field work is substantially easier than expected, and I have time for a small nap and 7 miles before going to dinner.  Way cool!

The same 7 miles as yesterday, and feeling strong as ever. 

yyyyep.  still on white lake....

Ok, so this time i was a bit tired.  fewer trucks full of stinky pigs today...a huge relief.

Day off!  Had a nice saltwater swim and a walk on the beach.  Podunk NC is kind of a drag, but the beaches and small beach towns are nothing to spit at.

Seven miles seemed a pretty solid distance to run following field work last week, so I decided to continue the trend in the new town.  Good ol' country roads out here where cattle stare and people wave...good times.

Today I found an even better route than yesterday where I can run on gravel with a touch of grass on top--perfect!  I had increased motivation to run hard today and it went quite well.

My quads were feeling it a tad today, but not a problem at all.  I'm a bit worried about tomorrow, but I should be able to push on through and then take a break Friday to hit a pool for a bit.

I google-earthed this run and feel obligated to say that it's about 2 tenths of a mile short of 7...but I'm going to stick with 7.  Because I can.

Today was my last day for running in loverly NC, so I ran it good 'n hard.  7:30's.  That is "good 'n hard" on days' when I'm hoisting drilling rods all day long...

Approximately 4 miles on the WOD in Reston, VA.  I'm Back!

This was a biathlon day...30 min lapswim directly following.  Everything feels great!

am: Six miles today on the WOD right at home.  Felt great to be back on the home field once again.  I went out expecting a wildly enthusiastic run, and was surprised to see how difficult it was to do much of anything better than 7:45's.  I finished strong, though, with a 7:09.  Kind of short of breath...

pm: Approximately a 20 mile spin on the mountain bike on gravel trails.  Nice way to stretch the legs a bit.  

4 miles @ 7:15 on the WOD followed by 1 hour upper body lifting.

7 strong miles on the Wod close to home.

Um...about 7 miles? from the island up the canal on the north side of 400N, then across to the rivertrail and back to the island.  that's right.  logan, baby.

am: 20 miles on the road-bike on the Wod

pm: 4 mile run with the boss' dog. 

A pleasant, drizzly six miles on the WOD right close to home.  My legs were a tad tight/lethargic after Sunday's bike ride, but I was still able to pull off ~7:40's.  Followed by some minor core strength training exercises.

noon: The ol' out-and-back near work on the WOD. The pace was right around 7:30 and the weather was right around perfect.

pm: About one hour at the gym.

6 miles on rural Vermont roads following a long day of driving.

4 miles on roads in rural Vermont following a long day of field work.

4 miles on backroads in rural Vermont.

5 miles on Assateague.  Sunset run.  Felt very strong.

~4 beach miles.  On Assateague.  Sweet.

7 miles on the WOD right at home at ~7:45.  Felt good to hit the home turf again!

5 miles on the WOD out toward Herndon.  Approximately 7:45 pace

No running today...climbed out at Great Falls. 

Cross-training...Biked to work and back.  ~28 miles total.

Waited out some intense storms and then put in 6 miles on the WOD dodging puddles.  A beautiful evening!

A good ol' biathlon!

3.5 miles home to pool.

half hour lapswim.

3.5 miles back home.

Approximately 4 miles on Roosevelt Island with Ed.  We biked on over there had a nice relaxed jog.  Good way to recover from a very...social...weekend.

No miles due to pouring rain, but a solid 1 hour workout at the Y.  They don't know i'm not a member anymore.  Score.

Ye ol' 6.25 mile run out near work on the WOD.  Incredibly humid out!  The calm before the storm that had us heading to in-place shelters at work.  Still pouring and thundering/lightning.  I really dig this weather.  It feels like the midwest...green sky and all.

6 miles on the WOD heading east from my house.  The high flow indicators at some of the small creeks ("runs") that cross the trail were absolutely incredible.  Flows were up ~4-5 feet and carrying 1.5' diameter trees down a flow path that usually exists as a trickle, at best.  Nice to see something out of the ordinary, to say the least!

A thoroughly enjoyable 6 mile run to the Vienna Inn for breakfast with the Geostriders.  I got a western omelette wheat toast.  It was the greatest morning of my life.

Wow.

Now THAT's humid.  6 miles on the WOD wearing nothing but the lightest, smallest running shorts I own, which were soaked by the time I got home.  I stretched for  ~7minutes outside and produced quite a puddle.

~7:40's

Spent the am climbing and sweating out at Great Falls.  Good glory it's hot here.  Heat indexes exceeding 100...that's just tough in thick humidity. 

read books and drank iced tea in the afternoon like any self-respecting person should.

pm: 1:11 on the road bike.  it was the perfect weather to put some miles on...as long as no shirt was involved.

~5.5 miles on the WOD yesterday after a relaxing volleyball sesh.  Perfect way to end monday craziness.

Experiencing some discomfort in my right leg.  It feels like there are some funky biomechanics going on lately, and I am thinking it may be related to shoes.  I may have to remedy this soon...

A phenomenal thunderstorm run!  I ran directly into the eye of a pretty intense weather system with lightning flashing all around me.   I was completely soaked ~15 feet from my front door and loving every second of it.  It was all fun and games until I realized that lightning was striking alarmingly close to the very large electrical poles that lead to the sub-station near my house...and that I have to run along for the last 3 miles of the run.  I didn't die, so it was hugely successful!

am: 15 mile bike ride to work.  Felt surprisingly sluggish, and have been feeling sluggish all day long despite a solid 7.5 hours of sleep.  It's just been a very low-energy week...like i have an energy tape-worm of some sort.  ~55 min

pm: 15 mile ride home.  I had more energy this time, but my legs weren't quite so fresh.  So it all balanced out and took the same amount of time, give or take a couple minutes.

I bought new shoes a couple days ago.  I've been on Mizuno Wave Rider 9's (neutral) for years now and swear by them with regards to comfort/fit.  The only problem is that I blow through them quickly (175 is a bit heavier than the average distance runner.  Height comes with weight, that's all there is to it).  So I switched to the Mizuno Wave Creation (neutral+) to see if I can get a few more miles out of them before they feel "dead".  I paid dearly for them, but hopefully they'll pay for themselves, so to speak.  And I think my leg will be happy to be de-funked.

6 miles on the WOD at 11:30, no watch.  The weather's just so much more runner-friendly than it was this weekend, but it's still HOT (course...it was noon.)

I didn't shower, so i'm salty but happy.

6 miles on the WOD heading west from home.  I can really feel my lack of core strength now that i'm orphaned from the gym scene.  Everything feels just slightly off...sluggish.  Best: 7:22, avg: 7:44.

The new shoes feel pretty good, but are noticeably heavier.  Drat.

Standard 3 mile out-and-back on the WOD west of home. I went back to the wave rider 9's for this run...slowly adjusting to the Creations.  I think my heal is propped slightly higher in the Creations.  It's not really even noticeable, but after a decent run, it feels like i've had platform shoes on the entire time (no, i don't actually know what that's like).  The upshot is that i'm pounding my quads and they feel pretty beat up after runs.  I'll give them another try tomorrow...

Best: 6:18, Avg: 7:30

Switchin' it up, baby!  The WOD EAST of home!  I wore the Creations and, once again, the quads were real tight at the end.  I massaged them by rolling around on a football and by grinding a small egg shaker (think percussion) into my leg.  I worked a good bit of it out, but it's still frustrating that I have to bother.  Road Runner Sports has a 60-day perfect fit guarantee where a person can return shoes if they're not right, and I might just have to take advantage of this.  Sigh...

~7:30 avg

Ouch!  4 miles of pain.   I didn't realize how tight my quads had gotten over this past week, and it all culminated in a painful run.  I had a notion that there could be some pain, so I left the option open for either 4 or 6 miles, and after a mile and a half it became very apparent which it would be. 

Finally got into the gym again after taking several weeks off--about a one-hour well rounded upper body workout.

noon: The weather remains nice enough for some noontime running!  6 relatively cool miles.  Sunny and breezy--my favorite.  I made the right decision last night by cutting the run off at 4 miles.  The quads still felt tight, but nothing even close to what they were last night.  ~7:45 pace.

pm: half hour lapswim.  A seriously cluttered pool, man.  In one lane, it was me, the superfast swimmer chick, the really old overweight dude doing the breast-stroke, and the newbie in baggies giving swimming a go.  i thought it'd be horrible, but it presented additional challenges/obstacles and made the time go by more quickly. 

noon: another beautiful day in northern virginia.  i went out and did 6 miles for lunch and found my legs to be a bit beat up after the run/swim combo yesterday.  i took it easy (8:00 m/m) and made it a relaxed run.  And i was very happy to return to my delicious sandwich.  yum.

God bless this weather.  I barely even sweat at noon today!

 I did the same ol' 6 miles and felt great!  Strong and solid.  I love running at noon, and my body responds best to it.  If only summers weren't so hostile to such an idea...

Very relaxed miles...~7:50's

Followed by a homemade california roll with soy sauce 'n pickled ginger (eaten like a burrito...naturally).  mmm....

No running today, but rode 14 miles in to work.  Hoopah.

No miles today.  I got a little too excited about wrestling friday night and suffered a pretty bad knee bashing and a serious charlie horse on my left butt-bone.  I ran a quarter mile from home and said "ha!" and turned right back around.  Spent the evening on the Rapidan river with a fly rod followed by a nice fire and lots of sleep in my trusty tent.  

Exactly one hour trail running in the Shenandoah NP followed by exactly one hour road biking in the foothills below.  An absolutely gorgeous day to be out for a mini biathlon in the Virginia mountains.  Back home now with food in my belly, heavy eyes, and a smile.  Butt and knee are ok and ready to rock.

noon:  Good ol' lunchtime 6 miles.  Slightly poor judgement, to be honest.  I was sweating way more than I thought I'd be by the end, and I don't have a towel here for showering purposes.  I "blotted" myself with wet towels in a single-seater bathroom , but I'm still pretty gross.  ANYWAY...a good run!  Relaxed, around ~8:00 min/miles.  The legs surely felt yesterday, though.

pm: About one hour in the gym; all upper body.  it's tuesday morning now and my body is WORKED.  SLEEPY!!

Again!  6 nooner miles.

Good times, great weather, slow run.  I felt like I was fast and strong, but my watch said otherwise.  8:00 min/miles today.  Eh, they were fun!

am: 14 mile ride to work.  Stopped halfway for some eggs 'n sausage at the Vienna Inn.

pm: 14 mile ride home...no Vienna Inn, but I made a great chicken/black bean burrito.  that's almost as good.

I spent ~45 minutes at the gym on upper body lifting and felt the protein boost of chicken 'n beans. 

Today's going to be a doozy over here (HOT!), so I got 'em in before work.  I'm not used to waking up early and running anymore and it was surprisingly difficult, even though I did this every day last year.  It took 1.5 miles to wake up, and another ~2.5 miles to get warmed up.  I lumbered along at first with ~8:20's and finished with a 7:40...avg 8:04.  Not bad, I suppose. 

4 miles before friend Jason rolled into town!!

hiked a pretty chill ~3-4 miles out at Raven Rock west of Leesburg, VA with buddy.

6 miles post work.  I seem to recall this run being rather labored...

friend still in town!

6 noontime miles.  we had spectacular weather...man oh man. 

4 miles on old logging trails near Grand Marais, MI.  GORGEOUS!!

6 miles on trails near my folks' cabin again.  Good grief it's nice up there, man.

1.5 hours lifting.  Tough week of field work to come this week--11-12 hour days drilling in fairly intense heat.  Needless to say, not doing much outside after work.

one hour lifting followed by half hour lapswim

4 miles followed by one hour lifting

4 miles followed by one hour lifting.

i've been doing stuff...i'm just all over the place!!  i'll update when i get a chance...

Six miles back on the WOD near my house.  I was in Michigan for a week, and then in Pennsylvania for a week, and I am currently in Maryland...hence the erratic entries (or lack thereof completely).  

Got dropped off at the EAston YMCA by my coworker, swam for 35 minutes, lifted for 40 (back and bi's, some abs and shoulders), and ran back to the Days Inn. 

One hour lifting at the gym.  I believe I did chest 'n tri's.

Six miles in Easton, MD.  Felt really quite good.  Followed it up with a fancy pants dinner at a place called Martini's.  Good bye per diem...

lifted today...no focus, just a bit of all-things-upper-body

6 mile run to the Vienna Inn.  Delicious  western omelette to follow.

Six miles on the WOD at avg. 8:00 pace.

35 minutes at gym doing back and bi's. 

Zero running miles today, ~1.5 hours mountain biking instead at Schaeffer Farms near Gaithersburg.  A stinking good time...it's been way too long!

6 miles on the WOD near home.  I have a tough time warming up these days--it takes me ~3 miles to do a sub-8:00.  Certainly due to low mileage for so long, so I'm not worried, but my mind still thinks I'm in better shape, so I get a bit disgruntled sometimes.  But then I sit back and realize how nice it is to be running, and it all drifts away.

Spent some time in they gym as well--chest, tris, abs.

3.5 miles after work and before a cocktail party.  HOT!  Sunny and muggy!

A couple hours of climbing out at Great Falls followed by ~45 minute gym workout.  Back and bi's, some abs.

am: Registered for the Luray Triathlon.  Just a little sprint, but it should be fun!!

pm: 8 miles on the WOD. I had a mental block going on that told me that "my run" was 6 miles, so I said "screw that" and tacked on a couple more and felt way better than most of my 6'ers. Averaged exactly 8:00 miles. Gotta get that speed back...

pm: half hour lapswim, followed by gym.

I was running out of energy at the gym when I attempted some butterflies.  This was a mistake.  I commenced a rep while simultaneously turning my head (still with low energy) and my back popped rather disturbingly near my neck.  I've had pain since and am considering visiting a chiropractor.  Not fun repeatedly waking up from shocks of pain...

no running miles today, but I got in about 10 miles of swift hiking. 

4 mile hike in the am at Big Schloss, and 6 miles on the WOD in the evening at 8:00 pace.  My back feels ok while running, provided I maintain good form and look quasi-straight ahead.

pm: 45 minute lapswim. Struggled to remain not-overly-frustrated with the old men I shared a lane with.

Followed by one hour lifting with focus on back and bi's.

early pm: 6 miles on the wod.  I pushed it a bit and still only cranked 8:00's.  Gonna have to be patient for a little while...

later: half hour gym workout.  My first time back on chest after tweaking my back really bad last friday (second chiro visit today).

early pm: 2nd Chiro visit.

Equally as scary, but the adjustment was easier this time around. I have to decide soon how many times I'm willing to go...

evening: Drove to Great Falls from work and ran 1.5 miles to wake myself up. Climbed with my good friend Dan at Aid Box and put up some pretty encouraging climbs. Also did some of my first aid climbing, which is friggin exhausting. Followed by delicious pizza and beer at the Lost Dog.

am: Biked to work.  15 miles of glorious WOD riding.  First time ever with contacts in my eyes.  It was like a dream...

pm: Biked home.  My biking muscles are feeling surprisingly strong...it's a bit strange. 

This weekend I'm off to CT to get some free dental work done by my college suite-mate.  It likely won't be the most active weekend I've ever had.

6 miles on the WOD out in Reston.  I hadn't planned on doing a noon-time run today, but it was just so freaking nice I couldn't resist.  I felt happy and strong.

Approximately 4-5 miles this morning near Plainville, CT.  I'm visiting my dentist friend and his wife for the weekend--pretty state, that Connecticut...

am: 3 mile out-and-back this morning on the beautiful WOD.  We're stuck in a gorgeous high-pressure system right now and it's just rockin' my socks off.  I was actually chilly this morning!  Not sure if it's the weather or what, but I had a surprisingly strong run this morning with a best mile at 6:28 and an average at 7:28.  A great way to start the week.

pm: about an hour at the Y doing a generalized upper body workout.  lots of reps, less weight, making sure everything's up to snuff.

am: Biked ~15 miles to work. I packed lots of food, running clothes, swimming gear, and work clothes for tomorrow. ~20 lbs on my back. Felt sorta goofy and extended my ride by about 10 minutes.

pm: Just over a mile of open-water swimming. Goodbye $4/time dirty high school swimming pool, hello nice people at Lake Anne who let me walk through their house to go swimming. Score.

noon: Just barely cool enough to do a lunch run today.  I did a few minor intervals, but nothing crazy.  but that was enough to take my breath away pretty good in this humidity.  probably ran something like 7:45's.

pm: biked 15 miles home and felt TOUGH.  It was great!

pm: Biked 3 miles to Lake Anne and swam ~1.4 miles.  The swim will be quite easy for me on sunday.  I'm just curious now to see how well I do with transitions.   I did a mock swim-bike transition after swimming last night, and it was pretty fast and smooth.

am: 6 miles on the WOD west of home.  I was pretty sluggish in the legs this morning, which is likely because of a rather hard swim last night.  I'll bike home nice 'n easy tonight and then take tomorrow off.

This marks my first triathlon!  I enjoyed it as much as or even more than I had anticipated.  It was very nice to incorporate a bit of the swimming and biking I'm doing all the time into something competetive.  I decided to do the sprint distance for my first, which was likely a smart option  (.4 mile swim, 16.5 mile bike, 5k run). I would have been fine doubling the swim and the run, but doing 16.5 miles x 2 on the bike would have been painful.  I've already got another one on the schedule for October 4th!  Whoot whoot!

(watchband broke--no clue what individual event times were...)

6 miles snaking through the residential streets of Hood River, OR.  Beautiful city.  Wish i had my debit card when i ran past Full Sail Brewery...

4 miles on some gravel roads up the Squamish Valley (~1 hour from Squamish, BC).  It's just not fair.  No one should be able to live in such a beautiful place.

8 mile trail run, also up Squamish Valley.  Old growth temperate rainforest.  Good glory it was purty!

4 miles trail running near a campsite along the Columbia River Hwy, Or. 

7 miles up Logan Canyon.  Ran on that cool trail on the north side of the road (on those big canal pipelines), crossed the road and river at the Second Practice (climbing) Wall, and ran back on the River Trail with start and finish in the Island.  The elevation actually got me this time, but oh what fun.

6 miles on the shoreline trail of Chicago.  Mmm...so much grilling on that trail...

We'll just call it 3.  Trail ran out on the Billy Goat Trail to go cliff-jumping/swimming in the Potomac.  Good times.

Back to the W&OD trail east of home.  This was a pretty chill run (8:00 pace) and I was happy to see so many other active folks out on the trail.  Nice night to run, despite the humidity.

am: biked 14 miles to work.  Nice 'n casual...didn't push it too hard.

biked to work and back with ~28 miles total.

Just got back from Hawaii--not going to retroactively fill out my calendar.  Had several small runs and swims and hard days of field work.  And that's that!

35 minute lapswim in Lake Anne followed by ~45 minutes lifting in the gym.

Good ol' lunchtime run with PERFECT virginia autumn weather--crisp, sunny, 60's.

am: biked 14 miles to work.  Heckuva headwind this morning, and the legs are feeling it!

pm: much smoother ride home.  several traffic stops, but still 10 mimutes faster than the morning.

5 lunch-time miles.  Nice brisk pace (which for me is ~7:30-7:45 right now).

Slowly getting it back...

Sunday was a perfect day for a long, chill run.  I drove out to Great Falls and hopped on the C&O Towpath and put it on cruise control.  Averaged ~8:20's and took in the autumn scenery.  Interestingly, a ~20 meter section of trail/canal is completely blown out towards the Potomac as a debris flow.  This cut off flow to the canal, and so the area near the parking lot is only a trickle right now.  It's all fenced and ribboned off, but naturally the geologist in me couldn't stay away.  I guess it was during the last gasp of hurricane Gustav??

Anyway, all systems are go and i'm feeling great.  The other big news is that i started running and playing tennis in Hawaii without my orthodics, and golldangit it feels great.  So I officially ditched them and I'm feeling good about it.

Congrats to all the Army 10-miler runners!

am: biked to work.  Took it rather easy, with hopes to attack a bit more tonight.  Overcast morning--that was not predicted at 11:30 last night.

pm: biked home (imagine that) and felt pretty strong.  I cut ~5 minutes off the morning time, but that's likely due more to westerlies or slight cumulative downhill than to my "attack".

stopped by the gym for a bit--chest 'n tri's.

six miles at lunch--this weather is delicious.

7:45-8:00 pace.

pm: back 'n bi's at the gym.

Then i made some sushi and watched some of the debate with my uber GOP roommates.  blah blah blah spineless politicians with $$'s on the brain and empty promises on their tongues...i wish one would grow a pair and admit we're all screwed.

But man is this weather ever nice!!

am: biked to work.  Pretty chilly right at first, but it was quite perfect in general.  Beautiful crisp, sunny fall morning.

pm. ...and i biked home.  It clouded over a bit, but the clouds trapped the heat and it was perfect short-sleave-biking.

Another nooner. A bit warm today, to be honest.  I'm a bit salty now...

Took it easy at ~8's

Just under 4 miles roundtrip jog to the local gym in Columbia, SC from my hotel.  20 minute lapswim and a half hour of back and bi's directly following.

Again...just under 4 miles roundtrip jog to the local gym from my hotel. 

30 minute lapswim and a half hour of chest and tri's directly following.

Drove to the gym this time!

45 minutes in the pool (swimming next to the high school swim team, who are all incredibly faster than me).  half hour back and bi's.

ran to the gym and back, with 30 minutes of swimming and 20 minutes of chest and tri's.

4 mile shakeout on the WOD after an 8 hour drive on 95.  Nice to be home!

i just can't attribute any miles to hiking.  sauntered around Shenandoah for several hours with a good friend. 

zero jogging miles, but spent the day climbing and i am wrecked.  very thankful for recent upper body workouts, or i would have been even more worthless.  Gorgeous spot!  Annapolis Rox is my new haven.

6 noon-time miles on the WOD near work.  Everything feels great--likely because I stuck with a modest pace. 

Worked out the back and bi's in the pm for a bit and met a huge german dude who's way into building.  He openly told me all the things I should be doing differently, and then had a difficult time understanding why i didn't necessarily want to bulk up. 

pm: 40-min lapswim.  Followed by 30 min chest and tri workout, but i went easy because i had swum pretty hard and was pretty junked out. 

noon: 6 miles on the WOD--a gorgeous day.  Amazing.  Took it nice and easy, probably 8-minute miles.

6 miles near Reedville, VA.  Good old country roads--4/5 of the passersby waved.  I miss that.  Legs are feeling good, but not strong. 

noon: 6 miles on the WOD near work.  Windy and drizzly--inspirational fall weather, baby!

pm: a short stint at the Y--chest and tri's, primarily.

pm: Started the evening with ~35 minutes in the gym working on back and bi's.  Then went up the road to the high school pool for 35 minutes of lapswim.  Went directly out back to their track and ran 1.5 miles with 2 200 m tempo's and then had a nice stretch session.  A great workout, I gotta say!

noon: 6 miles on the WOD out in Reston.  Windy and overcast, with the sun briefly poking out once per mile.  I felt strong, but put in 7:50's because there's really no reason to push these maintenance runs.  I'm hoping to get more serious about speed workouts in the not-so-distant future, so i'll save it.  Happy to be healthy!

'bout 4.5 miles hiking to the climbing crag. a beautiful day!

7 miles out in Tom's River, NJ.  Felt great, so I kept the pace (relatively) up.

i voted.

6 miles at noon today.  I experimented with a very chilled-out pace with a friend to see how much more energy I would have afterward.  It worked.  It hardly felt like I ran.  Imagine that.

pm: 40 minute lapswim at the local high school.  I could have swum all night--i'm finally getting my groove in the pool again, and it's amazing.  Everything else feels so much better when I'm solid in water.

6 miles on the WOD at noon.  Good grief--too HOT!  Sweaty without a freaking shirt!

6 miles at noon.  ~7:40's and felt strong. 

pm: one hour at the gym working on upper body/core.

day off for Veterans' Day (thanks federal gov't).

caught a cold...taking it easy until that resolves itself.

3 miles with Felis on the WOD...just a leg stretcher and nap precurser.

6 miles on the WOD at noon.  'twas a nice run, but i hardly remember any details anymore...

~4 hours xc skiing at White Grass.  COLD and blustery up on top, but perfect early season conditions.  Was actually wishing I brought my tele's...

~4 hours xc skiing at White Grass in West Virginia.  A gorgeous day for a ski, with upwards of 2' of impressive powder at the summit.

noon: 6 miles on the WOD at 8:00's.  Kinda chilly--had to wear long sleaves and pants (i know i know...world's smallest violin)

pm: one hour in the gym.  Full body, many reps, little weight.

noon: 6 miles on the WOD.  Forgot the watch, but was probably at just under 8:00's.  Beautiful patchy clouds!

8.5 miles this morning to make way for way too much food.

4 mile leg-stretcher on the WOD with Ed.  Relaxed pace.

No miles on the street today.  Half hour lapswim followed by ~1 hour core workout in the gym.

Noon: 6 miles on the WOD during lunch.  Approximately 7:30's.  All's well, and great weather to boot!

Noon: 6 rather chill miles. Probably ran ~8:00's. The core feels way stronger now that I'm focusing more on that at the gym...it makes everything "flow" so much more nicely.

pm: an hour of chest/tri's at the gym. 

6 nooner miles...feeling strong.

7:30's. sweeeet weather.

pm: an hour of back/bi's 

6 miles at noon...8:00's.  I'm surprised my body's so happy right now...decided to bump it up a notch this week.  

Giving the legs a slight rest this weekend.  One hour in the pool followed by a rather short/focused chest/tri/core workout at the gym.  Feeling pretty well-rounded!

small hike and some climbing on Catoctin mtn.  Very cold.  Very freaking cold.  so long hand dexterity...

6 miles today at noon.  A bit chilly out there--but still quite nice as long as everything's covered with a layer.  Kept it between 7:30 and 8:00.  Everything's a go for this week!

pm: ~45 minutes back/bi's/core.  Feelin' nice and strong (albeit skinny).

noon: 6 miles on the WOD at 7:30.  Just registered for the Jingle All the Way 10K this Sunday!  Woot woot!!  Gotta crank a couple fast ones tomorrow to prep...

pm: 35 minute lapswim fairly hard.  Strictly freestyle today.

45 minutes at the gym for chest/tri's/core.

noon: Six wet miles today--glorious!  It's been so long since I've had one of those introspective rainy runs where the legs finally strive to keep up with the soul.

noon: 6 miles on the ol' WOD.  Gusty but beautiful out there.  Ran 7:30's with a couple uptempo splits.  I'll probably take tomorrow off to rest the legs for sunday morning, perhaps do some light lifting or some swimming.

noon: 35 minute lapswim at W&L Pool.  Felt very nice, being the second swim of the week.

Followed by a very short workout...i completely bonked and came home to eat food and take a nap...

This is the first 10k i've run since...?  I feel like the last one I ran may well have been in the N.U.T.S. series back around 2006.  What a fun race!  I didn't really know what to expect, but having known that everyone wears bells and such I didn't expect it to be too competetive.  But it turned out to be the perfect mix of overly serious runners and people wearing cowbells singing christmas carols.  I was a bit late getting to the start, but I think it may have been to my advantage.  It was pretty easy to hop up on the curb here and there to get past random slugs of people, and after a couple miles I could weave my way through effortlessly.  I felt strong from the start and was thrilled with the weather and atmosphere.  Mile splits improved all the way through:

1: 7:03

2,3: 13:49 (missed the mile marker)

4: 6:43

5: 6:28

6: 6:21

But better than the race was the company--great to commute with Eric, Allison, and Chris, and then to hang with the Rocket herself and Aaron.  So nice to finally meet you guys!  Go Santa's Little Jingers!!

Thanks again for the post-race suaree, Lucia.  Amazing food and great company.  Let's get a run or hike going soon-ish.

Enjoy your week, all.

Noon: 6 miles with Ben O'Connor on Reston trails.  We took 'er nice and easy, which is good because I'm a tad tight from yesterday.  WARM!!  A shirtless run in mid-December...silly east coast.

Took the day off cardio after a full day in the field and spent an hour at the gym for chest/tri's and a bit of core.  Rainy rainy!!

I woke up pretty sick today...at 9:30 after overdosing on Nyquil.  But as the day goes on, i'm slowly pulling out of my Nyquil coma and feeling better.  So I decided to get some fresh air with my friend Ben and put in 6 chill miles.  It's beautiful out there today; a perfect overcast afternoon.  Everyone be sure to welcome my friend Eric!!  http://Erictripr.fastrunningblog.com/

Okay fine.  Be that way stupid body.  Get a freakin' cold.  see if i care. 

awesome.  no really, it's cool.  i wanted this cold.  best cold i've ever had, probably.  shoot.

35-minute lapswim. 

30 minute lapswim followed by short core workout.

36 minutes in the pool followed by half hour upper body workout.

4 miles on roads close to home.  Finally decent enough to do so!  Felt good to feel the legs moving again.

6 miles with O'Connor on the Reston trails.  Very chill pace, but that's probably a good thing until I get fully back into the swing of things.