The Question

So it seems I just haven't really been into posting here lately. Work is stealing all my mental livelihood and I find myself sitting here in front of a blank field digging for creative ways to say what I always say here: I ran today, or I ran yesterday, or I will bike tomorrow.

I guess I'm also questioning the purpose of this, which corresponds to my mental blahness and indeed is probably the result of such.

Tuesday was a short treadmill run (3.5 in 29:45) before yoga. I also biked around town for what felt like all day getting to various appointments. Slept well that night.

Wednesday was some stuff at the gym and yesterday I got out to Bethesda extra early for 7.1 miles (56:38) all before the sun came up. Cold and sleepy. Checking out some Bela Fleck albums, the artist of which I've never been entirely fond of, for various reasons. In general I have a hard time digesting what feels like overly intellectual or academic music. Had a couple albums, don't remember their names, and wasn't all that impressed. "Polka on the Banjo" stuck out to me as a pretty fun number. Will continue to listen for a while to see if it grows on me. Headed to a cabin in Shenandoah tonight and won't be back till Sunday. Hoping to get in a few runs while I'm there.

Respite

Struggled to hold onto momentum after the short Thanksgiving break as my mind and body sunk into "rest" mode. Last Sunday I started off on a 9-miler but turned around after a mile when I decided to heed the discomfort in my left foot and give it some time to calm down. No sharp pain really but I've been paranoid that this could be a stress fracture in the works. So I did the logical thing and decided to shelve the running for a few days and see what happened.

Foot felt fine after a couple days but I gave it till Saturday for good measure. Swam, biked, and lifted a few times during the week to quell the jitters. For the past couple weeks I've also been doing some PT type exercises for my ankles and calves as I feel they are somewhat of the weakest link right now. Hopped on a treadmill Saturday for 3.8 miles in 30 min and decided things were OK. Not sure what's going on with the foot but I'll just have to stay tuned for signals.

Yesterday traipsed around this Rock Creek loop. No spectacular run by my standards as I ran out of juice around the 40-minute mark and just kind of slogged it home for the remainder of the run. Left myself a couple of options in case things turned south but things never did with the exception of feeling pretty glycogen depleted early on. I blame this on poor diet (aka busy schedule) in the days prior, leaving me falling asleep hungry for a couple nights in a row. 10 miles, 1:18:11, and a lesson in mental tenacity. Also timed the Matthewson hill in 6:43 which is about where I've been with this stretch. I'm thinking I'll keep it to 4 runs this week and mix it up with some more cross training.

Turkey Burner

Everyone except my sister (who had to work) piled into the car this morning and rode out to "downtown" West Chester for the Turkey Burner 5k. We looked around for the registration area but couldn't find it and got the sense that this was going to be a fairly low key race. No porta-potties or water stations or spectators, just a start and a finish and a few boxes of oversized tees. Not that this was a bad thing, in fact it was somewhat refreshing.

I got in a short warmup, walked over to the start with the rest of my family, and as typically happens the race commenced before I realized it. I gunned it from the get-go and thought about a strategy. I think my only goal was not to have a concrete goal.

There was a handful of younger runners (turns out the race was organized as part of a high school senior project), many of whom were quite fast. A couple in particular gave the vibes of local track stars. They shot off the front and I latched onto a group who stringed out behind them them. Not sure about mile splits, but the first mile sure felt fast.

I struggled to hang onto the initial pace and it became a game of back and forth with the two or three within reach. In an unexciting next couple miles I finally reached the finish in 18:52, throwing in a solid surge over the last 100 meters. It's a 2-second PR for the 5k distance which is pretty cool because, like the 10k from a few weeks ago, I haven't put in any specific training. While one thing I've enjoyed about my running lately is the absence of a plan, it was also what made today's race difficult. The mental component is very strong, more so in shorter races like this. I think if I had stronger mental focus (such as prompted by a clear goal) I could push myself through the tougher paces a little better. I've been itching to schedule some workouts but it's really a function of what my goals will be.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's been kind of an interesting week so far. After Sunday's longer run I took it easy on Monday with a 4-miler on the treadmill, 34 minutes. Followed it up with some strength and balance exercises.

Totally tweaked my neck at the rock gym that same evening. A strained reach, an audible pop, and all of the sudden my neck and upper back seizes up. I've awoken in the past with a stiff neck, but it's never quite happened acutely like this before and I was really worried I'd seriously injured myself. After a few days it's feeling much better.

Tuesday I took the CCT route to work and enjoyed a different perspective as most of the leaves have fallen by now. The numerous deer that frequent this area are now much more vulnerable to my gaze. My 5-mile time trial (portion between C&O Canal Trail interchange and Bethesda) ticked by in about 15:20, about 15 seconds off my PB for that stretch. Not bad for not having ridden seriously in almost two months.

Yesterday I took a jaunt around my parents' house as Maia and I are here visiting for a few days. I always romanticize about running when I visit here, envisioning lush forests and car-less back roads and open pastures. Turned out to be somewhat less enjoyable. Maybe it was the longer run on Sunday, perhaps it's just my body sensing a break from the rush. Just felt kind of off in way I can't quite pinpoint. Some stiffness in my left foot and lower leg, a few hills tougher than I thought they should've been, and a few wrong turns all combined to dampen my spirits a little. Days like this just happen every now and again and I'm not reading into it too far. 7.2 miles, 55:34.

Today just an easy 4 miles on the treadmill (34:16). Been spending some time stretching and doing various PT exercises for my lower legs and today felt particularly therapeutic (in a good way). The hot tub in my parents' back yard has also been a great way to loosen up and relax a bit.

In somewhat of a surprising turn of events both my parents, Maia, and my sister have all made plans to join me at the start for tomorrow's Turkey Burner 5k. Now we're all not sure about it because of poor weather in the forecast but it would be a family record if we all started. I won't run it if they all decide not to but I'm in if they are. Happy Thanksgiving.

That Elusive Place

Had plans to run with some company this morning. Amanda, one I befriended in Philly who now calls Madison, WI her home, is in town on an extended work gig. Madison is my birth city and we've always related over this.

The idea was to meet her at her hotel near Logan Circle and run around the mall for up to 5 miles. From my apartment it was a relaxed 2 miles, mostly downhill. We continued down 14th St to the mall and did a loop around the Washington Monument before heading back uphill. Amanda cut this middle loop short due to some asthma (I can't imagine how tough it must be to run with an affliction that makes you short of breath) and I got back to Logan Circle in an additional 3.4 miles. Said bye to Mandy and headed back north. It was great to have someone to talk to, however brief it was.

I decided to head over to Georgetown via P St as I knew there was a connection to Rock Creek Trail there somewhere. I couldn't find it right away and wound up doubling back a bit, but I eventually found it and dropped down onto some softer surfaces (it had been sidewalks up to this point).

Most of the stretch along Rock Creek I'm feeling a little self conscious about what would end up to be about a 20 minute addition to the longest run I've completed in the past year. It's also two miles added to last week's run. My legs were feeling tired, but for the most part I felt pretty solid through the final miles. It's another threshold I've crossed, inching closer and closer to where I want to be. It's a vague place, very elusive, but I'll know when I get there. And keep my fingers crossed that something doesn't break along the way. 11 miles, 1:26:29.

Bum Knee

Been a few days since I checked in here and I blame it on work. The good news is that a major deadline is out of the way and things should stabilize through the holidays. I didn't run Monday or Tuesday as a result of some long hours and pressing commitments.

I picked things back up on Wednesday as I began to sense the end of the long haul that's been the past couple months. Wednesday was 4.9 in 37:08 along the CCT, Thursday was 5.8 in 41:45. Yesterday I stayed home from work and fit in a Mathewson loop between naps. 5.5, 41:03.

The most exciting news of the weekend thus far was a bike crash Friday early evening. I was headed up 11th St with Maia, not paying enough attention to the busy intersection at U St, and totally crushed a pedestrian trying to jet across on a yellow light. It happened in a flash, and all I remember is flipping over the bars. The ground impact is a blur, but somehow I now have a banged up knee. It felt OK for the rest of the night, however a stiffness slowly crept in as the hours passed by.

This morning it feels pretty crappy for sure, but not quite bad enough to ditch my plans for a run. I headed down Park Rd with a noticeable swagger that loosened as the minutes passed. In a gameday decision I turned north on Rock Creek instead of south and opted for another Mathewson loop. I see this becoming a staple in my routine. It's long enough to be worth the trip to the park and has multiple options for extensions when I get to that point.

In the spirit of keeping score, I timed the section between Beach Dr and 17th St. This stretch is a little more than 3/4 miles in length (1474 yards to be unnecessarily precise) and includes the famed Mathewson hill. On average the stretch is probably 3-4% grade but Mathewson is 8-10% at least. Today I covered it in 6:38 without pushing it, just under 8 min pace. Not all that bad for having a gimp knee.

Total for the day was 5.5 in 42:03. All this adds up to just over 30 for the week. Not much different than last week although the rest on Monday and Tuesday seemed to make a difference in how I've felt up to today.

Time for a Rest

CCT out-and-back to Silver Spring. Crossed the 1-hr barrier today. Took about a mile for me to warm up, but after that things were smooth until about 56 minutes when things got stiff and slow. I've been having a few phantom twinges in my left foot reminiscent of those back in 2008 when I got a stress fracture. It's true that ever since that injury my foot hasn't felt quite right but I'm really not interested in revisiting that experience. It's about time I had an easy week and this gives me ample impetus.

Had a good cry out there today. Hadestown (everyone needs to listen to this album) playing on my iPod, the beautiful fall colors, the warm sunshine, work strife weighing on my mind. All of the sudden I'm overcome with emotion and I'm sobbing. What a relief. 9 miles, 1:04:33.

I came across a woman with a young child who had apparently fainted while riding down the trail. I stopped and asked if she needed help and encouraged her to call an ambulance but the woman seemed hesitant. Not sure what that was about but there's always a risk in being overly assertive in situations like this where it's not exactly clear what has happened. The young girl looked pallid, she seemed a little despondent, and I really just wanted to grab the woman's phone and dial 911 myself but I allowed her to somehow convince me that she had things under control. I jogged off feeling helpless but assured that there were other people around and when I returned down the trail they had left. I suppose there's a thousand different scenarios for what really could have been going on but I do know that sudden collapse like that is usually pretty serious. Hope she's OK.