Saturday Switchup

I've been doing longer runs on Sundays, but this week I switched it up to take advantage of some company. Joined Rob in Rock Creek for a jaunt along some snowy trails. A few lung-searing climbs, but the lack of pavement made these more pleasant than usual. It was 23 degrees out at the start but I was OK in shorts. The absence of wind makes a big difference here. No attempt to map it as the trails are not visible on gmaps. Conservatively calling it 10.5 miles, 1:23:20.

This puts me over 40 for the week, but next week will be appropriately less given that I'll be keeping things shorter tomorrow. Speaking of next week, I'm getting on a plane to Denver tomorrow evening and I'll be in the Denver area for 9 days or so, hopefully sipping on Scotch and cracking pistachios in front of the fireplace. Looking forward to the crisp air and change of scenery. Weather forecast looks like sunny mid-40s for most of the time I'll be there.

Friday Motivation

No run today. Instead, I registered for the 2011 Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, MN. It's a long way off, and now the challenge will be to budget my efforts toward this goal. My dad plans to register as well and it promises to be a memorable weekend even if both of us show up sick and limping.

So now I've made a $116 investment (including a pasta dinner for Maia and me). Will that be enough to keep me in line?

Satisfied

Slept through my alarm this morning. Still had time to run though. Almost 6 miles on a Bethesda neighborhood loop in 43:39. Great energy, left foot got a little stiff. By now I'm mostly certain this isn't a stress fracture as I once feared. It seems to happen on the more pounding routes I do. Today's featured lots of ups and downs. The downs seem especially hard on the feet. But my lower legs in general seem to be handling this pounding better each week that goes by so I think it's only a matter of time til the foot woes are past. The calf exercises seem to be helping although I've slacked on them a little this week.

It's only Thursday and I've already tallied over 30 miles. If the week were over today I'd still be satisfied with this number, so it's a good enough reason to take tomorrow off and go easy on Saturday.

My dad called me today to ask if I'd signed up for Grandma's in June 2011. I'm back and forth about it because at the rate I'm building mileage I'm afraid I won't be able to hit the long runs required. But that's where I'm at, and I'm coming to terms with that. Worst case is that I register, decide not to run, and spend the weekend in Duluth spectating and visiting with my grandfather. Doesn't seem so bad if you ask me.

For the Record

Don't have a whole lot of time so this will be strictly record keeping.

Enjoyed a beautiful, if cold, jaunt around Pittsburgh yesterday morning. Was there for work and I always enjoy getting out for a run with Rob (my boss). Pretty unique situation to be in where I can go out and shoot the shit for an hour with my direct supervisor. It's like work therapy. 8.5 miles, 1:07:44. 13 degrees, snowing, -10 degree wind chill. I was actually perfectly dressed for the conditions with some thermal tights and shirt, wind breaker, and knit mittens. The snow (less than 2 or 3 inches) was like padding at first but then got kind of annoying for the lack of traction.

Didn't get home from work til late last night so I decided to sleep in a little bit. I brought my shorts to work in case I found myself with some extra time in the afternoon. I did, and I got out for 5.8 miles on a CCT out-and-back. 41:42. Threw in 5 strides at about the 20 min mark. Felt good.

Mud Bath

Thought I'd have somewhat of a cleansing run in the rain this evening. Turned out to be the opposite and I sit here now caked in mud. Pretty fun revisit of the Rock Creek loop I did last Sunday. Heroically dodged many a mud puddle, but not all of them. This distance feels about right for a longer run for now, and I'll build upon this over the next few months. Legs were feeling pretty creaky toward the end. 10 and a quarter miles, 1:21:08.

Yesterday morning I took a scenic trip through cow pastures and old iron mill country down in Virginia. Nice, rejuvenating run, and I threw in a handful of strides toward the end. I've decided to keep my distance from the track for just a little longer, but opening up into a stride feels OK as long as I'm not pushing myself to hit a certain time. To my surprise, not as many big hills as I'd expected. 5.7 miles, 45:50.

Total for last week was just over 26 miles in four runs. Slightly lower number than average for the past few weeks and I noted more pep in my stride today. Looking for a fifth run to net me just a hair more next week.

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.