Dec. 31st

quick 10 miler through georgetown. really windy today. cnn even had something about the wind in dc on this morning. a lot of newspaper boxes were blown over. felt good.

Fun facts from my 2008:

Total Miles - 2,337.3 miles
Total Runs - 318 runs
Average Week - 53.1 miles
Average Run - 8.6 miles
Average Longest Run Per Week - 12.9 miles
Longest Run - 60.0 miles
Biggest Week (M-Su) - 125.0 miles
Biggest 7-day Period - 140.5 miles
PRs set in 1500m, mile, 3k, 5k, 10k

not too bad considering i was injured from may through september, then didn't run in september, october, and part of november.

Dec. 20th - 30th

Sorry, I've been really lazy recently and haven't updated the blog. Here's what I've been up to:

Dec. 20th - 5 easy in the am before heading to Homer
Dec. 21st - 10 mile health camp loop
Dec. 22nd - 9 mile health camp
Dec. 23rd - 8 with Josh in Tully
Dec. 24th - 0
Dec. 25th - 0
Dec. 26th - 10 mile health camp
Dec. 27th - 10 mile health camp
Dec. 28th - 0 - drove back to dc. crushed some weights once i got back.
Dec. 29th - 4 to rock creek park
Dec. 30th - 10 miles (minimum, might have been as much as 12). Got sort of lost in rock creek park. went to the gym after and lifted some weights. a lot of core work.

Dec. 19th

7 miles in the Rochester blizzard of '08. Deep-ass snow, so we were running rather slowly. Finished it off with a campus all-star, aka, run through the quad sans shirt. The snow was between 4" and 8" deep, with some drifts around a foot, and we got out early in the storm.

Dec. 18th

10 miles with UR crew, then almost 5 with Chebot. snow up here in rochester.

Dec. 17th

8 miles in the morning. cut the georgetown loop short due to lingering soreness in my legs.

Dec. 16th

Then there was the bad weather. It would come in one day when the fall was over. We would have to shut the windows in the night against the rain and the cold wind would strip the leaves from the trees in the Place Contrescarpe. The leaves lay sodden in the rain and the wind drove the rain against the big green autobus at the terminal and the Café des Amateurs was crowded and the windows misted over from the heat and the smoke inside.

Dec. 15th

Easy day. A little sore from the race yesterday, but not too bad. 5+ miles - 39:10.

Ran down to the White House Christmas tree. I didn't realize you could walk right down there and see it, so I stopped and looked for a few minutes. Found the NY State tree, which was a little disappointing, to be very honest. Sparsely decorated by some church in Williamsville, NY.

Dec. 14th - Jingle All the Way 10k

Jingle All the Way 10k on the Haines Point course.

33:47, 1st in age group, 14th overall.

This was a huge improvement over my 35:56 Vets Day 10k on the same course just over a month ago. It felt good today up until 1.5 to go, when I got a diaphragm cramp on my right side. My race plan was to go out in 5:30s until the two mile, reassess the situation, and go from there. I hit the two mile in 10:54 and I was feeling good, so that gave me some confidence. I kept the pace steady through the 5k (16:55). That was faster than my turkey trot a few weeks ago (17:41 - a long course, but still a slow time). I didn't think I was in shape to break 34 minutes, but once I went through sub-17 feeling good I knew I could do it. I turned it on a little bit after the 5k and caught a couple runners. I held the surge a little bit past the 4 mile mark, but then I started to get a little cramp with about a mile and a half to go. The pain kept coming and going, so I made sure to surge whenever the cramp abated, and then I just had to push through it when it hurt. It got progressively worse, and it took the kick out of the last half mile of my race, but it didn't slow down my pace by a ton. I negative split the race, running the last 5k in 16:52. Not too windy, and the temperature wasn't awful, although it was pretty cold. Nothing I haven't run in before, though. GRC Chevy Chase came in 2nd to GRC Georgetown. Got a sweet Christmas fleece vest, a $40 gift certificate to the Potomac Running Store (free Christmas gift for someone -- what can I get a non-runner for $40 at a running store?) and a star trophy for being on the 2nd place team.

2 and change for a warmup

Ran the course, roughly, for a cooldown. Went to Starbucks after the race with the team.

Dec. 13th

6 miles mid-day. Easy run out to g-town and back. Race tomorrow morning.

Dec. 12th

2 miles in the am up 14th and back.

Last day at the DCCC!

Dec. 11th

10 mile georgetown loop in cold rain. messed up my watch, but it was probably around 7:30 pace.

Dec. 10th

3 miles after going to the Hawk 'n' Dove to celebrate my new job.

Dec. 9th

10 miles - Easy Georgetown loop after work. 1:14:44.

Dec. 8th

10 miles total --

9 miles to McFaddens (to pick up my credit card that I left there yesterday) then through Foggy Bottom to Georgetown on M street, then up Wisco to Q and back to my house through Dupont. Stopped by my house to pick up my gym pass, then ran .5 to the gym, worked out (curls get the girls), then ran .5 back home for 10 miles.

Dec. 7th

15 mile long run. Ms. Sharon loop. 1:50:49. Felt really good, much better/faster than the last time I did this run a few weeks ago.

Dec. 6th

11 miles with the GRC guys, mostly on trails. 1:09:45.

Dec. 5th

AM: 4 miles at a decent pace. Screwed up the timing, though. Striders up 13th St. (hills).
PM: 6 mile g-town out and back

Dec. 4th

6 mile run at 7:15ish pace

Also biked for a little bit, and crushed some weights at the gym.

Dec. 3rd

Rest. My legs have felt sluggish, probably due to the increase in mileage. Yesterday's run at 8 minute pace confirmed that I needed to take a day.

Dec. 2nd

1o slow miles in the PM in 1:19:33.

Dec. 1st

AM: 2 miles very easy
PM: 6 miles easy (gtown out and back)

Nov. 30th

Hard 10 in the rain. No watch.

Nov. 29th

9 miles with Josh Henry (Cortland State runner who I went to high school with). Quick pace, which actually sort of winded me up Health Camp Hill. Finished in 56:05, which might be a new loop record for me. It was good to catch up with Josh, though. He came over and we chilled for a bit after the run.

Nov. 28th

13 miles in the AM. 1:36:00. Ran up Health Camp road, then into Cortland past the P&C to the hospital then back home through town. Very nice weather, with sun and light snow.

Thanksgiving - Cortland YMCA Turkey Trot 2008

2 mile warm up

5k Turkey Trot. Cold, but I raced in a singlet and shorts anyway. They had to re-route the course due to ice, so it was a little longer than normal (and it's already a long course). Out an back on Cortland State's campus. A few C-State guys showed up, including Josh Henry. Josh won, his teammate came in 2nd, some dud from Oneonta was 3rd, my former high school teammate who's now at Allegheney was 4th, and I was 5th. Worst Turkey Trot ever, but I was only 40 seconds slower than last year after coming off a season of cross where I PRed in the 8k. 17:41 after taking the first half easy, then racing the second half (no one really wanted to take it out at the beginning).

3 mile cool down with Josh, Ryan, Mike Heyman, and some other C-State guy.

Nov. 26th

Drove back to Homer, NY today. 5 miles around town. Taking it easy for the Turkey Trot tomorrow.

Nov. 25th

PM: 8 miles - Gtown loop finishing in shaw

Nov. 24th

AM: 4 miles. Warmer this morning. Shaw to RCP then home, easy.

Perfect Sunday, Nov. 23rd

15 mile long run in the morning (Ms. Sharon loop). Felt good to go out and get some decent miles in, although I was definitely feeling it for the last couple miles.

What made today the perfect Sunday was a combination of factors:
1. Long run
2. Bills game
2a. Bills won
2b. Bills killed the Chiefs (54-31)
3. Papa Johns Hawaiian pizza
4. Couch nap

Now if only I still had the fireplace at the track house this would have been the ULTIMATE Sunday.

Nov. 22nd

8:30am run with the GRC crew. 9.5 miles or so in 1:01:00. Last two miles in 11:30 (5:58, 5:32).

Feeling a little more in shape now than when I started back up, but I have a long way to go.

Nov. 20th

Happy Beaujolais Nouveau Day!

PM: 10 miles semi-long run.

Nov. 19th

6 miles in the PM. Ran into Georgetown and around the library then back via Q and Dupont. Nice run, but had some heart burn from eating pizza before heading out.

Nov. 18th

The McCain '08 bumper sticker on Lieberman's car has been mysteriously "half scratched off," although a source insists it was accidentally "scraped by another car" ("The Sleuth").

AM: 3 miles easy. Freakin' cold this morning!

Nov. 17th

Slept through my alarm, but still managed to make it to work on time. No AM run, though, which sucked because I told my old boss I'd help her update ASALH's website and train the new web guy. But who wants to hear excuses?

Nov. 16th

Sunday = day of rest/hangover/travel home. Just shy of 1,200 miles this weekend.

Nov. 15 - Race Day

Atlantic Region Championships at St. Lawrence University (Canton, NY)

The men had a rough day today. 13th place. Rainy and muddy.

6 miles for me, with the equivalent of 8x300m cross country. I ran the intervals fast, and I could tell...

Nov. 14th

Driving to Watertown, NY today to meet up with fellow 'Jackets before NCAA Regionals tomorrow at St. Lawrence University (SLU) in Canton, NY. Going to be a long drive, but it will be completely worth it to watch our men dominate the Atlantic Region.

PM: 5 miles with Ezra in Watertown, NY.

Nov. 13th

AM: 3 miles in a light rain. Steady state pace, but still sore from the gym two days ago... pathetic.

PM: 6 miles to Wisco Ave and back via Dupont and Q Street. Sub-7min pace.

Nov. 12th

Slept for 10 hours last night! Didn't run in the AM, though. Will run after work.

PM: 3 miles easy. Slight pain in my left groin area. 21:30.

Put together a 2008 performance list today (PRs in bold):

2/8/08 - BU Valentines Day Relays - 5k - 15:11.83
3/1/08 - NYSCTC Championships - 3k - 8:46.79 (5th)
3/29/08 - Widener University (Outdoor) - 10k - 31:49.46 (1st)
4/6/08 - UR Alumni Invitational - 1500m - 4:06.41 (4th)
4/23/08 - UR Mid-Week Invitational - 5k - 15:15.46 (1st)
5/2/08 - NYSCTC Championships - 10k - 31:12.31 (1st)
5/3/08 - NYSCTC Outdoor Championships - 5k - 15:15.61 (5th)
5/16/08 - ECAC Outdoor Championships - 10k - 31:32.39 (9th)

9/13/08 - National Press Club 5k - 17:03 (4th)
11/9/08 - Veterans Day 10k - 35:56 (32nd)

Veterans Day - Tuesday, Nov. 11th

AM: 1 mile (.5 to gym, .5 on treadmill) and weight lifted upper body

PM: 9 miles 1hr 12min (1.5 to Annie's, 6 with Annie on her Adams Morgan loop, 1.5 home)

Nov. 10th

AM: 2 miles slow and easy. Sore from 10k yesterday.

Mid-day: Solidified plans to watch the men at regionals.

PM: 4+ miles (32 mins) at night

Numbers Don't Lie

Vet's Day 10k today. I knew it was going to be rough, just didn't know how rough it would be. I started out ok, first mile was 5:17 and felt good, but in the back of my mind I knew it was unsustainable. Second mile slowed down and managed a 5:44. Third mile held steady at 5:46, 5k at 17:25. By this point an old man was running with me, and I kept throwing in surges to hold him off. I kept him at bay until the last mile, when I really just started to shut down. Hit mile 4 in 5:45. Last two miles were the worst. This is where I could really tell that I haven't been doing the mileage and the long runs. I just didn't have anything left in me. It was frustrating, and the self-pity crept up and it was hard not to give up completely. I just focused on this guy with a yellow singlet and made myself hate him. This has worked in the past, and it worked today. If I can tell myself that I loathe someone then it makes it possible to summon the energy to pass him. I still only ran 5:57 for the 5th mile and 6:15 for the 6th, though. Final time for the 10k was 35:58 (5:47/mile average). 32nd place out of 2k runners, 6th in age group, and I beat Mayor Fenty. I just need to focus on training for a while. Getting my miles in is the priority, no matter what. No excuses.

Veterans Day 10k

Race tomorrow. Took it easy today. Early night. Positive mental attitude, PMA.

GO FIGHT WIN!

Inaugural Post

So here's my training blog. After a long election cycle, it's time to get serious about training again. During my training hiatus I realized that I missed the early morning shakeouts, the doubles, the long runs, and most of all, racing. I'm back on track and starting from scratch. For most of the winter I will be building mileage with a few workouts interspersed, but mainly focusing on getting my base in. I want to be in top shape by the time the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler rolls around, so I have a definite goal to work towards. It's not going to be as easy as it was in college to get the workouts and miles in, but I am willing to make some sacrifices to do so. So here goes!

Here's November so far (it's embarrassing):
Nov. 1 - 0 (6am departure for VA Beach, work all day)
Nov. 2 - 8 / 58 minutes in Virgina Beach (woke up early, continued work on Glenn Nye's GOTV strategy)
Nov. 3 - 4 / 26 minutes (2 mile tempo and strider up Adam's Mill Hill)
Nov. 4 - 0 (Election Day)
Nov. 5 - 0 (Election Day hangover. No good excuse for not running, other than feeling like death, which is never a good excuse.)
Nov. 6 - 2 / 15 minutes (Easy run after getting home from canvassing absentee ballots in MD-01. Ran hard up Adam's Mill Hill.)
Nov. 7 - 1 mile in the morning before work. 4 miles after work easy in RCP (no watch)