Saturday, June 30, 2007

Opulence, Dumbarton Oaks, RCP

Time: 67:30
Distance: 10 mi.

Started off with Colin on his "opulence run" which goes through some very ritzy neighborhoods towards Dupont Circle. I split off from him at about 3 miles and headed to the Dumbarton Oaks trails and into Rock Creek Park. This was an ill-timed run, however, and so I had to make a serious pit stop at the zoo at about 40 minutes. From there headed north, did another RCP loop and came back Piney Creek.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Nat'l Mall, White House, Tidal Basin

Time: 62:00
Distance: 9.5 mi.


The Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial from the Tidal Basin path

Morning run from NGA because... we don't have water at our house. Pretty chill pace through 30 minutes out past the White House and to the Tidal Basin, then threw in 10x1 min hard, 1 min easy to continue my one-week old tradition of switching the pace up a bit on Fridays. Form feels a little off... back and hamstrings are tight, but no specific physical complaints.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Nat'l Mall, TR Island

Time: 71:25
Distance: 10.5



The memorial in the middle of Theodore Roosevelt Island

Post-Hitchens/Hardball run after work. Went out on the Mall past the Lincoln Memorial and across the river to TR Island. Took a bridge too far east so there was a bit of freeway crossing on the way out but I figured it out on the way back. TR Island is gorgeous and nice and cool. Running pretty easy.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

RCP South, Dumbarton Oaks Park

Time: 72:32
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Morning run south in RCP to try and make a nice loop or at least explore the Dumbarton Oaks Park area. Ran straight through RCP down there, stumbled around on a few trails and around Montrose Park and Dumbarton Oaks Park and then zig-zagged back on the road and some trails. A bit tired, kept the pace slow. Was in bed very early last night, though, so hopefully if I can do that a bit this week I'll feel a bit sharper.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Hazen, RCP North, Pine Branch

Time: 77:00
Distance: 11 mi.

Easy morning run with Peisch. Have to be a little bit more realistic about the pace I'm running in RCP, regardless of effort. We took it pretty easy, and despite being dehydrated I felt pretty good. Came in on Park Rd., went on some of the west trails in the Hazen offshoot and then headed to some of the RCP northern trails. Returned home on the Pine Branch trail to Monroe St.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Capitol Hill Loop

Time: 62:00
Distance: 9.5 mi.
Map


The view east towards the U.S. Capitol building

Post-work run from NGA. It was hot, but running around the Capitol and the National Mall is pretty amazing. This particular loop included the Capitol Building, the National Mall, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, the FDR Memorial, the Korean and Vietnam War memorials, and the Lincoln Memorial. Ran into Ben Peisch mid-run and he finished up with me before heading back towards the Washington Post building. Feeling okay, but very dehydrated.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Week in Review

Time: 483:15
Distance: 72 mi.

72 miles in 6 days isn't shabby, but it's also not that smart. Banged it out the last three days of this week and feeling a little run down as I haven't been living a good recovery lifestyle. Left hamstring / glute / back are sore as well as the inside of my right hamstring. Should stretch more. Next week I will try to be comfortable at 75-80 miles. Do not be afraid to do easy runs. Probably about 250 miles on my current shoes.

Month recap: 50, 31.5, 61, 72 (214.5)

Chesapeake and Ohio Towpath

Time: 80:33
Distance: 12.5 mi.
Map


The beginning of the towpath in Georgetown

Decided to head down to the towpath, which starts in Georgetown and goes 185 miles into Maryland. Needless to say, I didn't make it quite that far. Quite different from most of the hilly runs I've been doing--it is totally flat and really easy to roll. Didn't feel as good as I would've liked running 6:20 miles... definitely haven't been recovering well as I've been dehydrated and not getting enough sleep. Left hamstring very tight.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

RCP North

Time: 94:00
Distance: 14 mi.

Met up with the Saturday morning NESCAC group: Bogden, Reinauer, Peisch and Hughes. A bit tired from last night, but we kept things pretty chill, which felt good. Had a much better handle on where we were going this week. Added on a little bit to make it 14.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Street Loop

Time: 35:40
Distance: 5 mi.

Easy evening post-work loop on the streets with Colin. Overall this felt fine. Back was better, felt good to shake out.

Pine Branch, Hazen, RCP North

Time: 62:24
Distance: 9.5 mi.

Found a better route down to the park up in the Pine Branch Park offshoot. Then ran through the Hazen Park offshoot on the other side to Connecticut which I took to Tilden which led me to the main RCP north trails for the rest of the run. At about 40:00 I included the classic 15 x 30/30 fartlek on some pretty hilly sections. Somewhat glorified strides, but it was good to get moving. Only physical complaint is my glute/lower back on the left side which has been feeling very stiff and a bit sciatic-ish. Good stretching seems to relieve this somewhat.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Day off

Had to be at work early, so I didn't run in the AM and feeling pretty tired by the evening when I got home. Happy to take the day off.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Runs to consider


The Howard Univ. track is just north of the main campus

Other runs to consider...

  • RunDC has a very similar version of the run I did today run called "Dumbarton Oaks" which might be good to make this a standard run here. From 1031 Park it could look something like this.
  • Also thanks to Google Maps, I found Howard University's track, just shy of a mile from my house... could be a good place to end some runs with some strides.
  • Finally, a run to TR Island from the 1031 Park (14-15 mi.) is in order at some point.

RCP South Loop

Time: 60:44
Distance: 9 mi.
Map

Pretty easy run south in RCP... tried to find my way a little bit, but am relatively unsure of things down there still. There is a section of trail about 3 miles in, but this direction is mostly road. The map is very approximate, especially as to where I turned around (and after I did a few short out-and-back sections to see what I could find around there). Inside of right hamstring was pretty tight at the beginning, but it loosened up. A little stretching afterwards... also feeling like I should do some strides a few times every week.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

RCP North

Time: 80:00
Distance: 11.5 mi.

Met Ben Peisch (now that all my training partners are NESCAC alums... not that that's a bad thing) for a run in RCP. Met at the Klingle Rd. bridge (10 mins in) and headed north on the trails... this was about 50% trails I've run before (75% of the run was soft surfaces). The pace was very chill the whole way... ~7 min pace, but legs felt great after 80 minutes, which was nice. Only a little stretching afterwards.

Monday, June 18, 2007

RCP North, NH

Time: 70:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Headed north in RCP to explore the trails again some more. I still find it amazing how much there is out there. I ran at least 75% of this run on trails, which could've been more but once I was out 40 minutes I had to find a relatively fast way home. The runs in these trails are VERY hilly, which is nice but puts some stress on the body. Hip flexors a little bit tight, but feeling good other than that. Got some okay stretching in post-run.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Week In Review

Time: 408:14
Distance: 61 mi.

After one week in DC, I'm pretty excited about running here this summer. It will definitely take some time to get into a routine, but I have good places to run and people to run with. What more do you need? Feeling physically pretty good by Sunday.

TR Island, Georgetown

Time: 40:00
Distance: 6 mi.
Map (very approximate)


Georgetown, the Potomac, Roosevelt Island

Met Chad and his friend Scott for a run from the Theodore Roosevelt Island parking lot around Memorial Bridge, through Georgetown near the river (not sure exactly where we went in here, but it was nicer/farther than I mapped out) and then back Key Bridge and back to TR Island. They dropped off and I went for one loop on the island, which seems to be just about 10 minutes of running. A little shorter than I probably would've normally gone, but feeling good and happy to be feeling good.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

RCP North

Time: 105:35
Distance: 16 mi.


Miles of trails.

Mid-morning run with Bogden and another of his Colby brethren, Eric Reinauer. We met at the Pierce Mill (in RCP) and pursued what is apparently their usual exploritory plan of attack for longer runs here. This suited me fine for the first 12 miles, which is what we were shooting for, but after another 25 minutes I was getting pretty tired. Overall it was a good run, but it was a bit of a jump up from what I was planning. Pretty hard to judge pace/distance, but I think it was about 16.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Short RCP Loop

Time: 28:03
Distance: 4 mi.

Stumbled through a slow morning run--feeling pretty tired. Right peroneal somewhat sore... I'm thinking it's the fancy-shmancy shoes for work, so I might have to do some surgery on these guys. Not sure if I'm going to head out again this afternoon, but a 30 minute day would be fine right now.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

RCP Parkway South

Time: 63:17
Distance: 9.5 mi.
Map


Taft Bridge, along the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway

Headed south on the paved path which follows the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway through RCP down towards Capitol Hill. Didn't make it all the way there, but I was near Dupont Circle without even knowing it. Starting to feel like a runner again. Hamstrings sore. (I couldn't have mapped this quite right... hard to see the trail and it winds around a lot.)

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Rock Creek Park

Time: 60:03
Distance: 9 mi.


A paved section of trail in Rock Creek Park.

Trying to get into a good routine, as this is my first day of work... alarm set at 6:15, running from 6:25ish to 7:30ish, on the metro by 8:20, at work by 9:00. Given how this morning went, might have to wake up a little earlier to be safe. Went back to Rock Creek Park (RCP) to explore north this time and found even nicer trails than yesterday. It was almost Amethyst-esq, and I even saw some deer. Beautiful morning, and once I woke up a bit, I felt decent. Soft surfaces for 6+ miles. Hopefully in the next week or so I'll develop some basic loops. Will be trying to do at least 10 minutes of stretching after every run for a while, and will note when I do on the log.

Rock Creek Park, New Hampshire

Time: 51:17
Distance: 7.5 mi.

First run from my new house in Columbia Heights. Went in the eveningwith Colin so he could show me around a little bit (and because I was being lazy as sin), which kept the pace pretty chill. It's almost exactly a mile west on Park Rd. to Rock Creek Park, which is a pretty amazing place... like a bigger and more rural Central Park, almost. I see myself doing at least half of my running this summer here. We headed south on the west side of the park and then looped around on the road somehow. It will be a little while before I get the geography around here. Finished up by myself with a good add-on which goes north on New Hampshire to the circle and back (almost exactly 2 miles total).

Monday, June 11, 2007

Wilson Blvd.

Time: 60:19
Distance: 9 mi.
Map

Early morning run, again on not quite enough sleep. Ran from Bogden's house in Arlington to the Key Bridge and back on Wilson Blvd. Feeling tired, but it was nice out. Ran pretty much out and back by myself, but winded around a bit trying to figure out where I was going and added on a little bit at the end.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Week in Review

Time: 3:30:08
Distance: 31.5
Runs: 5

Down week by virtue of travel, which is fine. Haven't been sleeping well, and have been driving a lot which made me stiff, but overall no complaints. Should be back to 6-7 runs next week with a longer run depending on the extent to which I'm able to get into some sort of routine. It's been nice running with Taylor and the trip itself was pretty fun.

Great Falls Park

Time: 41:07
Distance: 6 mi.


The falls at the turn around point.

After an epic night of driving and about 3 hours of sleep at Steve Bogden's house in Arlington, VA we all headed out for a morning run at Great Falls Park. This place looks really nice and could definitely be a good spot for moderately long runs. Pretty tired, but enjoyed the run.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Little Rock

Time: 40:57
Distance: 6 mi.

Day two of the trip landed us at the Cochrine's house in Little Rock, AR. After a decent night's sleep at their house, Taylor and I went for a nice run in Aslopp Park, which is their house. It was a bit hilly and we weren't blazing, but it was overall a good run. Body, particularly hips still a bit tight, but 6-8 hours of driving isn't helping!

Friday, June 8, 2007

Day Off


The road is fuckin' hard,
The road is fuckin' tough,
There's no question that
It is rough, rough stuff.
-Tenacious D, "The Road"

This is certainly true when it comes to running and days of 9+ hours of driving. Happy to take this off, but looking forward to routine (not sure when that will be). Made it from Caprock Canyons (near Amarillo, TX) to Little Rock, AR. Would like to get in 10+ miles at least one of the next two days.

Caprock Canyons

Time: 47:18
Distance: 7 mi.



The road trip has begun... after 500 miles of driving from Austin to the Caprock Canyons State Park, Taylor and I went on a pretty easy run, but our tough desert surroundings took their toll. Dehydration, killer flies and the hot sun all made this a bit tough.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Greenbelt

Time: 37:18
Distance: 5.5 mi.



Nice easy jog on the Greenbelt with TAW. Water was very high, so there was some mid-run swimming which was nice. Strangeness continues with right calf.

Day Off

A (somewhat) planned day off. Will be in Washington, D.C. for the summer!

Monday, June 4, 2007

East Town Lake

Time: 45:28
Distance: 7 mi.

Pretty easy AM run from RunTex around the east side of Town Lake. Hips and legs stiff, especially right calf which is feeling weird... very sore. Feeling good about running.

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Week In Review

Time: 5:28:33
Distance: 50 mi.
Runs: 6

A day-at-a-time week, so it was fine despite random workouts and no long runs. Back has been sore and legs have been stiff... not feeling sharp. Also haven't been sleeping soundly this week, which I guess continues a bit of a trend throughout the spring.

Day Off

The guys took off for nationals today, I'm feeling a little bit beat up, and I haven't taken a day off in a long time. Given the end of the season, makes sense for me.

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Track Workout: Fast 400s

Time: 50:00
Distance: 7.5 mi.


Myers Track, University of Texas

3x400m in 55 with 4 minutes (full) rest, to pace Darren. Pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to do 55s, so I just got him through 2-300 on pace and he finished it off. I went 56, 56, 58 feeling about how I expected (he went 55, 55, 53).

Right calf is still feeling a bit funny, almost like a nerve-type thing. Last college track practice. Not sure when I'll work out at Myers again...

Friday, June 1, 2007

Mt. Bonnell, Balcones

Time: 57:14
Distance: 8.5 mi.
Map


The view from the top of Mt. Bonnell

Straight to Mt. Bonnell, over it and back Balcones. Did not take Bonnell hard at all. Not feeling a lot of "pop" in the legs these days. Probably a combination of not sleeping great and being quite dehydrated. Must work on those things as I get the routine back.