RCP Pinehurst Loop

Time: 82:47
Distance: 12 mi.


A turn mid-way up the Western Ridge Trail, before the Pinehurst turn

Had a pretty hard time dragging my ass out of bed this morning, and felt like I was running through Tylenol PM sleepiness for about the first half of the run... which is probably because that is exactly what I was doing. I've lost almost all my training partners for one reason or another lately, and it's harder to get going without feeling like you'll be leaving someone waiting. Less than a month of (mostly) lonely training before I get back to Austin. And word on the street is the NCAA is finally reviewing my case for a 6th year in Cross Country this week.

Headed up the Western Ridge trail to the Pinehurst Trail, where I headed east and then zig-zagged back down on a few different trails, finishing by doing a little detour to get back on the Valley trail to Park Rd. to get enough time in.

Day Off

Not feeling so hot after last weekend. Ratio of fun and running to sleep was far too high. Looking forward to a quality dinner and good night sleep, then an AM run tomorrow.

Week in Review

Time: 605:45
Distance: 89 mi.

Pretty good week... happy to have new shoes, which has relieved general soreness. Tired by the end of the week, though, due to a few late nights. Would like to do 90+ the next few weeks and then take a down week the week I travel back to Austin, but got to pay attention to the body. Doing some strides / strength wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Goals for August: eat healthy (more protein, more iron, less crap during the day when I'm bored at work), get more fluids (I'm always bad at this... keeping cold water available is probably my best bet), and getting better sleep (in bed by 10!).

RCP Loops

Time: 115:16
Distance: 16.5 mi.

After a late night with the AR/XC boys in town, went on a run with Nick and Jean for the first little while and continued for most of it with Chetan Huded, a friend of Nick's from Chicago. Did a few different loops. Pretty dehydrated and tired. Pace was slow for pretty much the whole thing.

Beach Drive, Maryland

Time: 91:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.
Map


Deer are about as common as squirrels in RCP

Mid-afternoon run, which was a pretty hot/humid decision. Went straight up and back on Beach Drive. Eliot was down from NYC and decided to accommodate me and ride a bike along, which was pretty nice. I was pretty tired and dehydrated by the end, but didn't feel terrible. Top of my left foot was pretty sore earlier in the day (I've been tying the new shoes pretty tight) but didn't bother me during the run.

RCP South, Dumbarton Oaks

Time: 68:12
Distance: 10 mi.


The Italian Embassy, located near Dumbarton Oaks Park

Morning run heading south in RCP. Looped through Dumbarton Oaks Park and then zig-zagged back on the roads. Pretty uneventful. A bit tired... looking forward to the weekend.

Nat'l Mall, TR Island, C&O Towpath

Time: 82:14
Distance: 13 mi.


View from the Key Bridge, looking east

Ran from work down the Mall to TR Island where I picked up Chad, then headed further down the Mt. Vernon Bike Path and crossed the Key Bridge to get on the C&O Towpath... stayed on that until 15 min out from TR (Chad was shooting for 30 min) and then headed back. Ran quick out to meet him and then didn't slack off much even when we were running together.

Had "workout stomach" afterward. Not sure what that was all about.

Also not exactly loving these shoes... they're a bit bulky and soft, like a worse version of the Nimbus, maybe. Doing some late-stage pronation because of my orthotics.

RCP Superloop

Time: 95:00
Distance: 14 mi.
Map

Big day... the return of the mid-week medium-long run, the completion of the RCP Superloop, and new shoes (though for the record "buying shoes" for "full price" sucks).

RCP Superloop: connects the Western Ridge Trail and the Valley Trail making for 12 miles of trails on a 14 mile run. Most of it is pretty good except the southern section of the Valley Trail which is very technical (thus slow and prone to ankle-turning). The map provides a good idea of approximately where the trail goes, but is easily almost 2 miles short because of how much it oversimplifies.


Nike Air Max Moto+ 5

New Shoes: couldn't wait any longer, so I picked up a new pair of trainers at Fleet Feet in DC (owned by Mayor Fenty's family, incidentally). They didn't have a great selection, including no Elites, so I went with the Air Max Moto+ 5. They seem pretty good so far, but the cushioning is a little bit sloppy... I guess I'm used to a bit of a stiffer shoe. The upper fits very well, though.

Legs feel a little bit better, but it'll be a few days before they've really recovered from the dead shoes, I'm sure.

RCP Loops

Time: 68:00
Distance: 10 mi.

Dragged myself out of bed for a morning run... headed up the Western Ridge Trail and then looped around a little bit before heading home. Legs still feeling pretty dead... still running in old Elite 3s.

RCP Short Valley Trail Loop

Time: 43:39
Distance: 6 mi.

Another short easy jog after work... went nice and chill with Colin. Tired. Sore.

RCP

Time: 42:29
Distance: 6 mi.

Easy quick jog over to RCP. Tired. Sore. Saw Sandy and Scott Bastek from Georgetown and ran with them for a short bit before heading back home.

Week In Review

Time: 557:20
Distance: 82 mi.

Decent week of training, though my legs are definitely starting to feel pretty worn out. Hopefully new shoes will help. Building up at a healthy rate, and hopefully I can be up to 90+ for most of August. Really hoping to hear about eligibility for the fall soon so I can plan whether or not I should start doing some workouts for a mid-September 5k. About 560 miles on this pair of shoes.

RCP South, TR Island

Time: 116:20
Distance: 17.5 mi.
Map


The "Valor" statue on the D.C. side of the Arlington Memorial Bridge

Headed south in RCP, which means being on or along the paved path the entire way. It is far less hilly than the trails in the northern section, though. Ran down to Georgetown where the path hits the C&O Towpath; went east on the towpath to the Key Bridge; took the bike path on the Virginia side of the Potomac; went onto TR island for 20 minutes; then headed back around over Arlington Memorial Bridge, along the DC side of the Potomac; a little bit of the Towpath and then back up RCP.

Overall a good run, but hamstrings and quads were pretty tired by about an hour and I was pretty dehydrated by the end. Went to the well a little bit.

RCP Beach Drive, Western Ridge Trail

Time: 84:45
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Great AM run... decided to head back out on Beach Dr. to get some better rhythm and see a different perspective of RCP. Took it all the way right to the border of Maryland, which is where the Valley and Western Ridge trails meet... was at that point at 43 min (map of that section). Ran into Aunt Susan right after I turned onto the trail, which was pretty unexpected/random. Cruised back on the trail... which was surprisingly short. From the turn point it is about 55? mins home on the Valley Trail, and 43ish on both Beach Dr. and Western Ridge.

Legs still dead.

RCP Valley Trail, Beach Drive

Time: 82:00
Distance: 12 mi.


Beach Drive

Headed out Piney Branch to Park Rd. and got up on the Valley Trail. Took that north (with a minor bit of exploring) to the bridge just past 42 minutes and turned on the road to head back on the more even path next to it. Nice to be on the flat, but my shoes (and legs!) are DEAD. Had to add on a little bit as the way back was much faster.

RCP Western Ridge and Valley Trails

Time: 84:10
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Feeling quite a bit better this morning. Met Ben at the Klingle Bridge and headed north on the Western Ridge Trail. Crossed over the river to the Valley Trail to come back south. Could be a very nice loop if this was done a little bit higher up, though it includes the roughest section of the valley trail. Added on a bit at the end of the run up New Hampshire.

Lower legs are pretty dead from these shoes, which now have over 500 miles on them. Hopefully getting something new soon!

Piney Branch, RCP, Park Rd.

Time: 30:08
Distance: 4 mi.

Shuffled over to RCP and back this morning. Very tired. Will only go this afternoon if I'm feeling a bit peppier.

Nat'l Mall, TR Island

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12 mi.
Map


A section of the trail on Teddy Roosevelt island is a boardwalk

Run from work in the evening. Was going to try to get some time in this morning but slept through my alarm and had to put in a pretty early day. Kinda beat and it was hot as hell. I also believe that the air quality must've been terrible because deep breaths made me cough pretty bad afterwards. About 4 miles to the park, circled around there a bit, then went pretty much straight back.  A little soreness in my right patella about an hour in. Also some annoying... chafing.

RCP North, Western Ridge Trail

Time: 80:00
Distance: 11.5 mi.

Cathartic run after a long day at work. Met up with Ben Peisch on the Klingle bridge and headed north on some trails... ran into the Western Ridge Trail and took that back down south to the bridge. Feeling pretty good overall, beyond being tired.

Week In Review

Time: 485:24
Distance: 72 mi.

Overall a good week of training only somewhat derailed by calf problems resulting from last Sunday's "race." 72 miles in 6 days is pretty good, and I am feeling pretty good about running with nothing feeling like an injury. Better start figuring out how to get my hands on some shoes, as I've got about 475 mi. on this pair.

RCP Western Ridge Trail

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

Headed back out to the Western Ridge Trail for another long-ish run. Beautiful morning and the trail is so nice that I just wanted to keep running. Went out 47 min with a few detours and then headed back at a pretty decent pace for the trails. Had to add on about a minute once I got back. I really like this section of trail. Spent the rest of the day helping Seth move and with no power. Awesome.

Georgetown, RCP

Time: 101:24
Distance: 16 mi.

Georgetown's track from above

Met Sandy Roberts, Justin Scheid, Brandon Bonsey and a couple of Georgetown freshmen for a run starting near the school. Headed up north through Dumbarton and past the Zoo towards where I often run in RCP, then turned around. A bunch of them were just going 11, but Justin and I added on a bit more. Finished up with a few laps on their cool, but annoyingly short (320m) track and 6 x 100m strides.

Run was a bit quicker pace than I've been doing recently, but that was fine. Guys were very nice and it was fun to run with a group.

RCP Valley Trail

Time: 80:35
Distance: 11.5 mi.

Feeling groggy out the door, but felt surprisingly good in the second half... met Ben Peisch on the Klingle St. bridge and headed north to the Valley Trail. Followed the trail (which is pretty slow-going pace wise, but the steep up-and-downs keep a decent effort going) up just a bit past the park police station before turning around.

Day Off

Planned day off. Tired and legs feeling like they could use a recovery day.

RCP Western Ridge Trail

Time: 82:30
Distance: 12 mi.

Very beginning of the Western Ridge trail just past Pierce Mill

Finally getting to know the main trails rather than just looping around in RCP. Headed north on the Western Ridge Trail which winds up the west side of the park. Went out 45 minutes because I was exploring around a bit trying to figure out exactly where the trail went (and was having some mild stomach issues). Legs are feeling better, but calves are still sore. Trying to remember to keep the runs very easy.

RCP South, Dumbarton Oaks

Time: 70:30
Distance: 10 mi.

Morning run with Ben Peisch. My legs are still pretty shot, so we were running fairly slow. They warmed up a little bit, but still very stiff at the end.

Nat'l Mall, Tidal Baisin, Kennedy Center

Time: 60:30
Distance: 9 mi.
Map


The view west from the Capitol Building towards the Nat'l Mall

Capitol Hill loop that was really like a race between sprinklers. And by "race" I mean relatively slow run. The fabled DC humidity has arrived. Legs are VERY sore, especially calves, arches, and right piriformis-ish.

Piney Branch, RCP

Time: 30:00
Distance: 4 mi.

A very easy 4 mile morning run down the Piney Branch trail to RCP and then back. Calves and arches are very sore from yesterday's race. Getting in a car for 9 hours right afterwards probably didn't help. Planning on running on the Hill after work.

Week In Review

Time: 438:53
Distance: 64.5 mi.

Very good week. Happy to take a break in the middle but still get good distance in with a few double runs. Feeling very positive about running in general and happy with the "race."

About 400 miles on current shoes.

Cannonball Run 5k

Time: 65:30
Distance: 10 mi.
Race: Road 5k - 15:29 (1st)

Place    Name          City                Time       Pace
1    Owen Washburn                       15:29.0    5:00/M
2    Erik Nedeau     Belchertown  MA     16:12.0    5:14/M

Lucky to find this 5k in Belchertown this weekend... been feeling like I needed a bit of a hard effort for a while now. Thought Nedeau would probably be here and be the only competition, which was certainly the case. He took it out hard in the first mile which was mostly downhill and I followed him to just about 2 miles as the pace was still good and I didn't really know the course. Just before 2 miles there is a decently long (.3 mi according to the meet website) hill and I took it pretty hard up that back to the flat finish on the town common. Mile splits something like 4:40, 5:20, 5:00. Felt surprisingly easy and good given both no speed work and the long week of travel and lack of sleep I've had.

Full results here.

South Amherst Loop

Time: 49:20
Distance: 7 mi.

Easy double in South Amherst... okay to go a little farther, because I won't have a long run this week. Went on a very southern Amherst (into Belchertown?) run from chez Rosen with John, Bob, TAW and Brian Bissel. Pretty tired by the end and a little too close to eating, but a fine way to fulfill my one full day in Amherst.

Echo Hill, Amethyst Brook

Time: 60:20
Distance: 9 mi.



Nice morning run in Amherst. What a great place to run... went out on the Robert Frost Trail through Echo Hill to Amethyst Brook (~20 min) then headed north-ish on the Amethyst Brook trails for a little bit before winding my way back and heading back the way I came. Amazing how much I remember these trails despite not having run them much in the last few years. Won't have a long run this week, but will double this afternoon. That will work out fine if I end up racing in Belchertown tomorrow.

Benefit St., Riverwalk, Brown

Time: 67:06
Distance: 10 mi.


Benefit Street, one of my favorite roads in Providence

Another nice run in Providence with Tarpy and Ozzie (for the first 7 mi.). Kept the pace nice and chill, and it was decently humid out. Feeling tired from travel/lack of sleep, but very excited about running in general. No major physical complaints.

Brown Stadium Loop

Time: 34:00
Distance: 5 mi.

Easy morning run from the Barnes St. house on a classic morning run loop down Hope to the end of the Boulevard, back past the Brown Stadium and around the OMAC.

St. Ray's, Brown

Time: 67:38
Distance: 10 mi.


The Blackstone Boulevard, a staple of many Providence runs

Pretty beat this morning, but after a midday nap saddled up for a 10 miler with a bunch of the current Brown boys and Tarpy. Ran the 8 mile St. Ray's as some of the boys were only going that far and then added on a couple miles around campus with Tarpy to round out for 10. Tired, but legs felt quite refreshed from the last few days off, which is good. This run probably brings my St. Ray's/St. Jay's/McCoy total to 1,242.

Day Off

Fourth of July in Boston. Okay to take the day off.

Day Off

Taking the day off as I'm a bit tired and have a serious day of travel ahead of me.

Short RCP and Neighborhood Loop

Time: 30:19
Distance: 4 mi.

Easy post-run jog with Colin. Tired, but felt good to shake out.

RCP North

Time: 65:00
Distance: 9.5 mi.

AM run started as a bit of a shuffle... legs/back feeling a bit stiff this morning. Headed out and did some of the usual trails heading north in RCP. Towards the end of the run I ran into this kid (wow the Drake website sucks) who runs for Drake and is here working for one of the Iowa senators. Planning on an easy shakeout with Colin after work this evening.

Week In Review

Time: 523:02
Distance: 77.5 mi.

Pretty good week, found some nice new places to run... enjoyed running around the Nat'l Mall and today's long run was great... nice to have a long run that's not just randomly looping around. Physically feeling pretty good except for some back tightness that seems to be resolving itself. Not sure exactly how next week will go... looks like I'm doing a Tour d'New England. Looking forward to hitting up some classic PVD and Amherst runs.

RCP Valley Trail

Time: 110:33
Distance: 16.5 mi.



Found a great new trail up the east side of RCP that runs straight up to Maryland. I made it almost all the way there (55:30 out) but stopped where the trail hit where Beach Drive comes into the park. Not hard to follow at all... blue blazes all along the way. Longest run in quite a while and I've been a bit tired (and dehydrated) but it was a beautiful day and I was feeling it, bigtime. Great run. Legs were pretty dead by the end, but not as bad as I thought it might be.