Time: 67:45
Distance: 10 mi.
I ran by my new digs at Brookings on Massachusetts Avenue near Dupont
Back at it and feeling positive. My left hip flexor was more sore than I would've liked, but I was happy overall. I ran down through Rock Creek Park and popped out in the city to run through Dupont Circle and back up Florida and 16th Ave. In order to get a full 10 miles, which was my goal for the run, I added on a bit to Spring Road.
Time: 49:24
Distance: 7 mi.
Easy morning run down Florida Ave. to southern RCP and back through the park with Ben Clark and his friend Jeff. I was a bit tired from a long week, but it was good to have company. Good brunch afterwards.
Time: 31:13
Easy loop through RCP. Hamstring was tight the whole run. Hip flexor okay.
I haven't been stretching enough this week.
Time: 33:23
Easy evening run towards Adams Morgan, through the Zoo and back through RCP. I thought this loop was a bit shorter, and I have been bored doing out-and-backs in the neighborhood so I figured I would do something a little different. Legs weren't as bad as I expected--hamstring was tight but not sore, and hip flexor started to get sore and tighten up at about 25 minutes.
Stretching: Hamstring stretches with the rope.
Time: 22:56
Easy morning jog with Nick towards RCP and on the Piney Branch trail. Hamstring and hip flexor both tight and a little sore.
No stretching, because brunch was a bigger priority.
Time: 49:18
Distance: 7.25 mi.
In the minutes, hours and few days following the marathon, my right hamstring was tight and very sore. In fact, I spent most of the race day using a long squeegee as a cane. I wasn't particularly surprised that it hurt, but once I wasn't using it in the last few weeks off, I didn't really feel it. I didn't do anything to try to address whatever was wrong with it though, and after just two days back I can see that it isn't in great shape. Fairly quickly in this run it was very tight and sore again, and I had to take it very easy on every hill along the way. I was clearly compensating for it, as my left hip flexor and right calf got pretty sore as well.
Other than that, it was a decent run on a fairly nice afternoon. I ran up through RCP to Broad Branch, then took Brandywine out to Connecticut near Van Ness. I followed Connecticut (and the Red Line) back to the Zoo and then ran straight home.
Time: 69:00
Distance: 10.25 mi.
Map
Montrose Park, which connects RCP with Georgetown (and a shameless plug for my Flickr photostream)
Easy morning run in some light snow. I was definitely in the overthinking-the-pain mindset that Jordan and I talked about recently, in which it is difficult to know how much a small injury is nagging because you can't get your mind off it for one step. I think I was completely pain free in my left sesamoid until 50-55 minutes and then it started to get a little bit sore. The run took me south in RCP through Montrose Park around Georgetown and all the way back up. I cut out of Rock Creek Park a little bit early and ran back by way of Columbia Road rather than finishing up Klingle Road when I started to feel some soreness in my food.
I ran with a mix of eclectic hip hop on shuffle. This included Ratatat's two volumes of remixes which have some nice twists on rap classics (from the era of when Kanye was a rapper and older), and the new N.A.S.A. album The Spirit of Apollo which features performers ranging from Ol' Dirty Bastard to Tom Waits.
Time: 135:00
Distance: 20 mi.
I managed to find company for all of my last long run before the Austin Marathon. I met up with Max at the beginning of the run, and we picked up Rosen at about one hour into it. Max dropped off around 90 minutes and I ran with Jon most of the way back to his house. I first went West in the park, then once we picked up Jon up and down Beach Drive.
I felt fairly good throughout the run, except for at about 100 minutes when my left sesamoid became quite sore in a very short period of time. I definitely had to alter my stride and foot strike to keep the pressure off of it. I can't think what might have brought this on, other than the more minimal midsole of the Lunatrainer catching up with me after having worn it for the last week. I hope this is not the case, as the shoes have seemed great so far.
Time: 98:30
Distance: 14.25 mi.
Target: 12 x ~400m hill (actually about 380-390m) with descending effort, try to keep downhill rest at a decent clip (100%?)
Workout: 95, 94.5, 93.7, 92.3 (avg: 93.9); 91.3, 87.8, 90.2, 88.3 (avg: 89.4); 88.5, 88.6, 85.7, 85.9 (avg: 87.2)
Looking up the hill on Grant Road
Early afternoon workout on Grant Road on the western side of Rock Creek Park. I ran up this hill yesterday when trying to avoid Ridge Road which was unplowed, and figured that it would be a good place for a longish hill workout. Today I warmed up over Ridge Road, only to find that a lot of it still had ice and snow making for a very slow warmup.
To get the distance for the hills, I ran 95 seconds up Grant Road at a moderate effort. The goal for the rest of the workout would be to bring that time down 7-10 seconds, which I successfully did. Despite feeling the effort pretty well even on the first interval I was recovering very quickly and the recovery of running all the way down seemed excessive. Not a lot you can do about that on a hill workout like this, though, and I tried to keep the pace downhill fairly honest (90-100 seconds). My right hamstring was a little tight and sore from the get-go, but it didn't get any worse in the course of the workout.
Midway through the workout as I was getting ready to head up for an interval my mind flashed back to a high school pre-race chant, inspired by the film Gallipoli. I was hoping that I could find the clip online, but it doesn't seem to be out there. Anyway... it brings back great memories.
Coach Gould: What are your legs?It is a great movie. Go see it.
Team: Springs! Steel Springs!
Gould: What are they going to do?
Team: Hurl me across the course!
Gould: How fast can you run?
Team: As fast as a leopard!
Gould: How fast are you going to run?
Team: As fast as a leopard!
Gould: Then let's see you do it!
All: Go 'Canes!
Time: 61:30
Distance: 9 mi.
If I had to describe this run with the title of a famous Broadway play, it would be Les Miserables. Taking yesterday off was a tactical error. The weather continued to degenerate over the last 36 hours from light snow to sleet, ice slush, and freezing rain. After putting this run off all day hoping for at least the ice that was all over the streets, sidewalks and trails would melt I headed out the door just before sunset. The sunset itself that I saw near Military Road in RCP was the saving grace of this run, which was totally unexpected given the freezing rain that was falling as I headed out the door. My out-and-back run went through the roads of Rock Creek Park up to Oregon Road for a bit and then straight back. I had to put up with some obnoxious drivers who didn't like the fact that I was running on the road rather than the icy and uncleared sidewalks.
Time: 83:33
Distance: 12 mi.
Map (approximate w/o trails)
The Washington Monument at night
Evening run with Rosen looping through Rock Creek Park, a bit of Georgetown, the National Mall and back through downtown DC. My legs were only a little bit sore, which I was happy about, and it was great to have company. I wasn't planning to go quite this far, but we were running easy and I was feeling good.
Time: 50:30
Distance: 7 mi.
The pandas were one of the few animals out this morning
Easy run through Rock Creek Park to Tilden Road, up to Connecticut and back through the National Zoo and Adams Morgan. Legs are still very stiff, so I cut it a bit short. It's going to be under 20 deg F tomorrow for the half marathon. Great!
Time: 91:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.
Map
The Valley Trail along Rock Creek
I got out this afternoon for my favorite loop through Rock Creek Park, which includes 9 miles of great trails (connecting the Valley and Western Ridge trails and loops up to the Maryland border. I kept the pace easy throughout, and was surprised to see that I averaged 6:40s when I mapped it out (thanks to the "topo" view of Google Maps, which shows the trails in RCP).
Time: 125:17
Distance: 20 mi.
Map
Target: progression steady long run, getting down just below 6:00 pace and going 20 miles
Run: 4.65 miles north through RCP in 33:27 (7:11 pace); 15.35 miles around Capital Crescent Trail in 92:00 (5:59 average with measured miles on the CCT--from miles 7-14--in 6:20, 5:57, 5:52, 5:51, 5:48, 5:49, 5:52)
The Dalecarlia Tunnel over the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda, MD
I started off running with Rosen from Pierce Mill. He ran with me for the first 30 minutes and then turned back to do an out-and-back. This great loop, which measures exactly 20 miles, connects the full length of RCP on Beach Drive with the Capital Crescent Trail. Once I crossed the Maryland border, just beyond 4.5 miles into the run, I started picking up the pace a bit. Because I am probably running the Manhattan Half Marathon (or a half marathon simulation) next weekend, I wanted to do a steadier run than last weekend without going to the well. I got down to about 6:20 pace by the time I got on the CCT and then tried to keep the rest of the run just a bit below 6:00 pace. My legs were beat from the get-go (I really need new shoes... are you reading this Jordan?) and got sore and tired as it went on, but I felt fantastic aerobically. Despite being tired at the end, I recovered very quickly.
Time: 88:00 (?)
Distance: 12.75 mi.
Map (approximate)
Today's National Weather Service wind-chill advisory states, "If you must venture outdoors, make sure to wear a hat and gloves." Well, I decided that two pairs of gloves were probably in order as the temperature was 12 deg. F, feels like -1 deg. F as I was heading out the door. Despite my being bundled up, I was pretty cold and honestly, a bit miserable, throughout the run. My legs felt stiff the whole way, my face was frozen, and my left sesamoid was sore by the end.
I was happy to find a good loop through the Archibald and Glover trails, the Chesapeake and Ohio towpath and back through Rock Creek Park, though, which could become a regular jaunt.
Time: 86:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.
Pierce Mill, where Tilden crosses Rock Creek Park
Very nice afternoon distance run with Jon Rosen, who just moved to DC. I met him at his place in Adams Morgan (exactly one mile into the run) and we ran north in Rock Creek Park so I could show him some of the trails up there. We went up the Western Ridge Trail and then came back through the middle trail to give him 10+ miles and me 12+. It was great to have company today to take my mind off the miles and the cold.
Time: 60:00
Distance: 9 mi.
Easy evening run from Columbia Heights south through Rock Creek Park to Dupont Circle. I looped around the White House and headed back up 14th Street. My legs are a little bit tired, and my sesamoids are sore on both sides... I think it's time for some new shoes.
I did get to listen to Face Control, the new Handsome Furs album which Brian let me know was out in the wild. Like their last album, Plague Park, it is a little bit stark, but good for a night run in the city.
I also registered for the Austin Marathon today, and booked tickets. This is really happening.
Time: 63:20
Distance: 9 mi.
I spent my last morning of this trip to Washington, DC looping around the National Zoo and the southern part of Rock Creek Park before running back through the Kalorama and Adams Morgan neighborhoods. Most of the exhibits weren't open this early, but I did see a Zebra and an Emu wandering around. My legs are pretty shot from yesterday's run.
Time: 61:40
Distance: 9 mi.
Loopy early evening run around northwest DC. I did a 40 minute loop around to Connecticut and back through Rock Creek Park and then picked up Colin (who is coming back from an ab injury) for the last 3 miles or so.
