6/24 - 6/27

Training so far this week has been hard but I feel as though I’m continuing to make progress.  Monday was 8 miles in the evening after work.  I decided not to run until the evening so give myself a little more rest from the traveling and my cold / sinus infection, which always feels worse in the morning.  The 8 miles weren’t bad as I explored a new neighborhood in Ashburn.  I weighed 155.0 in the AM.

Tuesday was a 12 miles in the morning and overall I felt good holding under 7min miles but I did notice my knee was starting to hurt a bit.  I found I could alleviate the pain by stopping to stretch, so that kept me going.  I was tired after the run and felt like I couldn’t regulate my body temperature all morning at work. Weight was 153.0.

Wednesday was 13+ on the cider path of the W&OD and it was unpleasant.  I ran in the evening and it was deceptively hot and humid out.  I was running out and back and due to the mile markers I knew I was running slow, dropping to 7:30 pace at times.  My right knee and achilles both bothered me a little bit from time to time but I pushed through and stopped quickly  to stretch when I started to feel it more.  There is only one water fountain when I run South so I looked forward to visiting it both directions.  I was hurting but managed to make it 6.5mi out, meaning there was no cutting this short.  It was a survival run home.  I covered the distance in 1:34.  I felt slow and unathletic but was proud of myself for running 13 miles when I wasn’t feeling good.  I believe doing that every so often is good to preparation for pushing through pain in races.  Weight was 153.0 again.

Thursday AM was 8 miles again though Brambleton.  I moved along a lot better than the previous evening but still felt a little tired and overheated.  I could have been worse because luckily the weather was slightly cooler and less humid because I started running soon after it rained.  When I‘m fat and trying to get back to race weight (like now), I always weigh myself around the same time every day, which is before I run.  That consistency helps me determine if I’m actually losing weight.  Today was 150.8 but I was sweating a lot during the run I was curious what my post-run weight would be.  It was 149.0 and I have to admit, even though this wasn’t my official weight, it was nice to see 140s on the scale again, especially after seeing 160s a couple weeks earlier.

NYC

Emily came home to relieve me of watching Lily Wednesday evening so I was able to go out for an "easy" 10.  Nothing's really easy in the summer when you're overweight and out of shape.  I was wiped out but the knee is holding.  Both kids were doing better after getting on the meds (although both may needs tubes in their ears), so I was able to head out to NYC early Thursday as planned.  My weight was 152.0 in the AM.

Thursday was a travel day.  I woke up before 4 AM and traveled for a few hours before checking in at the hotel and heading up to Columbia - the main purpose of this trip was to introduce a recruit to the coaches.  Overall the 4 days in the city were great.  I got to see a lot of Columbia, a lot of MTC, and hang out with my sister as well who was randomly in the city at the same time as me.  A lot of the MTC guys have kids now or are having kids soon, so some things have changed, but we still had a nice crew for our weekend runs.  I got in 10 solo on Friday, and runs of 11 and 12 with the guys.  I also did a ton of walking and one session of strength training.  Friday alone I must have walked close to 8 miles by my calculation.  It was great to run in Central Park again too.  I'm feeling good except for battling a cold and dealing with some aches and pains -the knee was a little sore at times as well as right achilles and ankle (which I turned on Sunday's run).  I'm not the young runner I once was but I worked hard this week with over 60 miles of running.  It was difficult but I definitely feel like I'm making gains for the first time in a while.  

10 after work

I headed over to the W&OD trail after work planning on 10 miles on the cinder path to the side of the paved trail.  I got started around 6:30 and luckily it was rainly lightly which helped with the temperature and allergens. I ran 10+ miles in 69 minutes and while uncomfortable at times, it felt good to be out there working hard.  I could feel my knee but it wasn't really bothering me. I kept up the routine of ice and ibuprofen and did some strength training during halftime of the USMNT WCQ win. I weighed 153.6 in the AM.

Lily got sick last night so I didn't run in the AM as planned. I took Lily to the doctor and then stayed home with her.  Hopefully I can run tonight because I'm traveling to NYC and hoping to take Thursday off.

Coming Back Again

A lot has happened in the year + since I’ve posted last.  There was the incredible high of welcoming my 2^nd daughter, Juliet, to the world in September.  There was also the devastating low of losing teammate Lauren Woodall Roady.  I’ve already written some abut this before, so I won’t go into detail on this blog now.  Losing Lauren was tough but seeing how much she loved running and how hard she worked at it, made me refocus on my priorities, including running.  That focus, and the honor of running with the GRC, really helped me get back into shape after the break I had around Juliet’s birth.  However, a series of viruses and infections went around my family this winter and derailed my training.  When coming back from that injury I suffered a stress fracture in my cuboid bone and peroneal tendinopathy in my left foot.  That took me out for a while and then I hurt my right knee (patella tendinopathy) when I could finally run again.  That leads me to now – battling the lingering pain in my knee, out of shape, overweight, and feeling old.  So I’m using this blog to motivate myself to work hard enough for another stretch of competitive running with the GRC.  Ideally I’ll stay healthy enough for a fit club nationals XC race and some road PRs before I hang ‘em up for good.  Whatever happens, I’m going to focus on having fun and running with my team.  Running was taken a backseat to my 2 kids, wife, and career.  It’s harder to train now, but I love it and will work hard to make it work.  I’ll always have running in my life (coaching, hobby jogging, etc) but I’ll see if I can steal a little more time for competitive racing.  This blog will also serve to keep my friends and family updated on the comeback.

Monday (6/17) was a double.  I ran 10 miles total 4 in the AM and 6 in the PM with Lily in the jogging stroller.  The second run was especially hard with the stroller and the heat.  I iced my knee after both runs.  I weighed 157.0 in the morning.  I have a long way to go but am looking forward to the challenge ahead of me.