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.

 

Rough Weekend (5/5 - 5/6)

I felt terrible on run Friday evening and woke up Saturday sore but still decided to run a low-key 5K trying to steal some prize money while working out.  Well a recent college grad who had run 14:16 a couple weeks earlier showed up and took the win after he dropped me shortly after the mile mark.  I struggled to maintain tempo pace and chalked it up to being tired and sore from running a lot and not sleeping much the past couple of days.  I also wanted to take it pretty easy so I could run my real workout of the weekend, a steady 20-mile run the next day.

Well that 20 mile run was awful.  I felt even worse, and instead of running a hard 20, I only ran 14 and was crushed by it.  My weekly mileage was around 85.  Later that night, I realized I was getting sick.  I developed a fever of 101 and had chills and body soreness.  I was in rough shape.  Em got sick too which made things really rough at home - and scary too cause fevers in pregnancy can be dangerous.  I thought we had avoided getting what Lily got, but once again, I caught a virus that Lily brought home and this time it got Em too.

I knew I was going to need to take 1-2 days off, get healthy, and then try to come back strong.  I'd like to run easy Tuesday and do a light workout Wednesday, but I'll play it safe.  In a way I'm actually glad there was a legitimate reason for running so poorly this weekend.

Friday the 4th

Ran 14 in two runs - first double in a long time. Lily has been sick so I only got about 30 minutes sleep the night before. She was feeling better in the evening so I took her out for my second run. Our running stroller has a wheel issue which causes it to shake at higher speeds. The second run was slow and painful. I felt tired and sore today.

Thursday 5/3

Had a good 13 mile run at Cabin John with Jake, Mike Smith, and Jimmy.  Lily has been sick so it’s been rough balancing everything lately, especially because my sleep has suffered.  Despite all that, I am healthy and consistently gaining fitness.

Wednesday Workout - 5/2

Easy 6x1200m workout at AU. 2@75, 2@73, 2@71. We ran on pace or faster for every one. It felt awkwardly slow for the most part but I had some lingering tightness and stomach pain from the race. 11 miles on the day. Another good day overall.

Tuesday May 1st

Ran another 12 in the AM with Jake (it was his birthday) and Jimmy. I had to wake up at 5:30, heading out the door and into the rain by 6, so I could get in a decent run and still be on-time for an offsite work meeting. My stomach has bothering me since the race, but my legs are feeling alright. I'm sore but I'm recovering well.

Mon. 4-30

12 easy post-race with NBDP. Feeling sore and tight in hamstring / hip area but it's manageable. Overall I feel better than I thought I would.

Sunday 4/29 – Pike’s Peek 10K

I woke Sunday morning immediately excited and nervous for the race. Jake picked me up at 6:20 and we drove up the Pike to the start. It was strange to be able to drive so quickly along Rockville Pike – a road I usually avoid because of congestion. I was glad to have Jake around to talk strategy with and ease my mind. After speaking with him, I knew I wanted to be aggressive and take some risks. I was feeling good the last couple of weeks and I would rather try to go for something fast (with a chance I would blow up) than to run 31 minutes conservatively. The outstanding performance by Sam (29:37 10K at Penn) had me feeling energized. The weather was cool and the rain from the night before had washed away much of the allergens from the air. This was a no-excuses course with no-excuses weather.

My risk to go out fast paid off (mostly) – I had a good race but I didn’t have the pack to help pull me along. I got out hard but reasonably in 4:45 and was already solo at that point. I was hoping I would have some others at my pace to run with or at least some guys getting out over their heads that I could follow early –on. The East Africans had already gapped me (and were pulling further away) and I was already engaged in the battle to race against myself and the clock by that point. I got into a good rhythm and was content to focus on the task of pushing the pace of best I could solo. 1 member of the lead pack dropped out early, and another fell back early. I passed him before the 2-mi mark and he didn’t respond. The others in the lead group were so far ahead they couldn’t even be used as carrots for me to chase. I would be on my own the whole time. This worked out OK for me at first. I put my blinders on and move forward as best I could. I came through 5K in 15:03, feeling pretty good. The only real hill on the course came after 5K. Having drove the course the day before I knew it was coming and prepared for it mentally. I got up and down the hill well coming through 4 mile in 19:20. But it was here I started to lose some focus. I prayed for someone to pass me and wake me up as I slowed to 4:55 pace for miles 5 and 6 (splits of 24:15 and 29:10). It was only after the downhill finish came into view where I was able to kick it in strong to a 30:05 finish (good for 13th place, 1st American). The effort was solid as evidenced by my stomach contents inside the finish chute trashcan. I was happy to run a strong race but upset my lack of focus let a sub-30 result slip away. Overall the progression of the last several weeks has been encouraging and I’m ready for more. I cooled down with Jake and we spoke of Duluth and what we wanted to do in the next few weeks in order to be successful there. I had run 11 miles on the day and ~75 miles in the down week leading up to the race.

Worth noting: It was a strong day for the GRC – solid races from the women’s team (LTO especially), nice comeback races from Jake and Scott, and solid PR’s from 2 soon-to-be fathers (Dave and Bain).

Saturday, April 28

Ran 1 hour easy with Sam and Jake (+ some strides) around North Bethesda. I felt a little tired and sluggish but I knew that didn't matter. Very excited and confident about the next day - decided I was going to take some risks out there.

Friday the 27th

Easy hour two days before Pike's Peek. Those of you who have had, or still have, the displeasure of hearing me ramble on about training philosophies, probably know I'm a huge believer in the 48-hour cycle for recovery. (Side note: during college I convinced some members of the women's team that I would alternate sleep 16 hours one night and 0 the next). I always take two days out really easy. I ran with Scott and Jimmy and felt good.

Thursday April 26th

Nice solo AM run of 11 miles running through some light rain in North Bethesda.  Still feeling good.

Wednesday Workout (4/25)

Great tune-up workout at BCC to get ready for Pike's Peak this weekend.  Scheduled workout was 4 x 800, 2 @ 2;20, 2 @ 2:16, then 4 x 400, 2 @ 66, 2 @ 64.  I was worried about allergies after the warm-up but I took my inhaler and settled into the workout nicely.  We hit 2:20, 2:18, 2:15, 2:16, 66, 63, 62, and 58.  I followed Jason on the last rep and never in my life has a 58 felt so easy.  The workout wasn't hard but the way I felt out there gave me great confidence for Sunday and beyond.

I'll take it easy for the rest of the week to prepare to run fast on Sunday.  Weather permitting, I'd like to run sub-31.

Tuesday 4-24

Ran 13 last night on my usual night run course. Great run except they cut the grass around NIH which wasn't pleasant on my allergies. The various OTC allergy pills seem uneffective for me. Anyone with similar issues have any luck with the shots or something stronger?

Monday, April 23rd

Ran 12 in the AM with Jake and Jimmy. There was a chill in the air but I felt great. It was one of those runs where I couldn't wait to get in a hot shower and drink some coffee.

Sunday 4/22

Great Sunday long run at Riley's Lock.  I ran 18+ and got down ran a few miles under 6 min pace at the end.  Ran with Jake, Murph, and Bain.  We got our run in during the sweet spot of the day since it was raining most other times during Sunday.

86 miles for the week.  If I start getting in some more volume on workout days, I'll be where I want to be mileage-wise.  I'll go down in mileage before Pike's Peak so I can get after it on Sunday.  I'll bounce back up after that.

Saturday 4/21

Tune-up 5K at MCRRC race. Felt good running 15:37 although uphill last mile after 9:55 start took the wind out of me. I stayed controlled though and got in the effort I wanted to get ready for next week's Pike's Peak 10K. Only got in 6 miles of running though as I was unable to get out for a 2nd run.

Friday April 20th

Ran 11 in the AM with JK and SK. I felt more tired than the last couple days and felt a slight twinge behind my lower right leg. I don't think it's anything to be concerned about but enough to be annoying. The air was also back to being dicey for the allergies.