Dust bunnies and crickets

What a sucky day to be at work.  I was covering my group over the holidays and found myself in the desolate office for a good part of today.  When I arrived in the morning, the guard said that I was the first person she had seen.  At the end of the day, another co-worker on my floor was doing a tour and said that I was the only person she had seen.  Nice.

After spending the last two days cleaning my office, my files, my email inbox, answering questions and updating my To Do List I was literally bored out of my mind.  Luckily I brought my gym bag and hit the gym in the afternoon to do a few miles.  Not a bad way to pass the time and welcome the New Year.

Climate Control

Ahhhh...another winter night running on the treadmill. I decided to hit my work's gym again last night vs doing the 4.5 mile Tuesday Night Run.

I wanted to run earlier and the bonus was enjoying my run from the comfort of a heated gym. Surprisingly, I am actually enjoying the treadmill. The downside is that I mentally max out at 4 miles. I just can't seem to make myself go further on the treadmill.  The upside is that I can do some speed work with ease and obviously don't have to bundle up to protect myself against the freezing temps.

I heard there is more cold/rainy/snowy weather headed this way.  Great.  The gym looks more and more appealing.

More indoor sports

I decided to check out my office's fancy new gym and guess what?  It's actually kinda cool.  I did a nice 3.4 miles at a nice clip.

The equipment is very nice and since it's a holiday week it was pretty empty.   That will all change next week when the hardcore gym folks are back from vacation and all the New Years resolution folks invade.  For now...I'm gonna enjoy the fancy treadmills instead of braving the chilly outdoors.

New kicks

 I finally picked up a new pair of running shoes.  You are supposed to swap out for a new pair every 250-300 miles and I could feel my feet begging me for a new pair.  Luckily I get a discount at the running store so the sticker shock was not as bad as it could be.

No big change for me.  I'm sticking with what works --- my Brooks Trance 9's.  I LOVE them. 

My new shoes are so clean and spiffy.  You know...now I don't want to get them dirty.

Squish Squash

I am so glad that we were able to get out and finally hit the pavement. All this bad weather has really done a number on our training! My first race of the 2010 season is just weeks away and my mileage is totally off.
Must get the miles in!

A handful of us gathered for a 9-mile run this morning. As we psyched ourselves up to press out into the drizzle, we watched the earlier group come in from their run. They were soaked --- head to toe. Nice. Nothing worse than soggy socks and cold water squishing between your toes. Seeing them crushed our spirits a bit. The good news...temps were in the mid-40's. It felt like a heat wave!!!

We had to make mid-run modifications to our route in order to adjust to roads that were not as clear of ice and snow.  The end result was that we only ran 8.8 miles. 

We headed up Connecticut Ave (hello National Zoo and Cleveland Park) until we found a cleared road that dumped us into Rock Creek Park and then we proceeded to wind around the park. It was so quiet and pretty. The melting snow is doing a number on the creek. It looked like a narrow raging river. We even saw a few smaller toe paths washed out.

As always, our return route includes a substantial hill that we must climb in order to jump out of the park. I secretly love the hills. Don't get me wrong...they are HARD, but there's such a sense of accomplishment to see the hill(s) in the distance, start your climb (one-foot-in-front-of-the-other), breaking it into smaller segments, having the mental discussion with yourself to "just keep going" and pushing yourself to make it to the top. Sometimes the hill wins...sometimes it's a tie...today I kicked it's ass.

On the run today, one of the topics was triathlons. Apparently the shorter ones are really short distances and there was some interest in checking one out. Heck...I'll try anything once.  We'll see.  Gotta focus on these races first.

Another week closer to double-digit Saturdays.

Indoor Sports

Man...this snow has really put a damper on getting my miles in!  Of course, all the holiday cheer --- parties, luncheons, happy hours, impromptu champagne toasts, etc --- have not helped.

All of our regularly scheduled runs have been canceled over the last few days due to the blizzard that hit the east coast.  Beautiful, but the icy sidewalks totally suck.

I finally got my act together and dragged my gym bag and ipod to the gym to use the dreaded treadmill.  Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I did 3.25 miles and felt pretty good about it.  I'm not sure I could run for more than 4 miles on this hamster wheel, but 3.25 miles is better than none.

Since taking pictures at the gym would likely get me locked up, here's a picture of me and my snowman creation.  I was going for a hot Miami-vibe, but alas, did not have the right props.  She instead looks like a tacky geriatric Florida snow-bird. When left to my own devices...without sufficient entertainment...this is what happens.

Crazy 8's

Another Saturday long run down. We wrapped up another 8 miles --- the same route as last week. We started in Adams Morgan, dropped into Rock Creek, around the Lincoln Memorial and then back.

I had a very good pace for 75% of the route. The back end of the run was a mess. I completely lost steam. I left hungry and a bit weak. That's very unusual for me. I usually have a strong finish. By the time I got to the nasty three-part hill at the end of the run I was really hurting. I pushed myself to run the whole thing --- but it was messy.  I need to eat more.

Oh well..at least I got the miles in.

I heard from our head coach that we're going to plateau a bit at 8-9 miles to make sure everyone is comfortable at the distance. I did note that we started out at a pretty aggressive mileage and I don't think everyone was ready for their first training run a few weeks ago to be five miles. That's pretty intimidating for newbies.

After my run, I spent time talking to the guys at Fleet Feet about my gear. They confirmed that I need to layer more and ditch my fleece jacket. I ran with a light fleece b/c I was so cold, but I learned that the fabric is built for comfort vs venting heat. It's gotta go.

Papa Fenty, the patriarch of the store, also spoke to our group about his running philosophy and winter running tips. He's incredible --- very zen. He's also an incredibly accomplished ultra-distance runner. I was looking at all his race photos on the wall --- including some from the 80's when he ran Western States 100.  Impressive.  For those not familiar with the race, check this out --- the race:

"takes place on trails in California's Sierra Nevada annually on the last weekend of June. The race starts at the base of the Squaw Valley ski resort and finishes at the Placer High School track in Auburn, California. Runners climb a cumulative total of 18000 feet (5500 m) and descend a total of 23000 feet (7000 m) on mountain trails before reaching the finish. Because of the length of the race, the race begins at 5:00 A.M. and continues through the day and into the night. Runners finishing before the 30 hour overall time limit for the race receive a bronze belt buckle, while runners finishing in under 24 hours receive a silver belt buckle."

Papa Fenty explained that the marathon was once thought to be the maximum distance a person could run, but in fact there are greater challenges out there --- and he is available to talk to anyone who gets a bug to do more.  That just sounds nuts...but then again...doing a half marathon sounded nuts eight months ago.

In a perfect world, I will one day conquer the marathon, attempt a sprint triathlon and then go for the ultimate...the Iron Man Hawaii.  I know someone who has done the Iron Man...twice...and survived.  Now that would be a serious accomplishment.

Not a stellar week

My schedule this week has sucked. I've really missed the mark getting my miles in this week.
Granted...it's been a very cold week (running in 32 degree weather), but I aspired to get the miles in.

Last night is a great example. I took a last minute call at work that got me out the door later than I expected, then the metro was slow and then I wasn't exactly sure where my meeting spot was for the new Thursday night run. I literally just missed linking up with my group. I sadly dragged my bag behind me and got back on the metro and went home.  Such a Charlie Brown moment.

Trudging along

I wrapped up my route in the chilly December evening. Glad to have gotten my 4.3 miles in, but was trudging along.  I just really wanted it to be over.  I wasn't happy with my pace in the moment,  but was surprised that it was faster than I thought it was.

I was outfitted in full cold weather gear today --- gloves and hat included.  I also wore my new running tights and I'm not thrilled with them. I'm a bit short and these pair are a little longer than I would like. The zippers at the ankle are bugging me a bit and for some ridiculous reason they also are a bit low-riding. Who the hell thought that was a good design decision????  Just call me Shakira.

Waaah...waaah...waaah.

The weather outside is frightful...

A bit late catching up with what's been going on.  Last Saturday I had an interesting long-run.  All I have to say is --- there is a fine line between dedication and insanity.  That being said, I always like to remind myself that while everyone else was snoozing...I logged 8 miles.

A good group of us met in Adams Morgan to head out for our 8-mile loop.

It was COLD and the freezing rain did not make it any better. It started snowing as we finished. I would have preferred running in the snow vs the freezing rain.  The wind was quite brisk and as the rain started steadily coming down rain was flowing off the brim of my hat and my legs were feeling numb.  The thing that really bugged me was when my shoes and socks finally got soaked.  Yucky feeling.

The run actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Good pace and I made a new friend to chat with.  Bonus! 

When I got back to the store I changed into dry clothes and was shocked by how wet my clothes were.  Brrr.  I was so cold that when I got into my car I was shivering hard for a couple minutes.

Note to self...get a good waterproof running jacket ASAP!

Stronger

Nice workout tonight with the Sarg.  All strength training...all the time.  Crushed arms and abs tonight.

Super fast

I'm not super fast...the group I'm with now is super fast.  There are lots of marathoners in our group and they zoom through the run.  I heard a group talking about how their Saturday SLOW pace is a 9:30 minute mile.  Seriously...that's my FAST time! 

I'm definitely faster this season vs last season...but I'm still left in the dust among this group.  Oh well, there's always something to aim for.