December 2013

December 2013

1 Sun. 6.39mi in 44:04 (6:53/mi).  Right knee and ankle are a little sore.  Went too hard last night.  Gotta be more careful.
2 Mon. 7.37mi in 53:24 (7:14/mi).  Ran slow because the right knee and ankle are still sore.  Went to sprint workout beforehand but just jogged the intervals, as usual.
3 Tue. No run.  Better safe than sorry.  Gotta get the right leg healthy so I can get back on the program.
4 Wed. 7.41mi in 47:41 (6:26/mi).  Knee was still aching and probably should've taken the night off.
5 Thu. No run.  Resting the right knee.
6 Fri. No Run.  Advil throughout the day and put the heating pad on the knee for a couple of hours in bed.
7 Sat. 5k.  3rd + 17:10 (5:32/mi).  Went out too hard trying to follow 1st & 2nd and ran outta gas a little on the uphill final mile.  Probably could've broken 17:00 if I'd been more conservative at the beginning.  1mi warmup before the race with a few light strides.  7.49mi in PM after work in 49:43 (6:38/mi).  Knee isn't 100%, so I need to be careful.
Miles for week: 32.7

8 Sun. 4.41mi in 36:23 (8:15/mi) with Dustin.  Snow and ice all over, not safe running conditions.
9 Mon. 7.26mi in 44:02 (6:03/mi).  Great run!!  Really pushed this one.  Hope to be able to do some of these runs under 6:00/mi eventually.
10 Tue. 7.26mi in 46:23 (6:23/mi).  Same loop as yesterday.  Snowed earlier and the sidewalks were very icy in spots.  Had to be careful but ran fast in the clean sections.
11 Wed. 7.34mi in 45:41 (6:13/mi).  Went pretty hard in the 2nd half.  Right knee was a tad sore.  Easy run tomorrow to recover for (hopefully) a long one on Friday.
12 Thu. 7.38mi in 51:20 (6:57/mi).  Felt a little stiff during this one.  Made sure to go a little easy and never pushed it.
13 Fri. 20.26mi in 2:08:00 (6:19/mi).  First long run in a while.  Left at like 3:30 and it was around 40 degrees.  Got colder as it got later.  Ran from Friendship Heights to Bethesda, then took the Cap. Cres. Trail all the way to Memorial Bridge.  Stopped for a minute or two @ 6.75mi and 10.5mi.  Didn't really fall into a groove til 7mi and then it was smooth sailing at about 6:15/mi.  No food or water during the run (water fountains on CC trail were out).  *Note to self: No breakfast.  6 bagels from Panera in the afternoon.  Ate 3 about an hour before running and 3 after finishing.  Still hungry.
14 Sat. 7.34mi in 1:00:32 (8:15/mi).  38 degrees + rain + wind + upset stomach = not a pleasant experience.  Legs felt a little fresher than the time/pace reflects.  Probably good to take it easy today anyways.  Every run is special in it's own way!!
Miles for week: 61.3mi

15 Sun. 21mi+ total.  20.26 in 2:10:07 (6:25/mi) + 1.37mi cooldown (more like freezedown!) in 11:46 (8:34/mi).  Didn't quite have the legs that I had on Friday.  Felt slightly more fresh at the beginning than I did two days ago but the last 3mi were harder.  Left later and it was dark and COLD for the final 6-7mi.  3 bagels beforehand and no food/water needed during the run.  Stopped at 8.89mi for 2min to pee :)  Same route as Friday but ran all the way across Memorial Bridge.  MUCH windier and slightly colder than Friday.  Temperature went from low 40's to high 30's during the run.  Easy day tmrw.
16 Mon. 7.60mi in 51:12 (6:44/mi).  Legs were really heavy and worn out from work.  Went out a little too hard and had to slow up.  Probably should have gone about 10sec/mi slower.  Next time slower the day after a long run.
17 Tue. 7.51mi in 47:15 (6:17/mi).  Should have gone easier yesterday.  Quads and right knee were a little sore before the run but loosened up.  Downhills were tough on the legs, but I was still able to push pretty hard on the flats and uphills which kept the avg. pace pretty high.
18 Wed. 7.50mi in 1:00:26 (8:03/mi).  Straight up recovery jog.  Tired from busy day at work and legs were REALLY HEAVY.  Started off in the low-mid 7:00's then decided to take it easy so the legs would be fresh for tmrw and dropped to the mid 8:00's.
19 Thu. 18.19mi in 2:02:06 (6:42/mi).  Can't go long tomorrow so I had to get it done tonight after work.  50 degrees and nice out.  Right knee was sore for first 5mi then loosened up.  Running up 2mi hill on Wisc. Ave out of Georgetown at mile 13 took the wind outta my sails.  Last 2 were tough.  Worn out, easy day tmrw.
20 Fri. 6.20mi in 53:13 (8:35/mi).  Easy recovery jog w/ Dustin on the towpath.
21 Sat. 5k in 16:4x in the morning (haven't seen official results yet).  Garmin gave me 16:41 for 3.13mi (5:19/mi).  Ran alone from start to finish, so basically a time trial.  About 50 degrees and a little windy in spots, but otherwise nice racing conditions. Garmin mile splits: 5:08-5:27-5:21.  Arrived late, so only had time for .31mi (!) warmup.  8.35mi in 1:00:41 (7:13/mi) in PM after work.  Maybe went a little too fast on this one.
Miles for week: 80.4

22 Sun. 21mi+ total.  20.21mi in 2:19:46 (6:54/mi) + 1.30mi cooldown in 10:40 (8:12/mi).  Pretty beat after yesterday's two runs.  Should've gone slower in the PM run so that I'd be better recovered for today.  60+ degrees and drizzling made it really humid.  The body hasn't acclimated to this weather so I had to stop for a minute at mile 6 & 11, then 2min at mile 15 just to gather myself.  Hate carrying a bottle but it was a good thing I brought one today.
23 Mon. 9.15mi in 1:07:48 (7:24/mi).  Easy 9 to put the total over 30 for 2 days.  Tried not to drop below 7:00 so that the legs will be better recovered for tmrw.
24 Tue. 9.10mi in 1:06:41 (7:19/mi).  Friggin freezing out (28 degrees+windy).  First 5mi were at around 6:50/mi, then the legs went numb and pace dropped to around 7:30-7:40 and didn't want to risk pushing it.  Calves completely locked up at 8.60mi and I had to jog it in.
25 Wed. 20mi total.  11.20mi in 1:22:19 (7:21/mi) at 11:30am.  9.10mi in 1:09:14 (7:36/mi) at 8:45pm.  Man, I just didn't have it today.  Felt sluggish on both runs, but good for mental toughness.  Too much pizza for dinner the night before...not good fuel.  Nice to get 20 miles done on Christmas, though!!
26 Thu. 7.52mi in 1:05:48 (8:45/mi).  Easy recovery jog.  Ugghh...I seem to have come down with a cold or something.  Sniffling, sneezing, burning eyes and sinuses, and my whole body is kinda sore.  Hopefully things will be a little better tomorrow.
27 Fri. No run.  Still a little under the weather and the left achilles was a tad sore after last night.  NEVER risk it when an achilles tendon is sore.  Achilles injuries take forever to heal.
28 Sat. 7.30mi in 45:06 (6:10/mi).  Annoying cold is still hanging around, but felt pretty fresh after taking yesterday off.  Hadn't run fast in a week, so pushed it a little.  Didn't have much spring in my stride but I think the base mileage will pay off in the long run.
Miles for week: 74.9

29 Sun. 22.25mi in 2:31:52 (6:49/mi).  Running hard yesterday took a little of the speed out of the legs but felt pretty good otherwise.  Took about 5-6mi to get into rhythm and the last 2-3mi were a little tough, but the whole middle section was in cruise control, probably around 6:30/mi.  The metabolism was definitely in fat-burning mode for a while there at the end and probably would've bonked if I'd gone another mile or two.  Temp was in the 40's & drizzling + had 3 bagels beforehand but no food/drink while running.  First half of the run was 1:14:15, second half was slower running back up the Cap. Cres. Trail (uphill + tired legs).
30 Mon. 7.82mi in 1:15:46 (9:41/mi).  Jogger mode.  Legs were heavy, so did a really easy one.  Put the total a little over 30mi for two days.  Gotta run slow sometimes if you wanna run fast.
31 Tue. 7.59mi in 52:12 (6:52/mi).

December mileage: 286.95mi

1 Wed. 21mi+ total.  20.21mi in 2:11:33 (6:30/mi).  Averaged 6:38 for the first 14mi then upped the pace and did the last 6 (w/ gradual uphill on Cap. Cres. Trail) in 6:22/6:22/6:20/6:2?/6:19/6:23.  A couple of cyclists passed me at 16mi and one yelled "You're FLYING!!!!", which gave me a nice boost :v) :v)  1.54mi cooldown jog in 13:11 (8:33/mi).
2 Thu. 7.50mi @ 9:30/mi.  Late run.  Ran while it was snowing.  2-3 inches of snow/ice on the ground, strong winds, & below freezing.
3 Fri. 10.25mi @ 9:30/mi w/ Dustin.  Exhausting/treacherous running on the snow/ice.  Below freezing.
4 Sat. 7.52mi in 49:07 (6:32/mi).  Still lots of ice on sidewalks but was starting to feel stale from the last few days and wanted to get a faster one in.
Miles for week: 84.7mi

November 2013

November 2013

1 Fri. 5.93mi in 49:26 (8:18/mi)

2 Sat. No run.

Miles for week:  36.3mi

3 Sun. 10k. 6.2mi in 36:12 (5:50/mi) + 5th overall.  Not fully recovered from the marathon.

4 Mon. No run.  A few easy sprints with the track group.

5 Tue. No run

6 Wed. No Run.

7 Thu. 9.61mi in 1:19:09 (8:13/mi)

8 Fri. 7.29mi in 46:07 (6:19/mi)

9 Sat. No run.

Miles for week:  23.2mi

10 Sun. 10.12mi in 1:05:53 (6:29/mi).  Felt great.

11 Mon. 6.09mi in 37:51 (6:13/mi).  Still felt pretty good.

12 Tue. 6.08mi in 39:18 (6:27/mi).  Starting to feel these hard runs.  Had to dig deep.

13 Wed. No run.

14 Thu. 6.07mi in 38:14 (6:17/mi)

15 Fri. 6.07mi in 39:56 (6:34/mi)

16 Sat. 6.25mi in 51:59 (8:19/mi).  Lower back started hurting after last run and right knee and ankle area started to flare up a little.

Miles for week:  40.7mi

17 Sun. No run.

18 Mon. No run.  Went to track workout and did a few sprints but no real running.  Back and right leg still not 100%

19 Tue. No Run.  Better safe than sorry.

20 Wed. 6.05mi in 36:29 (6:01/mi).  This might've been a new PR for my neighborhood 6 mile loop.  Could've gone a little faster and had a sub-6:00/mi average pace if I'd known it was going to be that close.  Lower back still aches a little and right knee and ankle were still a little sore before the run but felt ok afterwards.

21 Thu. No run.

22 Fri. 7.19mi in 47:01 (6:32/mi).

23 Sat. No run.

Miles for week:  13.2mi

24 Sun. 10.29mi in 1:06:16 (6:26/mi)

25 Mon. 7.34mi in 47:51 (6:31/mi)

26 Tue. 7.27mi in 49:02 (6:44/mi)

27 Wed. No run.

28 Thu. 5k at 9am.  Officially 3.10mi in 16:42 (5:22/mi).  My Garmin came up with 3.20mi in 16:45 (5:13/mi).  Either way, not bad for a marathoner who doesn't do speed workouts!  Did about 1 mile warmup and 1 mile cool down before and after the race.  At 11:40am did another 7.31mi in 49:07 (6:42/mi).

29 Fri. No Run.

30 Sat. 7.32mi in 46:31 (6:21/mi).  Actual pace was more like 6:11/mi.  Left shoe came untied (which happens all the time for some reason agghh!) and forgot to stop the stopwatch when I paused to re-tie it.
Miles for week:  44.1mi

October 2013

Week of September 29 - October 5

1 T: 6.05mi in 50:02 (8:16/mi).  Achy recovery jog.  Almost didn't run but finally found the willpower to walk out the door.  No pain, no gain.

2 W: 6.08mi in 41:27 (6:49/mi).  Still stiff.

3 T: No run.  Cleaning out basement after work and ran out of time.

4 F: 9.14mi in 1:16:04 (8:19/mi).  Ran in the middle of the day and it was super hot.  Stopped at pretty much every light and stopped to walk thru cemetery on wisc. ave on the way out of georgetown for like 20 minutes.  More of a recovery jog than anything else.  Drained, both physically and mentally and the heat didn't help.

5 S: 6.06mi in 38:45 (6:23/mi).  Had to make up for the last two days.  Running 26.2 miles at nearly this speed doesn't seem very realistic.  Maybe I'm just letting my head get to me.

56.1 miles total for the week

Week of October 6-12

6 S: 8.15mi in 1:09:30 (8:31/mi).  Really hot & humid.  Ran with Corey, Dustin, & the gang out around Sugarloaf Mountain in the middle of the day.  Didn't feel great for most of the run.

7 M: 6.07mi in 36:42 (6:02/mi).  Amazing run.  I honestly don't know where this one came from.  Basically sprinted my entire 6 mile neighborhood loop.  I'll have to really try if I'm ever going to break that time.  Previous fastest time over that loop was in the 38's I think.

8 T: 6.07mi in 40:14 (6:37/mi).  Didn't have the effortless legs that I had yesterday and felt pretty stiff for the first few miles.  Loosened up for the final 2 miles.  Long run planned for Thursday, so either no run or easy jog tomorrow.

9 W: No run.

10 T: 18.48mi trudge in 2:34:38 (8:22/mi).  Ran with my team mate Miguel.  The plan had been to do 20 miles at 1min+/mi faster than what we ended up doing.  Started at Cedar & Beach, and ran on the path along Beach and up thru Bethesda to the Cap. Cres. Trail, then turned around at 9.30mi.  Conditions were raining and miserable, and the path was about 50% puddles.  We also both overdressed and were probably wearing 5+lbs of waterlogged clothes.  No big deal though.  Still got over two and half hours of running in, which is great for endurance, and had a good workout.  Also, first time training with Miguel and he's a great guy as well.

11 F: 6.03mi in 44:36 (7:23/mi).  Didn't recover well from the long run.  Legs were heavy and it was drizzling while I ran.  Still managed a respectable pace somehow.

12 S: 6.08mi in 40:59 (6:44/mi).  Legs were still really heavy and it started pouring rain about 1-2 miles in, which didn't help.  The average pace was definitely not a good indicator as to how I actually felt.  Whole run felt forced.

50.90 miles total for the week

 Week of October 13-19

13 S: 7.12mi in 51:39.  Ran with Dustin down on the Mall/Capital Hill/Navy Yard.  Very slow first mile, the rest was under 7:00/mi.

14 M: No run.  Went out to W&L and did 3x 50m/100m/200m sprints w/ a few of the guys from the club but didn't go hard.  Had to move a fridge afterwards, so didn't have time for a run.

15 T: 6.07mi in 37:30 (6:11/mi).  Felt ok, so went kinda hard.  Definitely have really good turnover but I'm worried about endurance for the marathon.  Read today that it might get canceled or postponed because of the govt. shutdown.  Please do postpone, I need more long runs!

16 W: 9.03mi in 1:19:23 (8:47/mi).  Easy recovery run with Dustin & Robert.  Cool weather.  Ran down Conn. Ave to Mass Ave, up Mass. to Wisc. Ave, and Wisc. back to home.

17 T: 18.71mi in 2:07:07 (6:47/mi).  Had the day off and planned to run 20mi.  Cool but very humid.  Felt decent but not amazing.  Definitely a good workout.  Ran the whole thing in chevy chase, so there were many hills.
*Forgot to mention, I used two gels because I was sweating a ton.  One lemon-lime, one peanut butter, neither with caffeine.  Seems like peanut butter gu's are the only ones that I can stand anymore.  All of the other flavors are way too sweet and make me nauseous when I'm deep into a long run and dehydrated.  They need to start making caffeinated peanut butter gu's.

18 F: 6.05mi in 44:21 (7:19/mi).  Legs felt heavy.

19 S: No run.  I probably should have run but I didn't have it in me.  Instead I went to Vace after work and got a jalapeno and tomato pizza and washed it down with too much beer (jalapeno pizza + beer is never a good decision).

47 miles total
(Probably not enough but that seems to be a recurring theme.)

Week of October 20-26

20 S: 10.06mi in 1:26:21 (8:35/mi).  Easy run.  Ran with Dustin down wisc. ave thru g-town to the Watergate n' back.  Stopped for 15min at the Watergate to look around.  Looks like it was really nice back in the day.  Now it looks about 80% abandoned.

21 M: 6.07mi in 37:37 (6:11/mi).  First decent run since the 18 miler.  Pushed really hard, probably could've gone a little faster at a few points.  Possibly the last hard run before the marathon.  Maybe one more tomorrow or Weds.

Used two different scales to weigh myself on an empty stomach wearing just running shorts.  Came in at 147lbs on one and 146lbs on the other.  Feel like I'm a few lbs over where I wanted to be.

22 T: 6.14mi in 46:30 (7:34/mi).  Legs were a little heavy.

23 W: 5.07mi in 39:33 (7:47/mi).  Did 15x10seconds at 90% effort about halfway through the run.

24 T: 5.14mi in 39:26 (7:40/mi)

25 F: 3.25mi in 25:04 (7:42/mi)

26 S: No run.  Slept till 11am.  Stood in line out in the cold for 2.5 hours at packet pickup at the DC Armory.

35.7 miles total

Week of October 27 - November 2

27 S: Marine Corp Marathon.

28 M: No run.

29 T:

30 W:

31 T:

1 F: 

2 S:

miles total

September 2013

Week of September 1-7

1 S: 8.3mi in 1:02:36 (7:32/mi)

2 M: 16.05mi in 2:15:08 (8:25/mi) 90+ degree heat & humidity.  Shitty run with many stops.

3 T: No Run

4 W: 6.08mi in 39:03 (6:25/mi) Revenge

5 T: 6.04mi in 45:26 (7:31/mi)

6 F: 6.05mi in 46:44 (7:42/mi)

7  S: No Run.  1/2 Marathon tomorrow.

42.5 miles total

Week of September 8-14:

8 S: 1/2 Half Marathon.  13.1mi in 1:21 (6:11/mi).  Felt ok.

9 M: 5.1mi in 42:12 (8:16/mi) Recovery run.

10 T: 6.01mi in 43:34 (7:15/mi)

11 W: No run, worked late.

12 T: 6.04mi in 41:10 (6:49/mi)

13 F: 6.1mi in 48:17 (7:55/mi)

14 S: 6.06mi in 40:45 (6:43/mi)

42.5 miles total

Week of September 15-21

15 S: 6.04mi in 39:52 (6:36/mi)

16 M: 6.05mi in 39:57 (6:36/mi)

17 T: 6.04mi in 53:13 (8:48/mi) Slow recovery run.  Legs were sore & left knee hurt for first few miles.

18 W: 6.08mi in 40:34 (6:40/mi) Felt pretty good, but not 100%.

19 T: 6.07mi in 40:11 (6:37/mi).  Almost did a recovery run tonight but decided to go hard because I probably won't run tomorrow.  Legs felt really heavy & almost gave out on the steep hill at mile 4.  Dug deep to keep the pace up & hit mile 6 in just under 40:00.

20 F: No run.

21 S: +/-7mi total.  XC race was 6.42mi in 41:20 (6:27/mi). + Short warmup & strides.  Ridiculously tough course.

36.7 miles total
(oh boy, not enough mileage)

Week of September 22-28

22 S: 14.25mi total.  The plan was to do 18 but ran outta gas.  13.25mi in 1:30:21 (6:49/mi).  The route included the huge hill from M Street in Georgetown to Mass Ave by the Cathedral.  1mi cooldown in 8:06.  Probably should have run at a slower pace and for longer.  I really need to jump start the metabolism with longer and slower runs if I want to avoid cracking at mile 20 in the marathon.

23 M: 5.02mi in 39:42.  Went out to track workout but didn't have the legs to do intervals so I just did the timing.  Got home and did a late "easy" recovery run.  Not so easy.  Legs we're pretty heavy & sore.  A runner ran up behind me at an intersection so I had to pick up the pace & drop him.  Only reason why the avg. pace was sub-8:00/mi.

24 T: 6.07mi in 39:21 (6:29/mi).  Legs felt a little heavy, but was still able to push pretty hard.

25 W: 6.06mi in 38:31 (6:21/mi).  Felt about 90% but was able to push really hard tonight, esp. the last 2 miles.  Been recovering very well with the cool temperature recently.

26 T: 6.08mi in 41:54 (6:53/mi).  Calves were pretty sore and had to push to keep the pace under 7:00.  Probably no run tomorrow.  Two race weekend + work on Friday, so I gotta save some energy.

27 F: No run.

28 S: 3.13mi in 17:04.74 (5:27/mi).  5k in VA on rolling course.  Very satisfied with this effort.  Zero speedwork, intervals, hill repeats, etc. in months.  Did this on just my nightly runs and the few races I've done recently.  Definitely could've broken 17mins if I knew it was going to be this close.

42.4 miles total

Week of September 29 - October 5

29 S: 2.70mi in 14:56 (5:32/mi) + 19.61mi in 2:27:53 (7:32/mi).  Went out to do the 5k where I set my 5k pr last year.  Felt a little rough from yesterday's race.  Was in 2nd place on the road, averaging about 5:25/mi when I took a wrong turn.  Came to a stop when someone finally yelled to me, then dropped out.  Just didn't have the energy to start racing again.  Ran 19.61mi in the afternoon on the 1.5mi Western Ave sidewalk between Chevy Chase Circle and Oregon Ave.  Didn't use any gels or food, just had a water bottle hidden along the route.  Back and forth a bunch of times.  Slightly downhill on the way out and slightly uphill on the way back.  Completely ran out of gas before I could hit 20.

30 M: 7mi total.  +/-1mi of sprint intervals with group at W&L.  Did 6.05mi in 41:03 (6:47/mi), when I got home.  Been recovering really well in the nice cool temperature recently.

1 T: 6.05mi in 50:02 (8:16/mi).  Achy recovery jog.  Almost didn't run but finally found the willpower to walk out the door.  No pain, no gain.

2 W: 6.08mi in 41:27 (6:49/mi).  Still stiff.

3 T: No run.  Cleaning out basement after work and ran out of time.

4 F: 9.14mi in 1:16:04 (8:19/mi).  Ran in the middle of the day and it was super hot.  Stopped at pretty much every light and stopped to walk thru cemetery on wisc. ave on the way out of georgetown for like 20 minutes.  More of a recovery jog than anything else.  Drained, both physically and mentally and the heat didn't help.

5 S:

56.1 miles totalfor the week


192.85 miles total for the month