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