Feeling dynamite...

Yesterday my energy stores were waning.  I was at about the 10 mile mark and turning into the home stretch of my run when it happened.  You know, that song that boosts your mood when it comes through your headphones when you need it most?  That's what happened.

Back to the beginning....I needed a long run, but my body was a bit battered from hard runs and taking on a bit too much extra weight at barre class.  Exhaustion and achy muscles rarely keep me from getting done what needs to get done, so I headed out early evening for that long run.

Since I was over near Truxton Park, I decided to shake it up a bit and head out from there.  The run started with heavy legs but a determined psyche.  As I headed down into Eastport, around City Dock (what an absolutely amazing afternoon for that view), around the sea wall to Hospital Point and across the Naval Academy bridge to the peninsula I kept my eyes on the prize.  It was on the North side of the bridge that I finally realized how far my tired legs had carried me (7 miles at that point) and that I still had to get back to Truxton Park where my car was.

I cut out the return back through downtown Annapolis to save myself a couple miles and shot across Taylor to Spa Road.  I started wondering at one point if I was going to have to walk a portion of that road back to my car, but my head kept refusing to give in.  Then, just as I was turning off Spa onto Hilltop Dynamite came through my headphones....and the rest is history.

I've come to the conclusion that Taio Cruz's Dynamite is actually all about running.  Let's review why this song is all about one of my greatest passions by taking a look at the lyrics.

I throw my hands up in the air sometimes - This happens at random points throughout my training runs and almost always during a race...especially when there is a camera near by.

 

I wanna celebrate and live my life - Running is my celebration of what I can accomplish with determination and a little effort.

 

I came to dance, dance, dance, dance; I hit the floor 'cause that's my plans, plans, plans, plans - Here he's really talking about the race course and my intention to turn in a good run...I also occasionally dance when running if I'm inspired by a particularly good tune in the playlist.

I'm wearing all my favorite brands, brands, brands, brands - New Balance, Brooks, Asics, Adidas, Nike, Under Armour...you get the picture. 

Give me some space for both my hands, hands, hands, hands - This is my running space, and that's your running space.  Respect the barriers or face the consequences of my flailing elbows or overexcited gestures when I'm chatting during a run.

'Cause I told you once, Now I told you twice, We gon' light it up, Like it's dynamite - This one says I am all about finishing this run/race in a way that will make you remember me.

 

I came to move, move, move, move, Get out the way of me and my crew, crew, crew, crew; I'm in the club so I'm gonna do, do, do, do; Just whatever I came here to do, do, do, do - You don't want to mess with the awesomeness that is me and my posse of running pals because we have goals and nothing is going to get in our way.  And oh by the way, we're going to look amazing doing it.

And there it is.  Taio Cruz was speaking to runners everywhere.  And he managed to speak to me right when I needed it most.  Happy trails!!!

 

Stats -

Miles:  11 miles + 0.5 cool down

Time:   2 hours (average pace of 10:54 per mile)

Location:  just about half of Annapolis

Feeling:  tired but accomplished

Onward ho...

All good things must come to an end.  The last bit of an ice cream cone.  The last page of a great book.  The final chord of a favorite hymn.  The final steps across the finish line of an amazing race.  And yes, even maternity leave.

This past week has been a celebration of my time at home with Baby K.  We’ve spent more time physically active together.  We had two great power walks this week.  Wednesday was the usual trip to the library.  The day was bright and sunny.  I actually had to take off my track jacket halfway through because (a) it was warm and (b) I was working hard enough to generate a good lather. 

On Friday, Baby K and I had Striders business over at Quiet Waters (mark your calendars for the Anniversary Run 15K on December 14).  While we were there, and since it was an amazing day, we decided to get in our power walk there.  The trail that rings the park was surprisingly bustling with walkers, joggers and strollers for mid-day during the work week.

I’m not much of a walker, but one of the interesting things I’ve learned while power walking these past several weeks with Baby K is that walking can be a great glute workout – especially when you focus on your foot strike, speed and stead movement.  I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve finished and felt like I’d done a workout especially focused on that particularly troublesome muscle for women.  While I’m happy to be moving back into full-time running (not as a function of time or fitness, but because I’ll be going back to my lunch time runs at work), I’ve learned a bit about the benefits of walking.

In addition to the two power walks, I also logged three runs.  Wednesday and Thursday I took on my usual 4 mile route out College Parkway to Log Inn Road and back.  You can tell spring sports season is upon us because I had to play chicken with a number of soccer mom vehicles all rushing to get their kids to practice at Bay Head Park.  Car dodging aside, finding the rhythm that works for my feet, my heart and my head has been invigorating.  You don’t realize how much something is part of you are forced into a bit of a vacation.  This particular route is familiar enough to help me regain that rhythm.

Saturday found me back on the streets of DTA (that’s downtown Annapolis for you non-Annapolitans) with my bestest of best running buddies, Brie.  I was so happy to be hitting the pavement with her.  It’s been months…at least since October.  It’s funny, at the end of 2012 and into 2013 I was getting faster and she was slowing down as she advanced in her pregnancy.  Then this past year she was getting faster as I was slowing down as I advanced in pregnancy.  For the next future period of time, I think we’re both moving forward and eventually I will regain my speed so I don’t slow her down anymore.

Sun and warm spring temperatures propelled us through DTA, across the Naval Academy and back through her neighborhood to browse the yard sales as we made our way back to her house.  It was slow, but improving.  Give me another month and I bet I can bring my average pace down to 9-10 minutes per mile. 

As for the weight loss challenge – week one saw me with an overall body percentage loss of nearly 2%.  I’m not going to lie, ensuring I put down 100 ounces of water a day was tough but the daily booty blast workout was tougher.  Oh yeah, and then I learned that I was doing more than necessary…in fact double on those exercises that should have been alternating legs not the rep number per leg.  Who knows, maybe as a result my booty will be that much more irresistible come bikini season.

So as I return to a more normal routine, back to work, back to normal, I will look back on maternity leave fondly for what it taught me and the time it gave me to be with Baby K but I will look forward to really getting that rhythm back – or maybe even a better rhythm.  Happy trails!!!  

Stats – (There’s a week worth of backlog here, so bear with me)

Miles:  4.01 (Wed), 4.1 (Wed power walk); 4.25 (Thurs); 4.22 (Fri power walk); 7.15 (Sat)

Times:  42:12 (10:31); 1:03:47 (15:33); 45:40 (10:44); 1:10:00 (16:35); 1:19:30 (11:07)

Location:  Broadneck Peninsula and Quiet Waters Park

Feeling:  everything works, despite the exhausted glutes from the booty blast workouts
 

Guns blazing...

The best way to get going on reaching a goal is to dive right in and get your hands dirty...or feet in my case.  Not one to sit still and let a good morning - and the opportunity to hang with friends - pass me by, I was excited to join in the Annapolis Striders tradition of taking over the streets of Annapolis for a run on New Year's Day :)

Now, most of the fun run runners didn't hit the streets until 9am, but I'm so ready to get started on my miles this year that I hit the road at 8am.  Those earlier miles through the Naval Academy were made great because I was joined by one of my neighbors, Kristen.  I've never run with Kristen before.  I'll be honest, she's fast and sort of intimidates me, so I was afraid to slow her down too much.  I'm glad we ran together though.  She was a great partner, and I'd love to spend more time running with her this coming year.  It was a great morning for a run...as we passed through the Naval Academy, there were so many others out and all with a ready smile and a "Happy New Year".

The melee of the 9am run was charging.  So many great friends were out for the run I'm not sure who was still at home.  To top it off, the group of a couple hundred runners literally took over the streets of Annapolis...sorry drivers.  I spent this second part to my new year run with none other than my favorite running buddy and best friend - Brie - which seems like a fitting start to the year.  We also ran with Erin, who is another amazingly fit and motivational runner.  It was a nice even pace as we headed over the Naval Academy bridge and down toward Jonas Green Park to leap up and tap the cake shaped balloon hung from a road sign.  It was a wonderful 45 minutes of girl chat, waving to friends as you pass them and stretching the legs in a much needed run.

After the run, we went to Starbucks to refuel the right way - grande skim gingerbread latter, hold the whip - with Lara, Gloria, Jen, Jen and Brie for more girl talk with the greatest running crew this side of the Mississippi.  All in all, this is the way to get going on a goal.  If the rest of the year is anything like today, it will be a great adventure.

Stats -
Miles:  4.82 (with Kristen) + 4.4 (with Brie and Erin)
Time:   45:24 (average pace of 9:25 per mile) + 46:42 (average pace of 10:36 per mile)
Location:  Annapolis, starting at CIty Dock and including the Naval Academy
Feeling:  my muscles are well-rested and ready for 2013...good call taking December easy

Other:  I haven't completed any of the strength work yet, but as I do it will be added here as cumulatives rather than as a day by day "this is how many I did today".  Here's how it will go:  push-ups: 0/3600; squats: 0/3600; sit-ups: 0/12,000

Home opener excitement....

Today is the Navy football home opener against VMI....and gymnastics class for the diva, and brunch with the parents of one of our midshipmen, so time was short when everyone got up and moving. That's why I had to be up and moving before everyone else.  And why not, it was a fantastic morning for a good run.

The rest is history.  It was a bit humid out...read super drippy sweaty by the time I was done...and the heat was just coming on.  The hamstring is holding up and everything else seems to work.  I wish there was something interesting to say about this run but, let's be honest, the route hasn't changed and the deer I see almost every time are pretty common place.  Really, how many times can you hear about the deer that pop out of the woods and attempt to run me down while I'm innocently pursuing physical fitness?

The diva enjoying the game with our buddy!

Regardless of the less than interesting, though quite pleasant, start to the day, a Saturday during football season is never boring.  And today was the diva's first big time football game, so all was pretty exciting.  It also doesn't hurt that Navy brought home the win.  All in all, one darn good Saturday.  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  4.25
Time:   36:11 (average pace of 8:30 per mile)
Location:  Broadneck Peninsula, Bay Head Road, Log Inn Road
Feeling:  decent, I'm not going to complain

Action on the Severn...

Let's just say that, overall, this week has been abysmal for running.  Bronchitis is kicking my butt, so I've laid off enough to not totally kill myself, but still logged 14ish miles overall.  Hopefully this coming week will be conducive to catching up on miles.  Though, truth be told, I'm not behind for the month given last weekend's 25 miles logged in two days.  Anyway, I digress...I seem to be good at that these days.

On to today's run.  Brie and I are back in action...sort of.  As I already said, I've got bronchitis and can't breathe real well and Brie's still got the IT band issue, so we're not in tip top running form.  That's never stopped us though, and since we are running a half marathon next weekend, we set out at 6:30 this morning for a semi-longish run.

The weather was fantastic.  It's not been this good in months and was wonderful for stretching the legs.  The first couple miles felt very familiar.  Brie and I chatted about all the super duper news and goings on in our lives...and there seemed to be a lot this week.  We headed toward Annapolis, down Main Street and over to City Dock. 

Once we were on the Naval Academy "Yard," heading toward the sea wall, things got a little weird.  First we saw the DNR boat come up to the sea wall with its lights on.  An then at the bend before College Creek, we saw a MP sitting next to his car on the sea wall, that's when we saw the fire truck up on the Academy Bridge with its lights flashing.  What the heck was going on?  We thought immediately it must be a search and rescue.  Jumper?  Cap-sized vessel?  Who knows?  Our thoughts on the search and rescue were confirmed when a state police helicopter also came onto the scene, circling the Severn in the area between the bridge and the entry of the river to the Chesapeake.  I hope it wasn't a sad day for a family, but I've not been able to learn anything more than what we saw with our own eyes....which admittedly wasn't much.

Well, we finished the spin around Hospital Point and had two options - head back through the Yard and downtown toward our start point or exit gate 8 and head straight back for the start point.  Gate 8 was only about 2 miles versus 4ish and my lungs were straining and Brie's IT band was also bothersome, so we took the shorter route.  It wasn't a cop out, just understanding the limits and needs of our own bodies.  This has probably been one of the greatest unexpected lessons I've learned throughout this year of running to meet my goal - you can't get it done if you don't understand what your body is telling you and when.  Sometimes you can still push a little further, and if you listen, you know when those times are.  And sometimes you've got to end a run sooner or risk not being able to run for several days or longer (why I've taken the past couple days off).

We got back to the start while planning our packet pick up, race schedule, and what we're going to do for fun the day before the race.  I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  I love these runs.  They are my therapy, my exercise, my time with friends and my fun.  Thank you Brie! Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  7.42
Time:   1:16:26 (average pace of 10:18 per mile)
Location:  downtown Annapolis and the Naval Academy
Feeling:  the lungs were very rough but the legs felt decent

Good running fun...

I'm skipping over Thursday's run (treadmill...boring...stats below) and skipping straight to today, September 1...much more exciting.  Today was the Labor Day 10K at Naval Support Activity Annapolis, which Brie and I have planned to run for the past few weeks.  We added to the pleasure with a third runner - a midshipman - who has a lot of enthusiasm and is breaking into more of the longer distance running.

So how did Caroline join the intrepid duo?  I work with Caroline in the age 3-6 Sunday School class at the Naval Academy Chapel.  She has been forced to listen to my race recaps for the past year and last week she indicated she was interested in trying out the longer distance (greater than 5k) running.  Perfect opportunity...come run the Labor Day 10K on the Navy base with Brie and I.  She was in.

So we get to race morning, and par for the course, not everything has gone by the books during the morning, but we're all there before the start of the race.  So, bonus.  Oh yeah, us and the other 13 runners for the race.  Yep, 16 total.  Guess what?  Our chances of winning something increase exponentially.  Woohoo!

Downside to a small race field?  Everyone goes out uber fast.  When  the start was given, we al went out at about a 7 minute/mile pace...uh, not happening for long folks.  We pulled back to about a 8:30ish pace.  Now, on the way over, Caroline indicated she wanted to try to keep up with us during the race as long as possible.  I told her she could probably run much faster than our 8:30 - 9:15 pace.  She wasn't so sure.  Kudos to her for keeping up the whole time.  And for listening to our weekly dish the dirt session.  She may never join us again after that :)  But we hope she will.

Anyway, the course wound up through the golf course, up Providence just a bit and then turned around so we could head back and catch the trail around Greenbury Point.  When we hit the 4 mile mark it became very clear that the race was going to be short of 10k, but who cares, we were having fun.  Ultimately we finished 7, 8 and 9 overall.  First in age 35-39, first in age 30-34 and first in 20-24.  How about them apples :)  So we did't actually win any real prizes (the MWR races are so small they only give first place overall male and female) but we can pretend we rocked it.  And of course, we also didn't walk away with any random prizes either.  Maybe next time.  It was fun regardless and Brie and I were able to share our love of running with a new person.

Now on to rest up a bit for tomorrow's Charm City Run 20-miler with Lara.  It promises to be cooler and the course is a slight downgrade, so I feel pretty good about it.  Happy trails!!!

Stats (for Thursday)
Miles:  4.01
Time:  35:37 (average pace of 8:53 per mile)
Location:  Fitness Center at Naval Support Activity Annapolis
Feeling:  Hamstrings are still tight, trying to make them last

Stats (for Saturday)
Miles:  4.83
Time:   41:30 (average pace of 8:35 per mile)
Location:  Greenbury Point
Feeling:  tight in the hamstrings, just need to hold them together through Sunday

When it rains, it pours...

Today was A-10 time.  For those not in the Annapolis running know, that means the Annapolis Ten Miler.  It also marks the end of hot, hot, hot and humid August racing...or at least in most usual years.  This year was a bit different, but let me begin with the four day gap in running first.

I haven't hit the pavement since Tuesday, and its now Sunday.  Why, you ask?  Well, Wednesday morning we were out at the Queenstown Outlets when I lifted the diva just exactly the wrong way and tweaked the back.  It hurt scary bad.  I had visions of the SI joint injury flash before my face again and all I could do was pray that it was just a freak pain that would go away with a few days rest.  So, while it was hard not to lace up my shoes, I waited until this morning to give my back as much rest as possible to avoid turning a small thing into another back injury. 

The rest paid off.  I woke up this morning with no back pain..though now we had to contend with the rain.  Really if you want to get technical, we had to contend with thunder, lightning and heavy down pours.  Yep, perfect running weather.

I met up with Brie at her house.  We planned to walk down to the race.  We decided to wait out the major down pour and show up at the last minute.  That wait paid off too, and our walk up to the start at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium was marked only by a slight sprinkle. 

We arrived, quite literally, with only a couple minutes until the start gun went off.  Not bad...usually I wait in the corral for about 15-20 minutes after arriving 45 - 60 minutes early.  I like this.  Anyway, I can't believe the start gun actually went off on time.  After all there was lightning in the sky and most sensible folks don't run when its lightning.  Oh wait, that would assume that those of us who showed up in a thunder storm are sensible people.  Ha! 

From the beginning through about mile 3ish, the rain poured with real intensity.  It was awesome!  Like I said before, this race is usually so hot you want to rip your clothes off.  The rain kept it cool and so much more fun.  Well that and my amazing running partner (sorry, no great pics of us this time because I couldn't bring electronics out into this storm).  We saw and chatted with a number of friends along the way - shout out to Ron Bowman, Lara Mish, Jennifer Bornemann, Heather DeBuse.

As we crossed the bridge onto the Broadneck Peninsula, this was the section I was unsure of in the race plan.  The course had a slight change this year due to some permitting issues.  As a matter of fact, it changed to match up somewhat with Zooma and the Annapolis Half in a way I don't like...or at least that's what I thought going into the race.  As it turned out, the course change wasn't bad.  As with past years, this year we did not need to go through Ferry Farms to make use of the sprinklers the residents so kindly turn on the street to cool down this atrociously hot race.  Nope, mother nature took care of that with on and off sprinkles and rain the duration of the race.  So in the end, the course change wasn't bad.

As we made the turn back toward the finish, Brie's IT band was starting to act up a bit and my hamstrings were getting tight.  At mile 8 I kicked it in to try to stretch them out a bit.  God love Brie for being supportive and not getting upset that I needed to stretch it out a bit.  The end of the race was good...course was slightly long though.  I finished 93 out of 292 in my age group, with Brie just two minutes behind me.  We received our customary cold towels and finisher's premiums, watermelon and other race amenities, but it was the first time I ever remember being cold at the end of the A-10.  I love it!

It's always more fun to run the streets of Annapolis with other adventurous runners and I think this race had them in spades.  Thanks Annapolis Striders for the best A-10 yet!  (In my humble opinion.)  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  10.11 (plus 1.77 mile walk to and from the stadium)
Time:   1:32:51 (average pace of 9:11 per mile...though I believe given the extra ten pounds of water weighing down our shoes and the rainy conditions really gives us a 5-10 minute handicap :) )
Location:  Annapolis
Feeling:  I LOVE IT!!!  Today felt totally awesome!

Rockin through Annapolis...

Today was the TriRock triathlon in Annapolis.  Truth told, I was supposed to be volunteering at the Fleet Feet water stop from 4:30am - 11:30am and then hit the roads with Brie in the afternoon.  It didn't work out that way.  For days I waited for information from the race organizers of Fleet Feet to tell me where to go, I even emailed both, but neither responded.  So, why wait until the afternoon to run?  Brie and I hit the roads in the morning planning to cheer for TriRock racers while we cruised the streets on our feet. 

We took off at a reasonable pace (after all, Brie has had some achilles issues and we don't want her to end up with a real injury at the beginning of the summer race season) around Navy stadium warming up.  By Rowe Boulevard and all along Route 450, we were able to cheer on the bike leg of the race (we missed the swim...we did not hit downtown until well into the bike/run leg).  It's always inspiring to watch all walks of life working hard to achieve a goal, small or large.  We even saw a few folks we know as we crossed the Naval Academy bridge and then returned to hit the yard.

Because most of the streets downtown were closed or only partially accesible by traffic, the Naval Academy was SUPER quiet.  Sure, we passed a few other joggers getting in the Saturday miles, but it was otherwise completely dead.  Until we ran into the French tall ships docked along the seawall near the sailing basin unloading their raw sewage (YUCK...it smelled nasty).  What might you ask are French ships doing at the academy?  Well, I don't know, but we think it may be as part of the War of 1812 commemoration happening along the east coast this year.  Once we got back off the yard, we wrestled the cheering crowds as we made our way back out of town to Admiral Heights to end our run.  In all, it was a great way to spend a Saturday - catching up with a bud, grabbing a few miles and cheering on amazing athletes.

The rest of the day was also super cool.  First Jay and I hit Sugar Buns for lunch before the Paca House garden sale (where I spent way too much money on plants for my gardens).  We also caught up with Ryan for burgers on the grill (turkey burgers that is) and an evening showing of the Avengers (great movie, go see it).  I can't ask for a better Saturday.  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  9.08
Time:   1:27:08 (average pace of 9:35 per mile)
Location:  all over Annapolis
Feeling:  All the muscles were comfortable

Reasons to love Annapolis...

There are so many reasons why Annapolis is, to me, one of the absolute greatest places on the planet...and I get to live here. Today reminded me of just a few of the most important. First and foremost, Annapolis has amazing people, like my great running buddy Brie. She keeps me laughing and motivated over the long runs and can always be counted on to run head first into a challenge. Also, I love the bay - sailing, beach, outdoors, sparkling water, serenity, amazing views - those are all things I associate with the bay. Further, big town amenites but super small town feel - you escape into amazing pockets of solitude but still be close enough to catch an afternoon college football game at a BCS school (shoot me a message if you don't know what that is...we've got some educating to do and I don't want to embarass you publicly).

Today, I got all three of the aforementioned reasons to love Annapolis. The day started with a fantastic run through Greenbury Point and Naval Station Annapolis with Brie. It was a pretty easy run...okay, let me rephrase...it was a comfortable run, though we were cruising a bit. We did take the time to bask in some of the amazing views from the Naval Station, including across Mill Creek and the Severn to the Chesapeake Bay bridge and the sailboats docked at the Mill Creek marina on base. We also took a moment to look across the Severn into downtown Annapolis. In fact, it was here that even a 30+ year resident of Annapolis can still say "I really love this town." We finished up through the Naval Station proper where we passed a number of groups of midshipmen getting in their Saturday PT. We ended our run by checking out the new collection of Vineyard Vines clothing at the exchange...I've got my eye on that navy blue with white starfish wrap skirt.

The afternoon continued the streak of all things amazing about Annapolis, with the spring Blue-Gold football scrimmage at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. I'll tell you, we've got a decent quarterback coming up, but the defense still leaves a little to be desired. Hopefully come the fall season, the boys will have figured out how to stop the other team from scoring. Anyway, it was a great day all in all, including the peanut butter froyo at Menchie's and dinner at Mexican Cafe. Couldn't ask for anything more! Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles: 10.79
Time: 1:35:58 (average pace of 8:53 per mile)
Location: Greenbury Point at Naval Station Annapolis
Feeling: Loved it - great weather, great company, great feeling legs

The girl in blue...

So, the humidity was soupy (76%) but the temperature wasn't bad for my first attempt at the US Naval Academy bridge challenge I discussed earlier. As you may recall, the 5k run requires crossing the bridge four times and there is an uphill climb each of those four passes. The first couple crossings were fine, the third started to burn and I had to prod myself to continue upward, and I took a short break during the fourth...like one minute. All in all it was a good run, though I think I spent the next several hours sweating as a result. Yeah, gross, I know.

Finishing the task is definitely the point of doing the challenge, but would be relatively boring to write about again and again. Let me tell you about the girl in blue last night...

On my first pass over the bridge I ran into a girl wearing turquoise blue running clothes just watching the sunset with her ipod at the crest of the bridge. As I passed, she looked over and smiled. You would expect that of anyone you pass running, at least in the friendly town of Annapolis.

That same girl in blue was still there when I made the second pass over the bridge. This time, however, she had climbed over the edge of the bridge and was sitting on the concrete under the railing with her feet dangling over the river. I wanted to say "Girl, do you know how high it is? And oh by the way, the threat of gusts up the river." The crest of the bridge is 75 feet above the Severn River navigation channel. That is really high.

So during this pass, the girl looked back over her shoulder at me once, maybe twice. I looked over my shoulder many more times than that wondering just what the heck she was doing. Was she a jumper? A thrill seeker? Casual observer looking to get off the bridge walk path? Each time I looked back she was still there showing no signs of climbing back over the railing.

On the third pass she was gone. Now, I'm not going to speculate about what happened to the girl in blue (okay, maybe just a little). When I crested the bridge again I didn't see her running down the other side or even up Routes 450 or 648. Nor did I see any police action which would indicate she had an accident (though I was passed by the same county police cruiser three times and that cruiser ended up going down into Jonas Green Park below the north side of the bridge but without any lights on). I guess we'll never know what happened to the girl in blue, though since there was no police report about a jumper we can safely assume she made it home last night.

Setting some goals....

This week I've managed to lay down a bit more than 13 miles so far. It's been a bit of a rough week because I'm currently taking medication that makes me drowsy...but I haven't let it keep me at home. Depending on what time I get home from work today, it could be a rest day. I need one and so do my muscles for recovery, but I'd rather take a rest day Friday if I can manage.

So what's with the goal setting headline? Didn't I set a goal in my last post? Of course I did, but I managed to leave something out - battling my nemesis. I hate hills. I'm not bad at running hills, but I absolutely abhor running any hill I don't have to. To that end, I choose training routes that are relatively flat or with minor rolling hills. This may be fine for first time runners, but I can do better.

Time to step up to the plate. Relatively close to my house I have a fantastic long climb on the Naval Academy bridge. Those of you who have run the Annapolis Ten Miler or Zooma Annapolis have had the pleasure of tackling this beast - twice per race. It looks relatively gentle, but by the time you are ascending either side, you wish you were cresting the top. So. I'm going to run this bridge more often.



I could set an outrageous goal like "I will run the Naval Academy bridge every week or twice a week." Let's be honest, my schedule is pretty much a moving target. So instead, I will work my darndest to run a pre-determined route at least twice per month that includes the Naval Academy bridge.

Here's the pre-determined route - Start at the Perry Circle parking across from Gate 8 at the Academy. Run north across the bridge. Cross the road just before the right side ramp onto 648 and run south back across the bridge. When outside the gate on Longshaw and Wood Road, cross the street and repeat the bridge returning to the parking at Perry Circle. The distance is a 5k and crosses the bridge span 4 times.

That ought to do it.

My next edition of uphill running? It may actually include what I refer to as Bastard Hill....but let's not go crazy just yet.