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

Mom + Miles = Sanity

Check out runprettyfar.com for more

Today I came across a new fun running attire company that summed up some of my feelings about running pretty well, and did so stylishly.  As I've said multiple times, running is my sanity.  Now, I can't say that I need the sanity check because of my child...far from it.  Actually running has helped center me for a long time.  That said, I love the shirt that says "Mom + Miles = Sanity."  I will take it to mean that, yes, I am a mom, and yes I have stress, and yes, running helps me keep it all on an even keel.

I thought about the life evening benefits of running a lot during my today's lunch hour miles.  I thought about all the feelings I have when its me, my ipod and endless road or trail.  I feel release.  I feel empowered.  I feel in control.  I feel strong.  I feel relaxed.  I feel happy.  I feel accomplished.  I feel many things, but most importantly I feel AWESOME about myself.

The sun was shining down, cars were bustling up and down the roads, people were walking and talking through the parks and life was going on around me, but it didn't matter.  I was in my happy zone (one of my several happy zones of course) and everything felt pretty good.  I cleared my head and thought about new approaches to work challenges, I thought about fun things to do with the diva this weekend, I thought about my half marathon and the joy of running with friends this weekend. 

And then I stopped.  I enjoyed the sweat (well, mostly...I don't enjoy the sweat that drips into my eyes and stings like a mother...), and I enjoyed the slight ache in my muscles.  Though the run was not particularly challenging it was fulfilling and helping me to hit my mini goal for the week (30 miles...).  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  4.01
Time:   34:44 (average pace of 8:39 per mile)
Location:  Stanton Park, Lincoln Park, Capitol Hill
Feeling:  the lower hamstring is twinging a bit again, but the lungs are feeling lighter

Danger Will Robinson....

Until I get completely caught up, I'm skipping the write ups about treadmill runs.  They can be boring (unless I happen to catch some show like Pregnant and Didn't Know It).  Let's just say, I did one on Wednesday (stats below) and move on.

Today was relatively  mild in the morning, but growing hot by the afternoon, so I was dressed for running when I took the diva to school.  I got a little side tracked and by the time I was set to run it was raining outside.  Too bad, I've got to run.  So I decided to hit the treadmill...blah.

On my way over to the gym I thought to myself "it's not raining hard, and I actually like running in the rain, so what the heck."  I detoured over to Greenbury Point to get in four to five miles.  After parking my car, getting the satellite feed on my Garmin set, and adjusting my cap (don't like rain in my eyes) I set off toward the trail.  I ran into an unfortunate sign at the head of the trail, which caused me to have to change my proposed route for the run.

So, I flipped around and was going to head up through the golf course after the loop down by the Mill Creek marina.  I got as far as the Nature Center when I decided to try the trail behind the center.  I'd never run it and thought it may be interesting.  It was narrow and over run with weeds.  Since I was running alone, I thought it might not be wise to get too far down the trail and risk injury, so headed back. 

I noticed that the Nature Center entrance to the Greenbury Point trail did not have the live fire sign up, and took my chances heading down that path.  At this point my head cold started to catch up with me.  On top of the rain, I was sweaty and my skin was turning red.  I also couldn't catch my breath.  Perhaps the workout was a bad idea when I have such a bad cold going on.  When will I learn my lesson?

Anyway, I finished the trail.  It wasn't pretty but it wasn't ugly.  I didn't get in four to five miles, but I didn't sit on the couch.  Oh yeah, I also crossed the 75% threshold for meeting my goal for the year, so that is awesome!  While my mileage is low for the week so far, I'll get over the head cold and make it up over the weekend.  Happy trails!!!

Stats (for Wednesday)
Miles:  3.53
Time:   30:03 (average pace of 8:30 per mile)
Location:  Gym at Naval Support Activity Annapolis
Feeling:  my legs aren't bothering me, surprise

Stats (for Thursday)
Miles:  3.14
Time:   27:23 (average pace of 8:43 per mile)
Location:  Greenbury Point
Feeling:  everything aches

Bring on the crazy...

When I got the flyer in the mail for the Charm City Run 20-miler (yes, I know you are already considering my mental state as diminished), I thought to myself "this would be fun but I don't want to do it alone."  That meant I needed to find someone equally crazy to run it with me.  Here's where my good friend Lara comes in.  She runs longer distances than any of us and does it with her lip gloss still looking fantastic.  When I told her about the race, she was in.  Score!  Nice long race and a few hours with one of the toughest people to pin down in Anne Arundel County.

The race was a point to point on the NCR trail, so we started out up near the PA border and ran south to Hunt Valley on a very slight downgrade.  At the start the weather was almost cool and the temperature stayed mild through the whole race....though it was humid as all get out.  The humidity came into factor several times throughout the race.  By the middle of it, our clothes were more wet than the week before during the A-10 when it actually poured rain on the race....yeah, it was that humid.

At any rate, we cruised down the trail, catching up on the past several months in detail, keeping relatively close to a 10 minute pace.  For us, this was more a training run than a race so there was no pressure.  We chatted and chatted.  At one point we ran up on a couple folks who entered the conversation (we would end up leapfrogging this duo through the whole race) and sped up after some parts of the conversation got a bit weird.

That wasn't the last weird thing on the course though.  At one point we came up to a house with a gnome obsession that backed up to the trail.  There were at least 50 gnomes in this yard, maybe upward of a hundred.  Bizarre, but humorous. 

Then at the mile 12 water stop was a great surprise.  The diva and my husband were helping out at the water table.  Check out my little race volunteer...she refused to let anyone else hold the gatorade cups as they were being filled.  She'll be great in a few years.

The rest of the run was really good.  Both mine and Lara's hamstrings were tight just north of the knee caps, but everything else felt pretty good.  For us anyways.  About half a mile before the finish we came up on a poor guy who had such a horrible charlie horse that his whole leg was wracked in tremors.  He couldn't move and it was on a treacherous part of the course on a road with no shoulder and oncoming traffic.  Lara and I stayed with him until he could stand again, and then headed up to the finish with smiles on our faces.  Twenty miles went by very fast.

I loved this race.  I would do it again.  I may even consider the NCR Trail Marathon later this year.  We'll see. Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  20
Time:   3:25:26 (average pace of 10:16 per mile)
Location:  NCR Trail from PA border to Hunt Valley
Feeling:  the hamstring held up and the attitude was spectacular

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

Oh glorious day...

Today was BEAUTIFUL!!!  I can't say enough about what a pleasure it was to be running on a day like today.  The temp was in the mid-70s, the sky was clear and the humidity was manageable.  I would be fine if the rest of the year was just like today.  Yesterday, however, was a totally different story and I guess I need to start there.

Friday was hot, humid and all things sticky.  It was way too hot to be running outside in the middle of the day and normally I would have taken this as a rest day.  Why, then, was I running at the height of this day that was designed for a treadmill workout?  Because the new Joovy Zoom 360 came in and we just had to take it for a spin.  Nothing too strenuous, mind you.  Just a quick two miles to check out the performance versus the old Baby Trend Expedition.

I must say, I am in love.  The Zoom 360 works like a dream.  All those things I hated about the old jogging stroller?  They don't exist with this one.  There are no exposed hard plastic areas for the diva to knock her head against when we hit bumps, the maneuverability is 100% improved and the stroller has a suspension system, so it has an amazing ride.  Did I mention that it came with cup holders too?  If I were a kid I would probably live in this stroller.  The diva seems to like it too.

Now for today.  Oh the glorious day we had.  This morning, the diva and my husband headed out to a family fair over at the base, which left me some time to run and do some cleaning around the house.  I started with the run. 

It was so comfortable out that I just hit a rhythm and kept going.  If I didn't have so much I wanted to accomplish, I would have made it a 10 miles day.  As it was, I limited it to just over five and took one of my less usual routes.  I headed over to Broadneck Park and wound through the walking path there, headed over to Cape St. Claire and hugged the curvy windy roads down to the shopping center and turned back to home with gas left in the engine.  I even raced a lizard up the connector from Cape St. Claire road to Old Cape St. Claire Road.  It felt amazing.

And that was just the start.  The day kept giving and I was willing to take.  We ended the day out on a friend's boat watching the sun set and the stars brighten the sky to the chorus of kids laughing while feeding chips to the ducks.  It doesn't get any better than this.  Happy trails!!!

Stats for Friday -
Miles:  2.14
Time:   20:15 (average pace of 9:27...better than with the old stroller)
Location:  Chesapeake Preserve
Feeling:  tight hamstrings but great stroller

Stats for Today -
Miles:  5.3
Time:   45:16 (average pace of 8:32 per mile)
Location:  Broadneck Park to Cape St. Claire and home
Feeling:  tight hamstrings but the rest of it was great....maybe it's time to hit the icy hot again

Multitasking mama...

Today I woke up feeling the need for an early run. The temps were going to be good and I know a route that is relayy.tively cool i the morning if the temps are reasonable, even if the humidity isn't...like today (76%).  So after breakfast and a little tricycle practice, the diva and I headed over to the B&A Trail for a few miles...that was the plan.

I refuse, well almost refuse, to run the B&A trail when its hot and humid.  The trail is set between two banks of trees.  When the temperature is semi-okay, the humidity makes its cool under the trees.  When the temp is atrocious, the trees seem to hold in heat that could only be generated in hell...hence my lack of enthusiasm in running the trail on hot days.  Thankfully the temp at 9:15 am today was only about 80 degrees.  Lovely.  Especially since I still have the dreaded Baby Trend jogging stroller instead of the new one.  Thank goodness the B&A trail is straight as a pin.

I started out the run emailing back and forth between my office and another interested party about whether or not we should hold a conference call at 9:45 am or 1:00 pm.  Mind you, while this is all going on I'm jogging and pushing the jogging stroller.  We finally settled on 9:45 and so I kept one eye on the watch and another on the trail. 

Because of the nature of the trail, this would be an out and back run.  The trail was busy on the way out and the little diva got a lot of waves to respond to.  She enjoyed it for about 10-15 minutes before she zonked out so hard I don't think a freight train could have woken her in the stroller.  This was a good thing since I had the call coming up shortly.

The run itself was relatively uneventful...aside from the fact that for the first time I wasn't cursing the stroller the entire way (remember I said the trail was straight, so no worrying about maneuverability), and my hamstrings were sore from the hard run last night.  The call, was pretty good and during an easy enough section of the trail so as not to slow the pace at all...oh yeah, I kept on going during that conference call. And as soon as the call ended, we turned around and headed back toward the car. 

All in all, I would say this was the most successful outing I've had with the old jogging stroller (and thankfully the last beause the new one comes in tomorrow).  Perhaps my weekday runs will have to switch over to the B&A trail....only if mother nature and the weather cooperates. And yeah, while running, and pushing the jogging stroller, and participating on a conference call, I ran about 3/4 of a mile more than I set out to.  Happy trails!!! 

Stats -
Miles:  4.52
Time:   43:15 (average pace of 9:34 per mile)
Location:  B&A Trail
Feeling:  Really sore hamstrings, but otherwise fantastic

Adding to the jogging pleasure...

I have been looking forward to today's run for several days.  Why?  Well, today Brie and I switched up the routine and took along the kids.  Yep, my second run with the jogging stroller (see more on the jogging stroller saga below) and the added pleasure of new running partners, or rather spectators.  All around an enjoyable effort.


We started out a little late, but since the weather was cooler than it has been, it actually wasn't an issue.  We headed downtown toward City Dock and the playground on Newman Street.  This is a really cool playground if you have kids.  It's got just about everything you could imagine for the kids.  The diva still enjoys swings and slides over most other playground elements, but she is curious about tunnels.

After the playground, we headed over to City Dock to feed the ducks...feeding frenzy doesn't quite do justice to the melee in ego alley.  And took in the farmer's market to buy some great heirloom tomatoes to make BLTs for lunch (also got some zucchini to make bread, but that will have to wait a couple days).

Following the downtown events, we headed back up to Franklin Street - quieter and more shade covered than West Street, and then shimmied over to Poplar Trail.  I don't want you to get the idea that this was an easy run.  No way, I'm no where near accustomed to a jogging stroller, but it was great fun...especially with new jogging partners.  We ended with one smily boy and one rather tuckered out little girl.  I hope these two will grow up to be great friends...there mamas certainly are.

Now for the jogging stroller drama....wellnot so much drama as just determining that I really dislike my jogging stroller.  Sure its heavy, the combined weight with the diva means I'm pushing around 60 pounds.  That's not a big deal.  What I don't like is that I have no maneuverability, which is crummy on windy trails.  The seat sits too far back, so the diva has to lean forward to see around her.  And that means if we hit a bump her head is bumped against the unpadded side rails.  All in all, sucky.  So what's the solution?  I researched jogging strollers and reviews and will be the proud owner of the Joovy Zoom 360 by the end of the week.  I should have improved maneuverability, good suspension, better seat position...and a cup holder for me :)  I'll be sure to review the stroller after using it.

Finally, I logged this morning's run only to discover I was 0.07 miles from hitting my target for the week.  So what did I do?  I went out and ran a couple more miles.  It was warmer than this morning, and certainly less shade covered running the cloverleaf in Chesapeake Preserve, but felt decent and got the job done.

I'm hoping for more opportunities to get outside this week, as opposed to my treadmill running of the past two, though this will mean time with the dreaded Baby Trend jogging stroller.  Perhaps I can find a long straight road.  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  6.11 in the morning, 2.26 in the afternoon
Time:  Not sure about the morning (forgot the watch) but the afternoon was 19:20 (average 8:33)
Location:  All around Annapolis & Chesapeake Preserve
Feeling:  Hot and sweaty, but the muscles were working well

Holy hills batman...

I've once again been remiss at logging my runs as they happen, so today is another "two run" post.  I'm going to go backwards because today's run is much more exciting than Thursday's treadmill effort.

Today I took a second shot at the River Valley Run 10k trail race, which was a beast last year.  I say its a beast in a good way, meaning it challenges you to pull out more than you think you have to get it done.  It's got hills.  I don't mean it's got hills, I mean it's got HILLS.  It also has a little of everything else you would want in a trail run - water, rocks, tree jumps, etc.   What made the race even better than last year was my enhanced cheering section.  Last year Jay was deployed, and we didn't even know the diva was out there.  So it was great to have them both there.

Now we get to the start of this run.  Well let me tell you, just reading the course map won't prepare you for the hills in the first 3.5 miles of the course - ending with what they aptly called "Dead Man's Hill."  It doesn't take long to get to that first hill and then they just keep coming. We all know the saying "what goes up must come down"? The race directors for this run managed to defy even Newton...I believe there is a lot more uphill than downhill to this race.

Following the hills, there are a lot of other fun aspects to this course. From the rock scramble (which was faster than last year because I decided to take the route marked "slower" which had no line, while the route marked "faster & trickier" had a long line...figure that one out..the people on the slow route all passed those on the fast route), to the river crossing that was a little deeper than last year because of all the rain.

I was sadly disappointed, however, in the lack of enthusiasm shown by many at the river crossing. Here's my philosophy on trail running - you didn't sign up to go home clean and dry. I take every opportunity to make sure I have to scrape off layers of sweat and dirt, but many of my fellow racers are afraid of a little water. There were two options at the river crossing - you could go out of your way to cross on a bridge or you could plunge in and run. So (a) we've got the wimps who took the bridge...come on, are you kidding me? Then (b) you've got those runners who decided to brave the water but were so afraid of getting too wet that they basically walk through the water slowly so as not to splash.

This is where I come in. I'm sure I got several dirty looks from behind, but I aim to ensure everyone close to me gets a real trail experience. So, as I enter the water there are several of the version (b) runners in front of me. I devilishy grin to myself and run through the water at top speed splashing EVERYWHERE and EVERYONE within a 10 foot radius. Dude, you got what you deserved by not respecting the water enough to have fun with it :) 

I finally cruised into the finish line, knocking several minutes off last year's time.  Even though I finished faster, and consequently 13th out of 96 women in the 30-39 age bracket, I managed this race poorly.  I had way too much gas left in the engines at the end and could easily have taken a few more minutes off the time if I had turned it on more out on the course instead of waiting until the final two miles.  That's okay, better next year right? I still had the best cheering section in the house.

Now that I've had fun with today's run, I really won't bore you with the details of a short, 3ish mile treadmill run on Thursday, except for a couple interesting details.  So we had a family social down at Jay's base scheduled for the early evening.  With that, I decided to go early so Jay could watch the diva while I logged a few miles at the gym in their building.  It's not a bad little facility, even though they cater mostly to men and so the women's locker room is a little small.  Its the locker room that actually makes this effort slightly interesting.  Since we were headed to an event immediately following my run, I needed to shower so I didn't turn off all the other families in the command.  But of course, this isn't my usual locker room at the Senate or at 24 Hour Fitness.  No, you need to bring your own towel for this one.  Oops.  Yeppers, I had to dry off with my shorts and paper towels from the sink area.  I'll remember that for next time.  Happy trails!!!

Stats for Thursday -
Miles:  3.01
Time:  25:00 (average pace of 8:18 per mile)
Location:  EWS Gym, Marine Corps Base Quantico
Feeling:  Good, muscles were moving easily

Stats for Today -
Miles:  6.3
Time:  59:18 (average pace of 9:24 per mile...need more hill and trail training b/c I can do better)
Location:  River Valley Ranch, Roller, MD
Feeling:  Hams got tight at mile 3, but overall I could have pushed it much harder

Beating the heat and olympic spirit...

I've said it before...it's not fun to run outside in the heat and humidity.  When my husband got home from work tonight and I changed to get a run in he asked "how far are you going?" I said "not far, just 4-5 miles tonight."  He said, concerned, "you know its hot and humid out there...not really great for a run."  I said "don't worry, I'm heading to the gym to run on the treadmill." 

So maybe there is more than one reason I've willingly taken to the treadmill when I loathe the machine so much.  Yes, it's hot, but more importantly, they have the Olympics on about half the tvs in the cardio room, so I can indulge in keeping up with all the events while logging the miles.  Not sure I'll be quite as motivated for a treadmill run after the flame is extinguished...but I guess I'll take it while I can.

Tonight was a good run.  I hit a nice rhythm and kept on trucking while Access Hollywood recapped a number of the days events...and the lighter side of the Olympics...and then caught a bit of a handball game.  I admit, I know nothing about handball, but it kept my eyes occupied during my post-run mile rowing.

In all, I've got basketball, swimming, boxing, volleyball and a few other events while logging miles.  Not a bad way to while away the time if the scenery isn't changing over the course of 4-5 miles, right?  I'll take and look forward to the fall weather as I stare down four more days of running this week - two of which will be outside in the humidity.  Happy trails!!!


Stats -
Miles:  4.51
Time:   37:02 (average pace of 8:12 per mile)
Location:  Naval Support Activity Annapolis Fitness Center
Feeling:  Nice rhythm for a treadmill run, hamstrings started tightening a little at the end

The soupy dog days...

Dictionary.com tells us that the dog days are "the sultry part of the summer, supposed to occur during the period that Sirius, the Dog Star, rises at the same time as the sun: now often reckoned from July 3 to August 11" or "a period marked by lethargy, inactivity, or indolence."

When the Annapolis Striders named the August race in their club championship series, they must have done so with a sense of humor.  The August race is an 8K cross country-style run named the Dog Days 8K.  I've run this race several years in a row now, and I have to tell you, the temperatures and humidity are never forgiving...and I always feel lethargic, no matter how in shape I am.  This year was no different.

I arrived about an hour before the race in order to get in a one mile warm-up jog.  (I toyed with the idea of jogging over to the race since its only 6 miles from my house, but thought better of it in the end...good thing, I probably would have collapsed from the heat.)  That one mile warm-up should have given me a real good indication that this wasn't going to be a fantastic race...running partner aside (love you Brie!).  First off, I ran hard yesterday so my hamstrings were tight.  Note to self, never run hard the day before a timed run.  Second, the air was so hot you could hardly breathe.

Lucky for me Brie was feeling equally tight and not up to a real hard run.  When the gun went off we just paced it nice and easy.  I think I was dripping wet with sweat by the end of the first mile.  Did I mention the first mile is a really boring two laps around a soccer field?  Oh yeah, Striders really needs to change that beggining.  We then headed toward the first wooded trail section hoping for relief from the heat pushing through the sun.  No such luck.  It was just as hot and hard to breathe inside the woods.  Now, if this race were in...say...October or April, it just may be one of my favorite courses in the champ series.  Its got a little of everything.  Trails, sand, hills, open grass, pavement.  Its enough to keep a runner engaged with the changing terrain.  However, since it falls in the worst possible running month of the year, I loathe this course.

Thank goodness Brie was there today.  Frankly, I would have skipped the race if she wasn't there.  Sunday morning runs with the best running buddy in the world aren't to be missed no matter the trials of the temperatures, location or other obstacles.  Oh, and they had Rita's italian ice at the finish line.  Yeah, that will motivate you :)  Here's to hoping next Saturday's race up at River Valley Ranch is not quite so warm.  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  6.07 (1.07 warm-up, 5 mile race)
Time:   45:34 for the race (average pace of 9:07 per mile)
Location:  Anne Arundel Community College
Feeling:  tight hamstrings were a problem, and it was hard to breathe with the humidity

Logging the week...

I'm behind logging my runs, again.  Are you surprised?  It's been a hot week.  After sweating it out royally on Monday while pushing the jogging stroller, combined with the fact that I had to stop running with the diva until I found a better mosquito repellant (she seems to  be a focal point for every mosquito in Annapolis and has a bad reaction  to the bites), I took the rest of the week inside on the treadmill.  That also gave me the opportunity to add in more rowing, so not altogether a bad thing. 

Since my last post I had two days of treadmill running - today and Wednesday.  Nothing spectacular ever happens on the treadmill, well maybe never.  Today I actually had a great groove going.  I'm not a great treadmill runner.  On the roads I post some good times because I can have my ups and downs in pace on my own.  The treadmill is unforgiving if you change the pace without also changing it on the machine.  That's why I sometimes have troubles putting up decent times and longer runs on the treadmill.  I just don't run the same exact pace, down to the second, mile after mile.  Today, however, I seemed to have it going on.  I had a nice rhythm and the US vs Lithuania Olympic men's basketball game to keep my brain from getting bored, so laying down 7 miles didn't feel like a chore with the treadmill under my feet.  (I can't say the same for my treadmill run earlier in the week...it was a chore.)

Something else I enjoyed about the last two running days was the opportunity to row.  I like to row...in small amounts.  Like the treadmill, it can get boring after so long because unless you have something to keep your mind busy, its really just back and forth.  I didn't put up huge numbers, just a mile rowing on Wednesday and a mile today, but its a good change in exercise for the shoulders and helps me try again to break into cross training.  Can I keep it up?  We'll see.

This week hasn't been spectacular with logging big numbers or outside runs, but I will still hit the number of miles I need to keep on track with my resolution....after the Dog Days 8K tomorrow that is.  Hopefully the heat waits until later in the day to set in.  Happy trails!!!

Stats - (Wednesday)
Miles:  4.01
Time:   33:35 (average pace of 8:22 per mile)
Location:  Naval Support Activity Annapolis Fitness Facility
Feeling:  Just trying to get in miles and destress

Stats - (today)
Miles:  7.16
Time:   60:00 (average pace of 8:22 per mile)
Location:  Naval Support Activity Annapolis Fitness Facility
Feeling:  good rhythm, legs were sound, and didn't tire...AWESOME!

A few kinks to work out...

As I said yesterday, I probably needed to take today off because of the ankles.  But getting in that first run with the jogging stroller - seeing how the little diva did - was too much of a pull to leave the running shoes in the closet.  So in grand denial style, I loaded up the stroller and the diva in the car and headed off to Quiet Waters Park.

I like Quiet Waters.  They have a decent paved trail with options for a couple different distances.  Today I just wanted to take it slow and easy to see how the little one adjusted to the jogging stroller and not hurt myself anymore, so I basically followed the course for the JLA Volunteers on the Run 5K (which happens every fall...check back for details on this year's run), except I swapped the boat loop for the compost loop. 

Things seemed to be going well for the diva...at least she didn't hate the stroller.  It wasn't going quite as well for me.  It definitely is tougher running with the stroller than without.  Most notably my arms were tired from pushing...or rather holding the stroller in front. Give me a couple more and this should get easier.  The other thing I noticed, I couldn't quite get up to speed.  Understatement.  I was going a more than a minute per mile slower.  Hopefully I can chip away at that as I become accustomed to the change.  Actually, this may be a good thing for my speed.  Just think of how much faster I will go without the stroller after training with it.

Okay, so we established I had at least one blunder on this run...that being I shouldn't have run on the injury to begin with.  So, at about mile two, I'm in a little pain, dripping sweat because it's wicked humid and the diva won't sit back because she wants to be able to see all around her.  Now I'm a good mom, and I tried to get her back, but was not successful before we hit a bump (the trail has a lot of them from roots growing up under the pavement) and she bumped her head a tiny bit on the side of the stroller.  I don't think she likes it anymore.  She couldn't wait for the ordeal to be over.  Hopefully she'll give it another shot for mama's sake.  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  3.2
Time:   31:17 (average pace of 9:45 per mile)
Location:  Quiet Waters Park Annapolis
Feeling:  Uh, not fantastic...need to lay off the ankle (but let's be honest, I probably won't)

Injuries in motion...

What is an injured athlete supposed to do?  Rest?  Uh, not these ladies.  There are degrees of injury in my book...those where you can't even move and all others.  I have one that falls into the "all others" category, though most may put it in the category that should be rested a few days. 

Back up a second though....it felt great to get back on the road with Brie today.  It's been almost a month since we put in a run together, and now things feel like they are returning to something akin to normal.  Now, let me also tell you how I injured myself - specifically how I ended up with a high ankle sprain in my right ankle and a very mild sprain in my left ankle.  This truly takes talent to do something so stupid.  I wouldn't mind this injury if I had a great tale to tell, but alas I merely miss one of the steps in front of my house on Friday.  Add my challenges to Brie still working through the IT band issue and we make quite a pair.

The run this morning was nice.  We got out early to avoid the heat, though there was no escaping the sweat inducing humidity, and headed through one of our favorite routes at Greenbury Point.  The ground was still moist from the storm last night, but that just makes the trail sections more cushioned for our legs.  So through seven miles, Brie and I caught up on the past few weeks and fell back into old patterns (injuries aside, we're still doing a little walking for Brie's IT band...I need her healthy)...including greeting all the other early morning runners and cyclists out there.  I love it!  These are the types of mornings that I live for.

So why do I mention the injury if I'm still running?  It didn't hurt a bit while I was running.  In fact yesterday it didn't hurt unless I touched it, but as I sit here logging the run I realize it's possibly a little more injured than I had thought and will have to rest it a bit if I plan to be in good shape for the Dog Days 8k next weekend and the River Valley Run 10k the following weekend.  We'll see if I can resist taking out the jogging stroller tomorrow.  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  7.17 
Time:   1:12:23 (average pace of 10:05 per mile)
Location:  Greenbury Point, Naval Support Activity Annapolis
Feeling:  Good, more normal

Keeping up...

There are only so many hours in the day...and by the time I find at least one for myself, I'm just about passed out on my bed.  That's what it's like trying to find time to blog.  Oh well, at least I can get the runs in...I can catch up on the blogging of the runs later.  That's why I'm writing about two runs today - yesterday and today.

Yesterday can be summed up with one word....HOT!  Maryland has been under heat advisories for the last few days, and I can't seem to get up early enough to beat my early riser for a run that doesn't occur at 4am.  After nearly killing myself with the heat on Wednesday's run, I promised to limit to just a couple miles.  That's enough to help get my body back into the groove of running on the pavement every day.  So, prepped to sweat my rear end off, I headed up to run the cloverleaf at Chesapeake Preserve for this one.  I like running through that neighborhood, though admittedly there are no trees to provide shade.  It wasn't bad, but I was dripping for the rest of the day.

Today was equally hot and I needed to put in a good run, so I headed back inside to the dreadmill at the gym over at the Naval Station.  Ahhh, they had the air on just right for a good several miles.  If I hadn't started to get bored looking at the wall, I probably good have run for an hour.  Alas, the wall can only offer so much entertainment and so I called it quits at 4 miles and then rowed for a bit.  On my way back out, my car was streaked by one of the biggest red foxes I've seen in this area.  At any rate, I'm proud of the running I've been able to accomplish with the change in my life. 

So, as I head into our second weekend at home with the little one (and am anxiously looking forward to getting back in the groove with my fave running partner), this will be my last midweek nap time run.  Next week we'll be trying something new.  Happy trails!!!

Thursday Stats -
Miles:  2.52
Time:   21:22 (average pace of 8:28 per mile)
Location:  Bay Head to Chesapeake Preserve
Feeling:  Hot, sweaty, a little tight

Friday Stats -
Miles:  4.01
Time:   33:41 (average pace of 8:24 per mile)
Location:  Fitness Center at Naval Support Activity Annapolis
Feeling:  comfortable...finally

Building a routine...

The last couple weeks has been anything but usual for me.  I'm spending a lot of time playing with my new daughter and less time resting...that makes for one tired mama.  (To all my mom friends out there, I'm sorry if I ever had complained about you being tired.)  So what does all this mean for running?  It means I have to find a new groove, a new routine, that works for me, work, and more importantly my daughter.  In no way does this change my running goals.  They are very important to me and my physical and emotional health.  So 1000 miles...I'm still staring you down and on target to hit the mark a whole month early. 


Today I logged another nap time run.  Almost as soon as my little girl was sound asleep I tied on those running shoes and hit the pavement.  It was a tough one.  I've not done a lot of outdoors running this month (again, the dreadmill was the machine of choice in China) so I've got to get my lungs used to running in the humidity and pollen again.  To that end, I probably went out to hard and fast today for what I had hoped would be a six mile run, but ended up as a five and a half miler.  Oh well, close enough.

I took off in the usual "at home" direction.  I don't normally run at home in the middle of the day, so how was I to know my route is nothing but blazing sun at noon?  It's shady all other times.  Also, the smell of that dead deer from June is back.  Ewwww.  But hopefully this is the start of getting everything back in working order for the road.  August and September are busy racing months for me...October and November also for that matter...so just a couple weeks left to make sure I'm still in fine racing shape.

On another matter, the nap time run will only work as long as I've got Jay home to monitor the house.  That ends Monday.  So, we're going to have to get that jogging stroller in good working order by next week.  Happy trails!!!

Stats:
Miles:  5.4
Time:   47:24 (average pace of 8:46 per mile...slow)
Location:  Bay Head, Log Inn
Feeling:  sluggish and hot

Mom on the run...

Yuexiu Park with the latest family addition.  It was one of
the greatest moments of my life to bring her into the
family.  Perhaps someday she'll be a runner too.

It's been two weeks since my last post, but that does not mean that I've been resting.  No siree.  This has been one super active woman, and though today was the first time since leaving for China that I put hard pavement under my running shoes, I did manage to log more than 35 miles while I was overseas (which is impressive - if I may say so - because I hate jogging on the dreadmill for any length of time).  I'm just now blogging, however, because I did not take a laptop with me and it cost almost $10 to use the hotel computers for twenty minutes.  I quickly decided I would lump all the workouts together once I got home.  So here's a short recap of how things went and I'll finish up with today's run.

Proof that those were treadmill miles.

Two extremely short weeks ago my husband and I boarded a plane to China to adopt our daughter.  We spent the whole two weeks in the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong province, which is very near Hong Kong.  That means tropical, which means SUPER steamy.  In fact, most days we were there the "feels like" temperature exceeded 100.  That is not conducive to running and surviving (though I did see many Chinese who seemed to survive running in it..more power to them) so I relegated myself to the China Hotel fitness center for my two weeks of running.  At least those are the only miles I counted.  We actually walked all over the city and so I probably logged several more actual miles in the blistering heat...but oh well.  I can hardly complain because it was one of the most special times of my life, and, oh yeah I crossed another milestone - 60% of my goal in the books! :)

China Hotel pool

Guangzhou Zoo

So along with logging the treadmill miles (done mostly during nap time or before my husband and daughter were awake), we spent a lot of time at the pool (my daughter loves the pool), walking through Yuexiu and Liuhua Lake Parks, through the zoo and around random neighborhoods.  We exercised ourselves and got to know each other as a family.


Fast forward after two days of rest between the trip and my next run and we come to today.  I wasn't looking to break any land speed records or log a gazillion miles.  I just wanted to feel the pavement, get out of my head and relax for a few minutes during nap time (both my daughter and my husband).  So I tied up my shoes and just headed out to stretch my legs and enjoy.  It felt good and I'm looking forward to my next run...hopefully with the jogging stroller once we get the tires pumped up and ready to go.  Happy trails!!!

Stats (only today's are below...while in China I logged 35.55 miles)
Miles:  4.05
Time:   35:00 (average pace of 8:38 per mile)
Location:  Bay Head to Log Inn
Feeling:  Nice and smooth, a little tight in the knees but that's par for the course after long flights

The jogging stroller moms...

Today I leave for China.  Actually I leave in a couple of hours.  The bags are packed, all the details are taken care of and the boarding passes are printed (well sort of...we are checked in, but since its an international flight we have to show passports before getting the actual boarding passes).  Only one thing still needed to be done...I needed to hit my mini-goal for the week with my running.  So I strapped on the shoes (trail shoes, but I'll get to that) and headed out into yet another scorching early morning.

Since I already packed my running shoes, I ended up wearing one of my newer pairs of trail shoes this morning.  Big mistake.  I wasn't running on trails.  Not only are they not broken in, but the soles just don't mesh with pavement running.  My arches were killing me in the first mile.  By the third mile I think they gave up and just fell down with the shoe, or at least the muscles in my foot stretched a little differently.  By the end, I wasn't paying much attention to my arches because I was trying to keep the sweat from blinding me.

But who can talk about running right now?  I thought relatively little about it during the hour I was outside doing the deed.  My mind was in China, where in two days I will meet my child for the first time.  It's been a long wait and I'm excited/anxious/nervous/happy/scared/ecstatic/joyful.  This is what I thought about. Now, I'll still be running in China, but probably back on the treadmill.  And I won't be taking my laptop, so my blogging may be less regular.  But once I get back, I will be joining a new group of runners - the jogging stroller moms - and I can't wait.

Oh, yeah, and I did hit this week's mini-goal of 15 miles before jumping on the plane :)  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  6.52
Time:  57:48 (average pace of 8:52 per mile)
Location:  Broadneck Peninsula, Bay Head, Sandy Point
Feeling:  Aside from the arches it was a good run

A run for independence...

I was both sad and relieved that there were no scheduled races on the Fourth of July this year.  I would have felt compelled to register for one had it been scheduled, but it was hot as hades out...at 6am when I did run this morning, I can't imagine what it would have been like running a race later in the morning.

This morning the run wasn't stellar, but it didn't suck...totally.  My hamstring is tight again and, let me reiterate, it was hot.  With everything as it was (and a full day of chasing after a toddler ahead of me...plus the concert, plus fireworks) I decided to take it a bit easier than I planned on the mileage.  This means I'm going to have to make up for this somewhere else.  Since I'd been heading out toward Sandy Point so much lately, I decided to head toward Cape St. Clair.  It was an easy lollipop route that landed me 3 miles on the tally sheet.  Little went through my head except "darn its hot."

The run ended on a nice note though.  I ran into a neighbor who is close to Jay and I in age, we chatted, and then my mom and the dogs came trotting out the door toward me ready for their morning walk.  So off we went and that was the pace for the day.  Independence day has always been  favorite for me...remember how the USA started and the sacrifices people make to keep it great, enjoy family and ALWAYS make sure to see the fireworks.  Happy fourth and happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  3.03
Time:   25:41 (average pace of 8:28 per mile)
Location:  Broadneck Peinsula
Feeling:  Did I mention I was hot????!!!?!?!?!

Let there be light...

Late Friday night mother nature visited our area and left an unforgettable calling card...winds gusting to 95mph, tons of lightning and ultimately no power.  When I woke up to head out for my run on Saturday morning I thought little of the fact that the power was not yet back on, afterall electricity on the Broadneck Peninsula can be very tempermental.  I figured it would just be a few more hours and then back to normal.  Boy was I wrong and that is why this entry will cover my runs for both Saturday and Sunday (a non-fantastic weekend of running).

As I was saying, Saturday morning the lights were still out but the sun was rising steadily and it was full light out at 6:00am.  I had every intention of putting in some extra miles since I had nothing pressing on the schedule for the day.  Well, I ignored my best running buddy's wise advice...particularly when running first thing in the morning...never head out on a run without reliable access to a restroom or port-o-john within a mile-ish of where you are.  Minus those things, you should have an easy place to jump off the path for a break.  Neither of those are along my typical 5-8 mile running route near home.  It makes for a long, slow run.  Lesson learned.  That less than pleasant experience aside, I'm sure I did amuse several cars that passed as I did my "OMG that was so gross, disgusting and I hate snakes more than a root canal with no novocaine" dance as I trotted passed a recently beheaded snake on the side of the road.  Man I hate those things dead or alive.  The run, however bad, also gave me the opportunity to assess the storm damage in the local area.  And no, the lights did not come back on at any time during Saturday.  Lights aren't bad to lose once in a while, but air conditioning is during 100 degree days.  It was steaming in the house as we cleaned like fiends before our upcoming  trip.

Sunday was a bit of a different experience.  After more than three weeks I finally got my weekend running partner back.  We met up at 6:00am at the B&A trail to head out for about an hour.  Brie is still having some IT band issues (only aggravated by our showing at North Face at the beginning of June) so the goal was to get in some miles without injury.  We went for a jog 5 minutes, walk 1 pace to keep from over stressing Brie's leg (she's got a triathlon coming up and we want her in tip top shape!)  It was a nice steady jog that was VERY conducive to catching up on personal gossip and all the important happenings.  We got turned around a little earlier than planned, though, when a tree blocked the whole path.  The tree we would have climbed around if there hadn't also been wires tangled up in  the tree.  Why tempt fate?  So we turned it around, jogged back to the cars and headed into town for coffee at City Dock.  I've missed my mornings with Brie.

The weekend continued with super hot temps throughout Sunday, but thankfully our power came back on late Sunday morning.  I love air conditioning almost as much as I love running.  All other things aside, I did hit 550 miles by the end of the weekend (not quite the end of the month...missed it by one day but still).  Now let's bring these temps back to normal (or at least remotely tolerable) so that I can get in another 15-20 miles before jumping on an airplane on Friday afternoon for a great two week journey.  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  11.95
Time:   1:58:12 (the average was around 9:50ish, but don't know for certain)
Location:  Broadneck Peninsula (Saturday) & B&A Trail (Sunday)
Feeling:  I've definitely had better, but all the running related muscles were working alright