Ahhh, the bay...

I'm blessed to have many great friends, some of whom inspire me to run. This morning I took in a longish run with a group of women training for the Zooma half marathon, led by my great friend Lara. Lara is the woman who conned me into trying my hand at the 50k distance a few years ago. She's also a woman who can keep you entertained over many miles of quiet, boring, busy, or exciting roads. Today she led our group of ladies through the Bay Ridge community of Annapolis. If you know Annapolis, you know this neighborhood probably has the best views of the bay in the area. At any of a great number of houses, one could imagine taking in the morning coffee on the front porch watching the sun rise over the bay. This morning, the day was so clear that the sun was virtually sparkling on the glass surface of the bay. The stretches of bay were so inspiring that you could almost forget the strong wind coming down from the Severn. The beaches were so clean you wanted to sink your toes into the sand. Amazing!

Instead of getting to take in my coffee overlooking the water, or sticking my toes into the sand, I pushed out 7 miles through the rolling hills of Annapolis Cove, Bay Ridge and Anchorage. I changed shoes back into the old ones today to check on whether the shoes were creating the bakc issues - quite likely. It was a great run and I met some great new ladies. They even helped me regulate my speed a bit which I am not very capable of on my own....I'm a bit of a speed demon. I hope that I will be invited to run with this group again and I wish them all luck as they prepare for Zooma this year (I'm not fond of this race, so I'm more likely found at a water stop handing out liquid life). Thanks again to Lara, Gloria and my new friend Natalie (who hung out for the last 4 miles or so). Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles: 7.2
Time: 1:08:02 (average pace of 9:26 per mile)
Location: PAL Park down through Bay Ridge and back
Feeling: Very strong.

Tis the season....

No, I'm not decking any halls and I got rid of that darn prickly holly bush last summer. Perhaps you've guessed? Oh yeah, it's allergy season. How can I tell? I could not get a deep, ful breath in for several miles. The flowers and trees are beautiful, but the pollen does a number on my respiratory system. Time to start carrying around the back-up inhaler for long runs until we get a few good rain storms.

Alrighty, complaining aside, the weather this week has been beautiful for running. Almost hot. It's conducive to working up a really good, cleansing sweat that makes you feel accomplished. This evening was a pretty easy run, though it started out pretty tough. My first two miles through Stanton Park and up toward Lincoln Park felt like I was pulling a weight sled, the wind was blowing so hard. The last couple as I headed back to Capitol Hill and in front of the ever-inspiring domw (do you get tired of me talking about the dome?) presented more calm air to cut through. All in all, though, a pretty decent adventure. Lots of runners out, dogs strolling and good old car horn honking through DC :)

Oh, and I almost forgot, I believe I figured out what has caused the back pain the past several days. Tonight I noticed a rather decent-sized bruise on my right lower back - about 3 inches long and 2 inches high. I've got my annual physical tomorrow morning, so I'll have the doctor check it just to be sure and I'll ask for a referral to the physical therapist to make sure it didn't affect the SI joint again. I've got too much to do this year to be sidelined by injury! Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles: 4.43
Time: 37:54 (average pace of 8:33 per mile)
Location: Capitol Hill, Lincoln Park
Feeling: A little sore and wind blown, but otherwise trudging along

Sights and smells of spring...

What do I love about today? 65 degrees and daffodils (crocuses, flowering trees, etc.) everywhere! The flowers were in abundance (and boy do my allergies feel it), nannies could be seen on every corner with their young wards, and time seemed to be moving slower. Spring has been sprouting for a couple weeks now, but today I truly felt it. There are many things in this world that make me smile, but I truly love the first flowers of spring. So, I was overjoyed to cruise through the neighborhoods of Capitol Hill on a "garden tour" while getting in a couple mile leg stretcher. What a fantastic way to spend the lunch break - exercise, fresh air and a clear mind.

Everything seemed brighter, fresher, and while my run wasn't spectacular (or long...just stretching the legs) it would have been a real shame to miss a day like today. I've also been lagging behind a little bit in reaching my goal for the year, but I'm very glad that we are "scheduled" to have several more days like this in the next week. That should help motivate me to rack up the miles. It makes running that much easier and that much more enjoyable. Next up - cherry blossom season in DC. Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles: 2.65
Time: 22:38 (average pace of 8:32 per mile)
Location: Capitol Hill
Feeling: elated for the spring, but the back is still hurting

Working through it...

Warning - this post lacks my usual wit and somewhat interesting storytelling...My run tonight was about as inspired as Ron Paul's supporters knowing he wouldn't win a single one of the states in Super Tuesday. But it needed to be done. I've taken the past couple of days off because my back is bothering me. Luckily, this pain is not associated with my back injury, so I can only assume I've slept in a bad position the past few nights. But it really hurts...

Anyway, after giving in to the pain the past couple days, I pushed myself out the door after a long day at work to put in a few miles. I figured 2-3 miles would be good considering the level of pain I was in. Honestly, though, running was the first time it has not hurt since Saturday, so I pushed out 4 miles. I was also overdressed, so it was a good sweaty, cleansing run. I don't know about you, but running clears my head to think about the tough questions, and I've got more than one of those that needs answering now. Hopefully hitting the sidewalks today - and surviving - will pave the way for an even stronger, longer run tomorrow. Until then, happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles: 4.04
Time: 33:41 (average pace of 8:20 per mile)
Location: Capitol Hill and Lincoln Park (need to change my direction of choice while in DC)
Feeling: Better than standing or sitting, or well, anything really.

Pumped up kicks...

While I hope never to have to outrun a homicidal teens, "better run, better run" is the way to reach my goal of 1000 miles this year. How better to do that than a new pair of shoes to launch into the last 84% of my goal? I'm pretty sure the old Asics (bless their worn down soles) were well past their prime. Thank goodness I got a great gift certificate to Fleet Feet for

Christmas. That gift certifcate helped me get a rockin' new pair of New Balance to take me through to fall...ish. Awesome!

So, I took my rockin' new shoes for a test spin out at Quiet Waters Park...with Jay in tow. While I originally wanted to do a long run today, our early afternoon tasting session at Harford Vineyard & Winery, combined with the new shoes made that a less than desirable situation. With that in mind we set out on a single loop of Quiet Waters, plus the boat ramp loop. We were having a good run until Jay's allergies kicked. I had to leave my tough Marine at mile 2.75...wheezing. I continued on and had a great time winding through the woods, passing all the dogs with their humans in tow and checking out the new shoes. I've also got new inserts, which change the way my foot strikes, that

will take a little time, but I have no complaints. My pumped up kicks are lighter, have a good toe box and so much more fun and colorful than the old Asics. Don't you agree?

One loop around Quiet Waters, plus the boat ramp loop but minus the compost loop comes to 4.65 miles. Not bad for the first day in new shoes. I'll just have to lay down a few more tomorrow. Happy trails!

Stats -
Miles: 4.65
Time: 40:05 (average pace of 8:37 per mile)
Location: Quiet Waters Park
Feeling: A little tight in the sole, but should get better. Great day!

Oh the joy...

It's been a while since I was stuck on the treadmill. It should have been an even longer time. This morning was really nice out, even the afternoon was nice. Late afternoon? Not so nice. Rain, rain, rain. So stuck on the treadmill, treadmill, treadmill.

Luckily the plan was a quick four miles, so I didn't lose a lot of miles or have to spend so much time on the dreadmill that I was bored. It's also nice that the treadmills have satellite tv on the screens. I was able to take in half an old episode of Law and Order, them caught the top of the hour on CNN, which was all about today's storms. My thoughts go out to the families across the midwest impacted by the tornadoes today. I hope there is a rainbow at the end of this series of storms.

Well, that's about all she wrote today. Plan for tomorrow is a wine tasting up in Harford County, followed by a 5-6 mile jog. You should definitely check in for the write up on that one! Happy trails!

Stats -
Miles: 4.0
Time: 34:12 (average pace of 8:33 per mile)
Location: Smack dab in the middle of the dreadmills at 24 Hour Fitness
Feeling: Still a little tight and cranky in the left hamstring...hopefully just a few more days of this.

Ouchy...

It's been a few days since my last run...thanks to that cranky hamstring and a heck of a lot going on at work. (super excited I got to use the words "recalcitrant" and "scorn" in the same letter about Iran today) In fact, its been super crazy, so not a really bad time to need a few days off for recovery in the legs. That said, the weather has been so fantastic, I've been dying to tie on the shoes and I wanted to start playing catch up in the miles I missed during February. Today finally gave me my window of opportunity, so I hit the road for an easy paced jog.

After work I took off to stretch my legs out a bit. It was kind of windy in DC tonight, so I almost wimped out and headed for the treadmill. I'm glad I didn't though. The streets were full of other runners, especially Lincoln Park where I had to battle a couple of guys running in my direction and showing no sign of moving out of the way for a lady. Then there were those few bikes that decided to basically run the runners off the sidewalks. It was a regular traffic jam...and wouldn't you know, there was absolultely no traffic on the streets.

Anyway, I finished up my run facing the Capitol Dome glowing against the dark night sky. Love it! Too bad my hamstring hurt the entire run. Ah well, maybe I'll have better luck with that tomorrow. Happy trails!

Stats -
Miles: 4.12
Time: 35:41 (average pace of 8:39 per mile)
Location: Capitol Hill to Lincoln Park
Feeling: Still a bit sore in the hamstring which pushes a discomfort down into the calf to take the pressure off.