I didn't get any running in today, but did help my friend move out of his 4th floor apartment. My legs were definitely a little sore afterwards.
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Thursday, August 26, 2004
30 Minutes
Took my faithful dog out for a run today. She pushed me to a very fast 30 minutes. After the first half was behind us, she fired up and nearly killed me. The last 15 minutes fell somewhere around 7:00 pace.
Stats
Place: Franklin Park
Time: 30:00
Stats
Place: Franklin Park
Time: 30:00
Saturday, August 21, 2004
5.7 Miles
Met my neighbor for a morning run before continuing the extensive renovation work on the bathroom (another story). All in all, I did pitifully. My knees started bothering me after about a half hour, a suddedn development that leads me to think it's time for new shoes.
Stats
Place: Round Hill -- Williams Gap Loop
Time: unknown
Stats
Place: Round Hill -- Williams Gap Loop
Time: unknown
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
30 Minutes
Not the longest run I've done, but not the easieset. I took my faithful companion, Maggie, out to a park and ran on the trail that traces the perimeter. She pushed the pace for the entire half-hour, especially on the uphills, where she would seemingly get frustrated, stop, and wait for me to catch up before tearing off again. Along the way, we passed a couple other runners, and Maggie held her own, not shying away. She did get nervous passing a crowd watching a field hockey game, though.
Stats
Place: Franklin Park
Time: 30:00
Stats
Place: Franklin Park
Time: 30:00
Today's Inspiration
Phil Dyan is definitely a runner, in fact and in spirit. He's completed more than 50 marathons, but perhaps his lasting achievement for future generations is his portayal of the lifestyle in paintings, many of which are used to promote races.
2 Hour Hike
If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it. Everything at work was well in hand yesterday, so I cut out from work a little early to go for a hike. I drove home with the radio blaring classic rock, perfect road music, got home, laced up my trusty boots, and sped off to the Appalachian Trail, a mere 5 miles away. Before I knew it, I was on a cliff overlooking the Shenandoah. I started my hike near Bear's Den, and hiked briskly to the south for an hour, then turned back. All in all, I put away 6-7 miles and felt great.
Hiking, like running, gives me that rush of simply being outdoors. It puts me in the wonderul positions of conquering, and being conquered by, nature. That's what makes hiking and running so satisfying. There is real satisfaction in succeeding where you can fail--making it up the hill that you could not make it up the last time.
Hiking, like running, gives me that rush of simply being outdoors. It puts me in the wonderul positions of conquering, and being conquered by, nature. That's what makes hiking and running so satisfying. There is real satisfaction in succeeding where you can fail--making it up the hill that you could not make it up the last time.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Too Much, Too Little...
As some of you asked, what’s going on? Too much … and too little, that’s what. Work life overran me in miserable fashion. I was so focused on pulling something off (making it succeed), that my sleep, diet, and running schedule all suffered tremendously. I ate little, slept little, and ran, well, never. The only thing keeping me out of an early grave was an endless supply of coffee and my wife’s support.
Each day, I looked back at the day before and saw my running life crumbling. As days became weeks, a funk came over me that really made me hate my situation. When life gets stressful, I have a tendency to focus fully on the source of that stress until I work it all out. That focus is so single-minded that everything else in the world comes to a grinding halt. This trait has met with professional success, but rarely succeeds for me in the off hours. At it’s most extreme, this focus is so absolute that I simply forget to eat and only fall asleep when I’m done. I just don’t like to see things fail, especially when my name is attached to it. As all runners know, two key components to feel good in running are sleep and diet. As all runners know, when you don’t sleep and don’t eat enough, going out for a run feels pretty rotten.
Well, I’m done. The last couple weeks took their toll, but everything came off successfully, and I’m back. I’m going to start slow and build back so I don’t injure myself needlessly. I just want to get back in that groove where running is a central part of each day.
Oh, and in the middle of everything last week, the neighbor’s tree fell on our house after a wind gust on Wednesday (pictures to come).
Each day, I looked back at the day before and saw my running life crumbling. As days became weeks, a funk came over me that really made me hate my situation. When life gets stressful, I have a tendency to focus fully on the source of that stress until I work it all out. That focus is so single-minded that everything else in the world comes to a grinding halt. This trait has met with professional success, but rarely succeeds for me in the off hours. At it’s most extreme, this focus is so absolute that I simply forget to eat and only fall asleep when I’m done. I just don’t like to see things fail, especially when my name is attached to it. As all runners know, two key components to feel good in running are sleep and diet. As all runners know, when you don’t sleep and don’t eat enough, going out for a run feels pretty rotten.
Well, I’m done. The last couple weeks took their toll, but everything came off successfully, and I’m back. I’m going to start slow and build back so I don’t injure myself needlessly. I just want to get back in that groove where running is a central part of each day.
Oh, and in the middle of everything last week, the neighbor’s tree fell on our house after a wind gust on Wednesday (pictures to come).
Saturday, August 14, 2004
3 Miles
I finally made it out for a short run--3 miles. I took it easy at a 9:30 paces, then walked 2.6 miles home. It was nice to simply enjoy being outside. The weather is beautiful right now. With all the major storm systems passing by, the air is unusually cool for this time of year. I'm just glad I had some time to enjoy it.
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