Thank You Daylight Savings

Holy cow it feels nice to run in the morning and see the sunrise again!  I have to run early on weekday mornings because I need to be back before my wife leaves for work, and for the last few months those runs have been entirely in the dark.  Now that we set the clocks forward, it's amazing to watch the sunrise over the nation's capitol across the Potomac, and to feel the warmth on my body through the chilly morning air.  I've felt energized and excited on my runs lately.

I did my first group run, and it was a Brooks Light Up the Night Fun Run at Pacers in Arlington.  A Brooks representative gave out jackets, vests, hats, and a bunch of other nightlife gear to try out on the night run.  All of the gear was extremely bright yellow or orange, and very reflective.  I think the 30 or so of us looked a little goofy trotting through Arlington at night as a glowing neon sea of runners.  The Brooks rep also gave out long sleeve running shirts after the run, which are actually awesome shirts, and also raffled off a few prizes.  Best of all though, she brought beer!  The Thursday night fun run at Pacers proved to be a wonderful experience, and I plan to make it a regular part of my training.

I'm not exactly sure what happened but my Saturday run was supposed to be an easy jog, and it turned into a 10K PR.  I only planned to run 6 miles, but after feeling great running the first two miles around 8:00-8:30/mi I decided to bump it up to a 10K and see what I could do.  I ended up blazing through the next few miles at 7:47, 7:42, 7:10, and a 6:40/mi pace on the last 0.2 miles.  I ran a 48:45 10K giving me an average pace of 7:52/mi.  That time actually beat my current 6-mile PR!  I'm excited to see what I can do at the DCRR 10K Bread Run on December 2, 2012 now that I'm focusing more on speed work rather than mileage volume.

Sunday was also kind of a fun run.  I packed the camera (Nikon D3200 SLR) and went out for a slow 10-miler, stopping to take pictures whenever the mood struck.  It was a gorgeous day, and there were a ton of people out at the parks along the Mount Vernon Trail.  Here are some of the pics that came from my meandering:

Capitol Building across the Potomac River

A plane landing over Gravelly Point Park

The Washington Monument from Gravelly Point Park

Washington Monument

Navy-Merchant Marine Memorial

Washington Monument from Gravelly Point Park

A bridge near the Navy-Merchant Marine Memorial

The Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial

Navy-Merchant Marine Memorial

Navy-Merchant Marine Memorial

Training Summary for last week:

Monday:       Off 

Tuesday:       4.02 miles; interval run; 34:35; avg. pace 8:36/mi

Wednesday:  4.04 miles; 34:00; avg. pace 8:25/mi

Thursday:      5.09 miles; fun run; 49:15; avg. pace 9:41/mi

Friday:          Off

Saturday:       6.20 miles; tempo run; 48:45; avg. pace 7:52/mi

Sunday:         10.00 miles; 1:32:56; avg. pace 9:18/mi 

Total Mileage:  29.35 miles

Total Time:       4:19:31

Average Pace:  8:51/mi

Happy Running!

Fun Running Recovery

I had a pretty easy week following the Marine Corps Marathon.  I took 3 days off after the marathon before going out on an easy 4-mile jog.  I was surprised at how tired I felt.  My lungs felt winded, and my legs felt heavier than they have for a long time.  I figured that my body was still recovering from the 26-mile run a few days earlier, but it was still a bit discouraging.  I took another day off and, thankfully, had some great runs on Saturday and Sunday.  I think that I'll be running at 100% next week.

I mapped out my training plan through the 10K Bread Run on December 2, and I'm really excited to do some speed work.  It feels so rewarding to start training for a race after building such a good foundation leading up to MCM 2012.  I'm still planning on running 5 days per week with one tempo run, one interval run, and one long run, and I'll probably average ~30 miles per week.

While outfitting myself with some winter running essentials, to include a Brooks hat, another light mid-layer shirt, and some super thin REI gloves, I found out that my local Pacers running store has fun runs every Tuesday and Thursday evening at 7pm.  They said that the paces range from about 6:00/mi to 12:00/mi, so I should be able to find some ~7:30/mi pacers for my tempo runs.  I think that will be a great way to push myself on tempo days, and also meet some runners in the area.

This Sunday I managed to squeeze in a hike with my wife and son before my run.  We drove out to the Difficult Run Trail, a hike I did with my son in the backpack this summer while recovering from extensor tendonitis.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and we had a great time.  Coming from Washington (state, not DC) nothing here comes close to the scenic mountain hikes, but it's always great to get out of the city, even if you still have to walk by a mansion or two.  We did about 6 miles and Thumper (my son) soaked it up.  He would occasionally burst into laughter in the backpack while watching Bambi (the dog) bound down the trail.  He was entranced by all of the colors in the leaves and the peacefulness of the running stream.  Difficult Run Trail near Great Falls is an awesome reprieve from city life here in Arlington.  Here are some pics!

I assume all of the grass you see is laid down because it was underwater during Hurricane Sandy

A nice little beach along Difficult Run

A hawk (I think) looking for goodies

A view from the parking lot

Walking around along the shore

Looking up Difficult Run (the name of the stream)

Running Summary Last Week:

Monday:       Off
Tuesday:       Off
Wednesday:  Off
Thursday:      4.04 miles; 37:55; avg. pace 9:23/mi
Friday:          Off
Saturday:      4 miles; 36:25; avg. pace 9:06/mi
Sunday:        8.09 miles; 1:10:35; avg. pace 8:43/mi

Total Mileage:  16.13 miles
Total Time:       2:24:55
Average Pace:  8:59/mi

Happy Running!