Today's Run - 5/28

Today's Run - 5/26

Today's Run - 5/25

Today's Run - 5/23

Today's Run - 5/20

As I headed to bed last night, I thought about pushing off my morning run.  When I woke up at 5:30 and could not get back to sleep I decided to go for my run. 

It was a pretty simple 4mile run and the weather was perfect. I am still working on improving my pace, I would like to get these down below 8:45.  The hills make keep a steady pace difficult, but I will continue to work on it.

Today's Run - 5/18

I have not been able to run for the couple of days and I was really in need of a run.   Emily pushed me out the door for a quick run before dark.   I came back feeling better with less stress and a clearer head. 

Today's Run - 5/15

Ella and I headed out for another run this morning.  We started a little later in the day than I usually run and it was extra humid from the big rain storms overnight.   I was hoping to make it a pretty long run but the humidity really made running unpleasant so we headed home after ~2.5Miles.    We did get to see the fountain in one of the ponds and some geese.

Today's Run - 5/13

Today's Run - 5/12

Today's Run - 5/11

A perfect cool morning for my run my ~4.25Mile run this morning.   My left knee is still a little tight when I started running, but felt better after a mile and much better when I finished running.   I am sure that I need to stretch and roll out my ITBand because my knee always feels better after being active.

I worked on pace again this morning, trying to improve my pace in the later miles.  I am also practicing my breathing by taking longer breaths and bring in through my nose. 

New Shoes

My running shoes had taken a beating with the high mileage from the end of my training and the marathon run.  I was suprised that I had racked up ~250Miles on this pair of shoes.   My knees and IT-Band have been sore after recent runs.  I figured it was time to get some new shoes and headed down to Ragged Mountain Running Store and picked up a pair of Asics GT-2150.   I did my first run with these shoes this morning and it was great.  I forgot how nice new shoes are to run in.

Today's Run - 5/9

After running the Montalto Challenge yesterday I found that I really wanted to run some more today.  I had hoped to get my first long run in since Boston, but instead I brought Ella along in the running stroller.   This gave Emily a chance to enjoy a quiet house while she got ready for our mother's days activities.  

Emily help me tuck Ella in the stroller with a blanket, a sippie cup for milk and one for water.   We wave to Emily as we headed out on the sunny, breezy and cool morning for a run.   Ella enjoyed the view from stroller while I ran behind her, we chatted a bit and waved at other walkers and runners.   I took Ella on my typical route around the neighborhood, and out to the equestrian center.  I got some great pictures of Ella and the horses that came over to the horse fence rail when they saw us approaching.   It was fun to stop and see how Ella reacted to these big animals.  I typically run alone, but it was a awesome to have Ella with me to share the run with.  

The stroller did not hinder me to much, if anything the stroller helped me keep a short stride and work on landing on my mid-foot.   The down hills were pretty easy and the up hill pushes a little bit harder.  For our first run with the stroller I think we kept a pretty good pace of ~9min/mile.

Today's Run - 5/8 - Montalto Challenge

I ran the  Montalto Challenge this morning and it was challenge to say the least.   This 5K starts at the bottom on a trail and ends 900ft on top of Montalto above Monticello.   There were ~160 runners / walkers for this run and a much different feel from Boston.   Although a small race, it was well sponsored and executed by the guys at Ragged Mountain Running Shop.  The runners swag bag included a cool shirt that they required to make it to the top to get.

My goals was to finish this race with positive splits but average ~10min/mile pace.   The initial 2miles were perfect at just over 9min pace.  The last 1.1Mile was very difficult as it had to be more than 40% elevation change and I did the climb in about 15Mins.   As the runners approached the top they were pulled on by a group playing bag pipes.   I reached the top to find Emily cheering me on to the finish.    I crossed the finish line at ~32:18 and was happy with the effort.   I will do this again next year to see how I can improve.

I was surprised how hard the course was, but the views of the way up helped take your mind off the physical pain of the run.   The landscape that can be seen from Montalto was breath taking.  To the north you looked down on Monticello, to the west you can see the University of Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, and to the east you can see a number of farms and vineyards in the surrounding area.

The male and female winners were crowned King and Queen of the Mountain.  There prize was a special poca-dot running shirt that they can wear to other races to show their ability to climb hills.   Both gender winners set new race records this year.   Very impressive!

Here are the official results for the 2010 Montalto Challenge

Today's Run - 5/5

 I anxiously and cautiously headed out on my run this morning.  I was worried about the knee pain that I experienced on my last run. As I started out my knees felt pretty good and loosened up pretty well as I got into my run.  I found that running down hill was triggered more stress on my knees but nothing like my last run.  I am happy that the nightly icing seems to have helped.

I am still running at a slower pace than usual as I start to increase my mileage.  I was to run a fairly steady pace of 9min miles.  

Today's Run - 5/3

I headed out this morning to hoping that the rain would hold off for a quick 4mile run to start the week.    I did not know that my day would bring two things that I have not had to experience with in my running to yet. 

After about a mile in, I saw what I think was a dog strolling down the road in front of me.  As I come closer, the animal moved off the road and into the yard of a near by house to watch me run by.   Once I was close enough, I saw that it is actually the coyote that the neighborhood watch has been warning about.  I should have stopped to take a picture, but I decided to keep on moving and not look like a wounded animal he could eat for breakfast.   

I am still a little sore from the marathon and dealing with a few aches and pains in my knees.   They have not been to bad but this morning after running  ~5K I got a sharp pain in my right knee.  It is also time for a new pair of shoes, and I have been working on changing my gait and turnover rate.  With all these contributing factors, and the pain I decided to call it quits for the first time ever and the 1/4Mile walk home.  At least the rain held off.

I got home and iced my knees and will do it again tonight.  Tomorrow I will probably head to the Gym or take the day off....  I don't think I can take the mental aspect of an injury right now.

It's a 5K.... only up hill... the whole way!

I have been feeling like I need a race to keep me going now that I finished Boston. I figured a 5K would be perfect and I found the Montalto Challenge. This is a small race of apparently crazy runners who want to run up the side of the mountain at Monticello. The finisher last year did the course in just under 21mins, and my guess is he typically runs a sub 6min/mile. It looks like it will be a very small field on this challenging run. I will put some good hill runs this week to help train. My goal will be sub 30min finish.