Today's Run - 5/19

Today's Run - 5/18

Today's Run - 5/16

Today's Run - 5/14

After a number of weeks on the road, I was happy to get back to my local routes. It was a cool, humid, hazy morning but not bad for a run. I went out in search of hills and strung together the Paddington loop and the Q2 section. They have paved the new construction road in Q2 which provided a picturesque views with no houses, people or cars to worry about. It was an awesome part of the run and look forward running this piece of the route again.

This run also marked the initial run on my new Brooks Adrenaline Shoes. These shoes feel a bit more neutral, or at least seem to keep my feet aligned parallel with my body better than the ASICS 2150's. From the initial run in these shoes I think these will help with my continued transition to a mid-foot strike. I am a bit sore in my quads from the different landing position, but it is a good sore.

For the last week or so my left foot has been a bit sore on the forefoot under the medial 2nd and 3rd proximal phalanges. I will continue to ice and practice the mid-foot strike to see if I can reduce the soreness. This started before the new shoes so I can't blame it on the new shoes.... but perhaps the old shoes are the culprit. This is the first possible running injury I have had, so I will continue to monitor.

2011 Montalto Challenge Reults

The 2011 Montalto Challenge results are posted here.

I was am very happy with finishing time of 31:00 and 43 overall and 4th in my age group.

Today's Run - 5/7 - Montalto Challenge

I ran the Monticello Challenge 5K Race for the second time this year. I was happy to see the race continues to grow in size, with more than 205 walkers / runners. We had an excellent weather for the run, starting out in the morning it was in the forties and it stayed cool when we reached the summit.

This is a very challenging race with a significant change in elevation, rising ~900ft from the base of the trail to summit. The last mile of this race is ~500ft of elevation change.

This was the second year I ran this race so I knew what to expect. I started out pretty slow at ~8:40/mile pace. This was a comfortable pace to start but quickly slowed in the second mile to ~9:30/mile to make it to base of Montalto. The 7 switchbacks to make it to the top of Montalto provided a panoramic view of the valley with excellent perspective of Monticello. I worked through the 7 switchbacks passing many of the walkers and catching a few runners. Compared to last year, I was very happy that I was able to reach the summit without stopping to walk. As I approached the finish line, I stopped to grab Ella's hand so that she could finish the race with me. It was a lot of fun to run with her and cross the line with our arms raised.

Today's Run - 5/3

I am traveling this week for a conference in Las Vegas. I hoped to get a run in on the Strip, but time did not permit. I was able get a run in on the Hotel treadmill. A quick 5K run with increasing pace.