The Night before Cherry Blossom

Originally, the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run was a tuneup race for DC area people running the Boston Marathon. Well, that is exactly why I didn't try to run Cherry Blossom last year. It was too close to Boston. Cherry Blossom is typically a week or two before Boston (depending on how the calendar lines up). A 10 mile race fits well into most training plans the week before or two weeks before a marathon.

Now, Cherry Blossom is way more than Boston Marathon tuneup race. It is one of the largest road races in DC. The course is reasonably scenic. We'll forget about that loop down to Hains Point, but hey, if the cherry blossoms are out, you'll see cherry blossoms at Hains Point.

I haven't done a 10 mile race in several years. Given my focus on marathons since 2011, it is a significant step down to train for "only" 10 miles. But that is the point where I am in my life right now. Ten miles sounds just about right.

Bring it, 10 miles.

Cherry Blossom Training Halfway Update

Halfway already? Whaaa? Well, I guess that's what happens when you are used to 18-week marathon training plans.

So far, so good. I have ran 5 times a week (averaging in the low 20s for the week), strength trained once a week, and did yoga once a week. I need to be better about foam rolling my calves, but other than that everything is good.

I can't say I am a fan of this winter, though. I don't mind snow and cold, but it's just been one storm after another. We're all tired of it. March looks like it will come roaring in, so that must mean it will leave quietly. Yes? Please please?

In comparison, the last two winters, where I was training for marathons, were relatively mild. The winter of 2011-2012 was the warmest winter on record. It barely snowed. My usual long run path stayed clear the whole winter. There were some days where no cold weather gear was required. The winter of 2012-2013 was not as warm, but it didn't snow much. I only needed to bust out my Yaktrax once. In late March. While I was just beginning taper. Can't say I can complain about that.

Spring Is On Its Way

This is the last week before I officially start training for the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run on April 6. Lucky me got picked my first time in the lottery.

I've done 10 mile races in the past. I ran the Blessing of the Fleet 10 mile run in Narragansett, RI many times. But despite that, I never followed a formal training plan.

This time I am adapting Hal Higdon's intermediate 15K plan. I haven't run 5 days a week in almost 2 years and I am not doing speedwork, so I may swap out one of the runs for cross-training. We'll see. I tend to be rigid with training plans, but I'm just not at a place in my running where I need to or want to be rigid. I won't be trying for PR. The only place I will be rigid is my rest day. Thursday has been my traditional rest day for several years.

My general plan for the week:

Sunday - yoga & strength training
Monday - short run & strength training
Tuesday - sorta long run
Wednesday - short run & strength training (might do a boot-camp style class in the evening)
Thursday - rest
Friday - short run
Saturday - long run

By strength training, I don't mean long sessions. More like 15-20 minutes at a time. Typically, I will leave some extra time at the end of a cardio workout at the gym for strength training, or I will do some exercises while I am doing laundry or watching TV.s

2013 in Review

 1. Bought a house. Other than some routine maintenance, it has treated us well.
 
2. As the finishers certificate states, I successfully completed the Boston Marathon. That is about the most accurate thing I can say about the Boston Marathon.
 
3. Ran a road race in Hawaii.
 
4. Didn't do a whole lot of running otherwise. I will cap out the year at just over 600 miles. My major focus was getting over a series of injuries. So far so good on making a careful return to running.
 
Here's to lots of good things happening in 2014!

Back on the Rhode

I ran 20 miles on the nose this week.

And 65 miles in November. And 27 miles in October.

Dare I say I am back?

I still don't have a specific training plan or target race, but I am starting to think about races again. My ankle, while still not 100%, is getting better. No more just tolerating not getting worse. Actually getting better. There is a different feeling when you are healing. Almost like the injured part is letting you know it's there. But it definitely isn't pain, more like a slight discomfort or itchy feel. That's where I am.

My paces are well within my normal range, if not faster. Some runs bring me back to the peak of Shamrock training where I was easily running fast paces and building confidence in my mind and body. Today's run was a perfect example. I had a couple of sub-8 miles in the middle of my run. I didn't even know I ran that fast until I looked at my Garmin data at home. That did not happen when I was training for Boston about a year ago. I really struggled to maintain my normal pace. So what's different? I think I eased back into running more slowly. I don't have the pressure of a non-refundable race that I need to train for. I learned more about my body.

Oh hai again

So yeah. I have not fallen off the face of the earth again. I am still somewhat on the disabled list. I've been fighting with Achilles tendonitis in my left foot for the last, oh, forever. Before the Boston Marathon. And then my piriformis started acting up. I cannot make this stuff up. It was just one injury after another.

By the way, you know you are a runner when you can correctly pronounce piriformis.

The good news is that both issues are subsiding. I have to spend lots of quality time with my foam roller and be very careful about stretching. The other good news is that I eased back into running 2-3 times a week. Nothing is getting worse. I can feel slow healing. My endurance is lacking, but my pace is within my Shamrock training range. Score.

I still have nothing on my race calendar. I need to be fully healed. I gotta get back to pain-free running. I almost don't remember what that's like.

My workout routine (or sometimes more like lack of routine) needed a shakeup. I started going to a boot-camp-style class. It is hard. My core appreciates it, though. I work harder than I would on my own. And I volunteered to lead a staff run group once a week.

I ran the last 2 miles or so of the Marine Corps Marathon with a friend. Seeing someone else fight with those last 2 miles gave me a different perspective of what happens at the end of a marathon. There is no glossing over how hard those miles are. I have no plans to run another marathon anytime soon, but I will say that the end of Marine Corps made me excited to take on 26.2 again. Someday.

In somewhat running-related news, the Red Sox won the World Series. Yay Red Sox! Not only was it is a worst to first comeback for the Red Sox, but it showed the resilience of the city of Boston. A city that needed to celebrate after the Boston Marathon bombings. Maybe I am biased because I ran this year's Boston Marathon. And maybe I am biased because I lived in New England for over a decade, but no city deserved it more than Boston.

On Washington, DC

The last couple of times I've moved, it was bittersweet at first. I liked the place I moved from, and I was never totally sold on the new place.

And then I gave the new place a chance and find out that, hey, it's not so bad, and there are some things about the new place that I really like.

Moving to DC was no exception. DC is finally growing on me.

1. The Smithsonian Museums. Yes, museums. The Smithsonian is many museums, not just one. Free museums. My favorite is the Museum of American History. And the National Gallery of Art and Sculpture Garden, although that's not a Smithsonian. Still free, though.

2. The arts scene. I have already been to four concerts at The Fillmore and have seen a documentary at the A.F.I. Silver Spring (Sound City ... highly recommend it if you like Dave Grohl, or if you like rock music). These venues are across the street from each other. The Fillmore is not too big and not too small. Kinda like the way I like my marathons.

3. Rock Creek Park. You'd never guess you were in the middle of a city. It is quiet and peaceful. Some of the roads are closed to traffic on the weekends so people can walk, run, or cycle. I did all of my longest long runs in preparation for Boston in Rock Creek.

4. The National Mall. The fastest, cheapest, and most fun way to see the monuments is to run. If you have far enough to run, you can visit the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Monument, the White House, the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and even Virginia if you want to. All on the same run. See? I did this back in 2011.

5. Decent public transportation. I pretty much do not take the Metro on the weekends because of trackwork and closed stations. It's not pleasant when there are delays. And lemme tell you about the time I got stuck on a disabled train. However, the Metro is way better than the alternative. Drive? No thank you. Been there, done that, and have no interest in doing it again. Going to Boston a few months ago made me appreciate Metro more. I get my commute time back to do stuff. Read. Play with my phone. Listen to music. Nothing. My car was acting fritzy, so I didn't drive for over 3 months. And I didn't need to.

6. My job. There are some days when I feel like I haven't worked because I like what I do that much. Yes, there are challenges and it's not all puppies and rainbows. But it is interesting, meaningful work with a limitless supply of questions to address. I get to use my data skills and research skills on a daily basis. I couldn't ask for anything better.

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down

The thumbs up first. I ran a 5K in Hawaii. A race T-shirt is a much better souvenir than a regular old T-shirt. I didn't set any land speed records, but I wasn't planning on it. I ran a respectable time, and I even snagged second in my age group.

Hawaii was very amazing, by the way. The pineapple (the sweetest ever), the shopping (tons of high-end stores), the restaurants (I may or may not have eaten udon noddles twice in 24 hours), the beaches, the hiking, the mai tais, all thumbs up.

And the thumbs down. My ankle is still bugging me a bit. I can tell it is getting better. Slowly. Stretching and foam rolling are helping, but I need to get myself fully healed. So it's time for another running break. I unintentionally took a complete exercise break for a few days. My body needs it. And I need to be patient.

The Week that Was

I'm not going to do a day-by-day recap of my exercises this week, or even a general description of what I did this week. I find it helpful to keep a log while I am training, so that I can look back and see how things went. There's no real need for that, since I'm not really training for anything.

However, I ran about 8.5 miles total in 1 hour 10 minutes. For those of you doing the math at home, that's an 8:15ish pace per mile.

Whut? Who is this person?

This did not happen the last time I came back from an injury or an extended running break. At the beginning of my Boston Marathon training cycle, I was struggling to break 9 minutes.

Part of the speed is that I know I am only going out for a short distance. A little more than 2 miles on average. I can run 2 miles in my sleep. I was purposely pushing it on some of these runs, so that's part of it too. But then factor in the heat and humidity and I should be running slower.

Or maybe I just have enough running experience that I know paces, effort levels, and mental skills well enough to know what's appropriate. Hmm.

Oh hai

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth. Just took a planned extended running break. I did not run at all for over 2 months since the Boston Marathon. Even before the marathon, I knew I needed to take a break. You can't run if you break your body.

Oh, I did other things. Spent some quality time with the elliptical. Acquired a spin bike. More strength training. And some extra rest.

I tried to ramp it up too quickly when I was training for Boston. I am not going to repeat that. I got lucky in that when I got injured again, I knew how to back off, had a decent start to my training cycle, and still managed to train. I got even luckier that I did not get injured during the marathon and made it safely to the finish line.

The good news is that my pace is in the range of my spring 2012 training cycle. That was when I ran my 2 BQ marathons, 2 unofficial half marathon PRs (or 3 if racing by yourself on a treadmill counts), and my 5K PR. I did a better job of maintaining my cardiovascular fitness than I did when I was injured last year, so I think that helped.

So far, I am 2 weeks and about 5 miles into my return to running. I am cautiously aiming for a 5K in early August. Other than the 5K, I have nothing on my race calendar. And honestly, I kinda like that.