Today might be the last day that I have to wear tights while running for quite some time. The weather in Washington, DC, in March likes to play tricks on us. Though I was gone this past week, it did snow on Wednesday, and the temperature when I got up to run on Friday morning was below freezing. This morning at 7am when I set out for 17 miles, weather.com had the temperature at 35F; 30F with the windchill.
The high this afternoon will be in the 60s, but March will probably remind us once or twice more before month's end that Mother Earth is in control of when winter ends and spring begins. That is, no matter how many plus 60 degree days we get between now and the end of the month, there are likely to be a few more brisk ones slipped in there, too.
I spent the past week in Los Angeles visiting my buddies in the (International) Noise Conspiracy. I had a 9am flight on Monday so I woke up around 5:30 and headed out for an 8 mile run. I ran my normal Capital route but added in a mile long jaunt into the Southwest quadrant of DC. It worked out perfectly and I ended at Sherman and Park Streets Northwest having run just over 8.2 miles. That was a cold, early morning run, but reminded me of why I love getting up before sunrise; I was able to watch the crisp, clear sky turn from the dark of night to the blue of day. The sun rises in our nation's capital are something I will always treasure.
5am on the east coast is 2am in Los Angeles and by the time I lay my head on the pillow Tuesday morning at 2am I'd been up 24 hours. Travel is exhausting, especially when I need to hang out and enterntain. Nevertheless, I woke up around 8am and waited for Inge, the bass player of the band I was staying with, to show me into the gym at the corporate apartments they were housed in. I ran a slow 5 miles, hoping to use the run as recovery. I could see out the window, past the pool, and onto the streets of Los Angeles. I wondered why I decided to run inside when I could've been out in the warm air.
Wednesday I decided to take advantage of the great weather. I was going to miss my track workout in DC, so I decided that after a 10 minute warm up I would run an interval run. I ran 5 minutes on with 3 minutes off. I was able to perform 6 of the intervals and leave a bit of time for cool down during the 8 miles I was out. It felt good to log those miles in the warm, west coast air. I ran early enough to avoid a ton of traffic, and had made a point to get a decent nights sleep the night before.
Thursday was another recovery run, and it was actually a tad chilly when I set out at 8am. I brought my hat, gloves and various long sleeve running shirts and fleeces with me to LA. Nevertheless, I didn't think I'd need it seeing as the previous days had been so mild. It wasn't uncomfortably cold, but it was probably 10 degrees cooler than the day before. Neverthless, I logged over 6 miles, when I'd intended to go only five. However, I found myself on Santa Monica Boulevard near the Troubadour night club and wanted to jaunt up to Sunset before heading back to Fairfax and 3rd where the band's apartment was. That added an additional mile, half up hill to get to Sunset, and half downhill to head further south on Fairfax. I like running on Sunset, having done it countless times on tours when we'd stayed at either the Best Western or the Grafton.
I was utterly annhilated by the time I got back to DC Thursday night. I have a tendency to really wear myself thin when I'm traveling. I want to stay out and have a good time, which often involves drinking, and then I don't compromise on getting my early morning runs in. Tokyo combined with this trip to LA have made 2007 start to feel a bit too much like 2006, and I'm wondering how next week in Austin, Texas, for South by Southwest will be. It could prove to be another week of exhaustion, especially as I'm staying with a friend as opposed to a hotel. We'll just have to see.
I had no desire to run Friday morning, especially since the temperature was back below freezing. I woke up still pretty beat, but made myself go. As always, i just KNOW I will feel better following a good run. I've been using my Monday, Wednesday and Fridays to do long(er) pacing/interval/fartlek/track runs. Friday was no exception and I found myself cruising along. I still have yet to calibrate my iPod + Nike device, and I'm convinced that this particular run probably had me averaging right around 7 minute miles. I was tired, but felt good when the 8 miles were said and done. However, this is the first time that I haven't taken a mild/rest day prior to my long runs. And, given the pace I blitzed through this run, combined with the great interval run I had Wednesday, I wasn't sure what to expect of my body for Saturday's long run.
I made a point to skip the engagement I had Friday night, knowing it would knock me on my ass. I always prioritize my Saturday runs when I can. I know that if I can get up early and feel good about it then I will be happier to have the run finished as early as possible. I woke up at 6:30am this morning and brewed a quick cup of coffee. I took off by 10 minutes after 7am, and headed on the Rock Creek Parkway towards Georgetown. This route would expire 4.5 miles by the time I made it to the start of the C&O Canal trail, and then I'd plan to do another 4.5 miles out on that. That would leave me at 9miles and knowing I was going to stop at the grocery store about half a mile shy of my house. I wanted to ensure I logged 17 without having to add any additional miles at the end - I always hate that.
The first 9 felt great, and I picked it up a bit on the backend. However, by about mile 14 my mind was longing for the run's end. My legs were the nemesis encouraging my mind, but I endured and finished in about 2h 13m (7:49 pace). I feel that I was probably running a 7:30 pace, all in, and that will leave me in good shape to run a sub 1h35m half marathon two weeks from now.
This coming week is going to be a challenge, and I can't say I'm entirely elated about trying to run 18 on Saturday at South by Southwest. However, I've been able to achieve harder in recent times, and I've vowed to not let the music industry obligations and trips detract me from my running. I just don't think that's acceptable. I am happy, however, that I won't have to run in tights while there. And, by the time I'm back here a week from Monday, the trickery of March's hold on winter.
The high this afternoon will be in the 60s, but March will probably remind us once or twice more before month's end that Mother Earth is in control of when winter ends and spring begins. That is, no matter how many plus 60 degree days we get between now and the end of the month, there are likely to be a few more brisk ones slipped in there, too.
I spent the past week in Los Angeles visiting my buddies in the (International) Noise Conspiracy. I had a 9am flight on Monday so I woke up around 5:30 and headed out for an 8 mile run. I ran my normal Capital route but added in a mile long jaunt into the Southwest quadrant of DC. It worked out perfectly and I ended at Sherman and Park Streets Northwest having run just over 8.2 miles. That was a cold, early morning run, but reminded me of why I love getting up before sunrise; I was able to watch the crisp, clear sky turn from the dark of night to the blue of day. The sun rises in our nation's capital are something I will always treasure.
5am on the east coast is 2am in Los Angeles and by the time I lay my head on the pillow Tuesday morning at 2am I'd been up 24 hours. Travel is exhausting, especially when I need to hang out and enterntain. Nevertheless, I woke up around 8am and waited for Inge, the bass player of the band I was staying with, to show me into the gym at the corporate apartments they were housed in. I ran a slow 5 miles, hoping to use the run as recovery. I could see out the window, past the pool, and onto the streets of Los Angeles. I wondered why I decided to run inside when I could've been out in the warm air.
Wednesday I decided to take advantage of the great weather. I was going to miss my track workout in DC, so I decided that after a 10 minute warm up I would run an interval run. I ran 5 minutes on with 3 minutes off. I was able to perform 6 of the intervals and leave a bit of time for cool down during the 8 miles I was out. It felt good to log those miles in the warm, west coast air. I ran early enough to avoid a ton of traffic, and had made a point to get a decent nights sleep the night before.
Thursday was another recovery run, and it was actually a tad chilly when I set out at 8am. I brought my hat, gloves and various long sleeve running shirts and fleeces with me to LA. Nevertheless, I didn't think I'd need it seeing as the previous days had been so mild. It wasn't uncomfortably cold, but it was probably 10 degrees cooler than the day before. Neverthless, I logged over 6 miles, when I'd intended to go only five. However, I found myself on Santa Monica Boulevard near the Troubadour night club and wanted to jaunt up to Sunset before heading back to Fairfax and 3rd where the band's apartment was. That added an additional mile, half up hill to get to Sunset, and half downhill to head further south on Fairfax. I like running on Sunset, having done it countless times on tours when we'd stayed at either the Best Western or the Grafton.
I was utterly annhilated by the time I got back to DC Thursday night. I have a tendency to really wear myself thin when I'm traveling. I want to stay out and have a good time, which often involves drinking, and then I don't compromise on getting my early morning runs in. Tokyo combined with this trip to LA have made 2007 start to feel a bit too much like 2006, and I'm wondering how next week in Austin, Texas, for South by Southwest will be. It could prove to be another week of exhaustion, especially as I'm staying with a friend as opposed to a hotel. We'll just have to see.
I had no desire to run Friday morning, especially since the temperature was back below freezing. I woke up still pretty beat, but made myself go. As always, i just KNOW I will feel better following a good run. I've been using my Monday, Wednesday and Fridays to do long(er) pacing/interval/fartlek/track runs. Friday was no exception and I found myself cruising along. I still have yet to calibrate my iPod + Nike device, and I'm convinced that this particular run probably had me averaging right around 7 minute miles. I was tired, but felt good when the 8 miles were said and done. However, this is the first time that I haven't taken a mild/rest day prior to my long runs. And, given the pace I blitzed through this run, combined with the great interval run I had Wednesday, I wasn't sure what to expect of my body for Saturday's long run.
I made a point to skip the engagement I had Friday night, knowing it would knock me on my ass. I always prioritize my Saturday runs when I can. I know that if I can get up early and feel good about it then I will be happier to have the run finished as early as possible. I woke up at 6:30am this morning and brewed a quick cup of coffee. I took off by 10 minutes after 7am, and headed on the Rock Creek Parkway towards Georgetown. This route would expire 4.5 miles by the time I made it to the start of the C&O Canal trail, and then I'd plan to do another 4.5 miles out on that. That would leave me at 9miles and knowing I was going to stop at the grocery store about half a mile shy of my house. I wanted to ensure I logged 17 without having to add any additional miles at the end - I always hate that.
The first 9 felt great, and I picked it up a bit on the backend. However, by about mile 14 my mind was longing for the run's end. My legs were the nemesis encouraging my mind, but I endured and finished in about 2h 13m (7:49 pace). I feel that I was probably running a 7:30 pace, all in, and that will leave me in good shape to run a sub 1h35m half marathon two weeks from now.
This coming week is going to be a challenge, and I can't say I'm entirely elated about trying to run 18 on Saturday at South by Southwest. However, I've been able to achieve harder in recent times, and I've vowed to not let the music industry obligations and trips detract me from my running. I just don't think that's acceptable. I am happy, however, that I won't have to run in tights while there. And, by the time I'm back here a week from Monday, the trickery of March's hold on winter.
posted by Mike Mowery at 12:11 PM
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