Running at Oglebay

Got to the resort in West Virginia just in time to get in a short ride before the evening reception. Got in a quick 4 1/3 miles. Wow it is quite hilly! Anyway, got started from outside my building and just ran around some of the trails cutting in and out of the golf course here, running by the lake, the horticulture garden, the zoo and other places. Really was quite enjoyable! Anyway, got the miles in 8:13, 7:39, 7:53, 7:42 and then the final 1/3 mile at a pace of 7:37 min/mile. Looking forward to an early morning bike ride tomorrow!

Long run on the Newly FINISHED Indian Head Rail Trail!

I got an email from the President of the Oxon Hill Bike Club yesterday saying that the county had finally finished the Rail Trail, so I talked Betsy into doing our long run down there! So we hopped in the car, with Betsy initially saying she still wanted to go to Belle Haven, but then at the last min changed her mind and turned south. It turned out to be a really nice run, nice and cool, not much traffic, hardly anyone on the trail and wonderfully flat (until the very end!). Went out from Indian Head about 6 miles and then came on back. Put out some really nicely paced miles, knocking them out in 8:17, 8:16, 8:19, 8:11, 8:14, 8:10, 8:12, 8:08, 8:13, 8:24, 8:18 and finishing the last mile in 8:20 for a total time of 1:39:04 for an 8:15 min/mile pace! Overall a great run and to top it off spent some time at the playground with Cole afterwards!

Brick workout at the NRL Gym

I wanted to get out for a run at the end of the day yesterday, but by the time I got home, I ended up getting a migraine and missed most of dinner, bedtime, and then slept right through the night. So I had hoped to get out for a pre-work bikeride. But, as I should have expected it was raining. Not to be deterred, I decided to do a brick workout at the NRL gym. I started off doing 30 min on the stationary bike, getting in 10.8 miles, with the first 15 min doing the 'cardio +' and the second 15 min doing a manual workout. I kept the cadence around 100 for most of the ride, with the exception of a few min when the cardio + session increased the resistance to some ridiculous level. I got off and quickly switched over to the treadmill, running 4 miles in 31:08. I felt really great the whole way, looks like I am prepped as best I can for the Triathlon next weekend.

Track practice

3x1 mile.... ugh... I hate that practice, but it went fairly well just the same. Got in a 1 mile warmup with Betsy and then stretched out some, before getting into the workout. Got the first mile in in 6:31, then 6:29 and then finally a 6:39. Of course the GPS showed them to be longer than a mile (1.06-1.08 miles with lane changes) and estimated my pace at around 6:06 to 6:09. Perhaps I need to map out a mile and see what I can put in for a time now, maybe I can finally break six minutes?

First ride pulling Cole in the Bike Trailer!!!

Well Betsy and I decided to take out the boy for a bike ride and some time at the Bensville Rd playground this morning. We got up around 8am, letting ourselves sleep in a bit and then we packed up the bikes and the bike trailer and hit the road, starting at the parking lot of the playground, dropping down the hill and hitting the Indian Head Rail Trail. We started off riding towards White Plains, getting to the end and turning around and riding out all the way to 227 before turning back. Let me tell you, that trailer is quite tough to pull around, REALLY adds to the workout! Anyway, finished off the ride by pulling Cole up the hill to the parking lot and then running over to the playground for some time on the slides and swings!!! Cole now can slide on his own, climbing the steps,crossing the troll bridge, sitting down on the top of the slide and pushing himself down to start! He is SOOOO proud of himself too! After Betsy and Cole left, I started back out to get a bit more of a ride in. After the ride with Betsy and Cole, I got going for the final push to get home from Bensville Rd. I started off down the Rail Trail, out past Bumpy Oak Rd (they finished a lot more of the paving!), getting down a bit before I realized that they hadn't finished the whole route. I started around and came back to Bumpy Oak and climbed the hill before finishing home. There were some heavy winds on the ride, guiding me to a great ride in one way and a rough one going back. Overall it was a great ride and so glad I got to finally take Cole out in the trailer!!! What a great end to such a wonderful weekend!

Hiking from Skyline Drive to Mary's Rock in Shenandoah National Park!

Betsy and I got up nice and early drove out to Shenandoah National Park to take Cole for a hike in his new Deuter Kid Comfort II carrier (my father's day gift). It started off with some extremely steep sections, hitting grades up to 31% at points. I was quite surprised how comfortable the Deuter really was and Cole seemed to really like it as well! The views from Mary's Rock were fantastic, and we took a few min to let him run around, take some photos and eat some snacks before heading back down. Initially we were thinking of hiking down to Thurmond's Gap, even starting down that part of the trail a bit before realizing that Cole not having a nap this morning was doing him in. So we turned around and started back to the parking lot. Well it wasn't long before he let his head down and fell asleep allowing us a bit of an outshoot to Byrd's Nest Lookout, before we took off back to Skyline Drive. Afterwards we drove down to a picnic area, had some lunch and played a bit before heading back home. Great hike and great time with the baby boy and Betsy!

Long run... UGH... That was rough!

We got up early this morning, but turned out a bit later than we wanted (again), not getting started until about 8am. Of course that meant it was already 70 degrees by the start. It was rough. We ran north through Old Town until we got out to Gravelly Point, just past National Airport, where we took a bit of a break to let Cole watch the planes fly over head. HE LOVED IT. Watching the planes litterally pass right over is really pretty cool, even if you aren't a toddler infatuated with planes! Anyway, seems we stopped a bit too long, letting the legs settle too much, so when we finally got going again, the quads were REALLY sore. We kept up the pace, averaging an 8:19 min/mile, but by about 10 miles we ran out of water and had to call Elana to meet us on the trail so we could refill. The ironic thing is that both Betsy and I mentioned that we needed a second water bottle in the stroller and STILL forgot it. Anyway, by mile 12, my quads were screaming, but we stuck it out, finishing strong with an 8:08 min mile. Overall, we finished the miles in 8:28, 8:10, 8:26, 8:15, 8:17, 8:19, 8:15, 8:26, 8:17, 8:35, 8:16, 8:14 and then the 8:08.

Mountain Biking at Rosaryville

After a long week, and finally a few days without rain, I got out to Rosaryville State Park for a morning bike ride. Felt a bit out of sorts, but took the opportunity to explore some additional trails that I haven't done before. One trail was quite nice to know about, the other two... errr... brought me to new areas, out to a farm in one case, but not really useful for additional rides in the future. Got to do some technical sections once again, quite nice ride. Overall, looking forward to heading out again...

Swimming Test at Bolling

Well the Olympic Tri is in two weeks and I had yet to swim anything further than a 200 yd stretch without taking a break, so I decided to get in a 2000 straight. I felt pretty strong, my arms holding up well, even getting in a good sprint for the last 50 yards or so. Hope to get one more swim in before the pool closes on Monday.

Afternoon recovery run

Went out for an afternoon run with Cole after working from home for the day. I decided against track due to the recent soreness from this weekend, good thing too. Had a decent run, keeping just under an 8 min mile, but after one of the stops I got going and my left knee gave out a bit. Stopped for a few mins before getting going again, and despite it being a bit weak, I still finished fairly strong. However, I did end up getting some nasty blisters again. Looks like me and mole skin once again.