Running around Amy and Dan's!

So our 4th of July trip has begun. Betsy and Cole drove up on Tuesday, while I got the extra day of work in on Wed. Not wanting two cars up in New England, I spent yesterday on various forms of mass transit, starting at 7am and arriving in Conn around 4:30 or so. Long day. Hence, I didn't get a workout in yesterday. However, woke up at Amy and Dan's today and Betsy and I borrowed their Zin jogging stroller and got out for what was supposed to be a 5 mile run. Let me tell you, running with a different stroller REALLY makes me appreciate our Bob stroller. It was like I was pushing a weight in front of me instead of just rolling along in front of me. Added to the workout for sure. We started off fairly well, keeping 8 min miles the whole way, but as it was new territory to us, I had put our plotted course onto the GPS to make sure we knew where we were going. Unfortunately, I forgot to plug it in last night and the battery died right at the 4 mile mark. So up to that point we had put in miles in 8:16, 7:56, 8:05 and 8:08. We kept up that pace, but missed some turns and ended up following our trek out instead of the way I planned, so our 5 mile run turned into about 5.4, not a huge deal, but mentally it was a bit of a beat down since we were trying to figure out how to get back. Good run overall though and glad we got out!

Early Morning Mountain Bike Ride with Alex.

So our summer graduate student Alex and I, after trying to make plans since he arrived to go, finally got out to Rosaryville State Park for a mountain bike ride! Got out first thing this morning, getting out of bed at 5:30 am or so to get over to the trail. Got in a loop, which considering I haven't been on the trail since last year I felt I did really well, averaging about 9 mph overall. Felt pretty strong, finishing the 8.5 mile loop along with the additional technical section for a total of 10.3 miles, finishing in 1:09:50. Alex showed himself to be a great rider and I think we might be able to make this a bit more of a regular trip too.

Running the test bike route.

So once again I am revisiting my search for a bike commuting route, unfortunately to this point it is appearing to be more like the northwest passage. So I drove test route #343 this morning, but the last little bit down by the national harbor requires me to get out of the car to figure it out. So I decided despite the 80 degree weather and high humidity that I was going to head over to the Harbor and do a nice 5 mile run, heading out the trail to finish off what my bike route should be while fitting in the hill in the Oxon Hill Farm in an additional loop. Felt great, putting in an average pace of 7:55 min/mile over the 4.5 mile route, including two significant hills (climbing out of the National Harbor to Oxon Hill Road and then the standard Oxon HILL). Finished miles in 8:12, 7:49, 8:10, 7:32 and then finishing the final 1/2 mile at a pace of 7:22 min/mile. I then did a cool down jog at about 9 min/mile. Tomorrow is my first time out on the Mtn bike this year (except for Muddy Buddy), should be fun!

Lunchtime run at NRL.

Started off a bit late, but got out with Ronan, Steve, Mike and Bill for the usual 10k. My GPS wouldn't find where I was until about 1/3 of a mile in, but picked it up after that. It was fairly humid, but still felt fairly decent and finished in a pretty decent time. Got out slow, with an 8:49 warmup mile, but then settled into an 8 min/mile pace for the rest, putting out miles in 7:59, 8:08, 7:50, 7:55 and 7:47 before finishing the final 0.2 miles at a 7:26 min/mile pace. Good run overall.

Long run with the family.

In our now growing tradition, Betsy and I took Cole over to the Belle Haven Marina to start our long run on the Mt Vernon Trail. This time we started out running north, down to the Torpedo factory and then turned around and found the new trail along the water to the Jones Lighthouse and from there we ran on back to the Belle Haven Marina. After taking a couple min in the bathroom we got going again, but Betsy was really feeling terrible, so we cut our original 10 mile run short to 8.5 miles. Overall it was a decent run, but because of sleeping in it was really hot and humid, so I am sure that played a great deal into Betsy's trouble. Overall, we finished in 1:10:10, with miles in 8:26, 8:80, 8:24, 8:14, 8:10, 8:08, 8:21, 8:17 and then finishing the final 1/2 mile at a 8:07 min/mile.

Friday - Hiking Mt. Nittany

Well Josh and Amy Robinson both told us that there was a great hike near PSU with a wonderful view of the University and surrounding valley. This was the hike up Mt. Nittany. After the conference ended on Friday, Betsy and I put Cole on my back, grabbed the camera and hiked to the top. Unfortunately it was a bit overcast, so the view wasn't as good as it might have been, but we could definitely appreciate it after the hike! It was very steep climb, with areas approaching 35% grades! Overall, it was about 1000 feet of climbing and 2.6 miles and was a really nice break before hitting the road to drive back home.

Thursday - Running at Penn State!

We got into PSU Wed afternoon, after a long night (we took Cole to the Red Sox Nationals game). I went to a couple talks in the afternoon then we went over to our friends Amy and Josh's for dinner. After a great night out, a relatively easy night with Cole, I got up early for a six mile run before heading out to the conference for the day. Unfortunately the route I had planned caused me to run on a highway for an extended period, which wasn't the greatest of course, but I did get to run through campus, passing by both the colliseum and the Stadium, before heading back. I felt ok, not great, but ok and got in the 6.35 miles done in 51:39, with miles in 8:29, 8:06, 8:14, 8:21, 7:54, 7:47, and then completed the final 1/3 of a mile at a 8:01 min/mile pace.

Morning run before ROAD TRIP!

So I am presenting a talk at the EMC at Penn State and Betsy and Cole came with me, so I had to get out for a quick run this morning before leaving for Penn State. Got out for a short 3 miler, and despite being really tired from the late night at the game last night, I got out to a nice steady pace, feeling good the whole way. I finished with 3.2 miles in 25:23, with miles in 8:17, 7:56, 7:40 and the final 0.2 miles at a 7:52 min/mile pace. Good time overall considering I was just taking it easy. I am now looking forward to some runs in the local area!!!

Morning run before work.

SOOOOO exhausted this morning. Actually got up at 6 am to get ready for work and it took almost all my energy to just get up and eat breakfast. I had pretty much decided that I was going to wait until lunchtime to go, but then realized I had practice talks at 1, so a lunchtime run wasn't going to happen. Anyway, I decided to get out and just go. Oddly, my run went fairly well, with me finishing miles in 8:07, 8:00, 7:57 and 7:49 min.

Hiking at Calvert Cliff's on Father's Day!

Left early this morning to head out to go hiking this morning at Calvert Cliff's in southeast, MD across the Patuxent River. Walked out the red trail, which was well shaded and led out to the beach area, where you can 'hunt' for fossils. We had a great hike out, but it started raining just as we were about to get to the beach! UGH!!! But we waited it out on the beach and oddly enough watched as the rain passed right by, literally raining 10 yards away, but keeping the beach almost completely dry! What luck! After that brief interlude we got a good 30-40 min handing out on the beach before heading back on the red trail, then finishing with a little extra loop out the blue trail before heading back home. It was a great Father's day trip and now get to head over to our friends' Joe and Tracy's for a cookout this afternoon!