Running With Pepper

4 miles in 31:44. Dang it's cold outside. 

4.5 miles in 34:02. Not as cold tonight and my legs felt much better during the run. 3 miles of walking with the pup today....well, every day. Ordered P90X last night and can't wait to get that one in the mail! Woohoo!

4 miles after work prior to taking Pepper to the dog park. He did the 4, then promptly hunted squirrels for 1.5 hours. My dog is loud.

4 miles with the pup in 29 minutes, followed by a rousing squirrel hunt in the dog park. 

4 miles with the puppers in addition to another 2 miles of walking after the dog park. Tired puppy!

5 miles after work with Pepper then another squirrel hunt at the dog park. Total time walking/running mileage for the day...7 miles.

 Oh, P90X core synergistics last night...holy hell that stuff is HARD!

19 miles on the bike (9.5 each way from work).

3 miles after work with the pup, followed by swimming (for Pepper) at the dog park. 

National Half Marathon in Washington DC. 

Race start time was 7:00am and I sat in traffic to find a parking spot from 6:15 until a few minutes before the start of the race. Upon finding a parking spot, I jogged up to the race start area and ultimately got started about 8 minutes after the opening of the race. Thus, I was stuck with a whole lot of slower people and had to weave for the first few miles (mostly on the sidewalk).

 At about .75 miles, I saw an old friend of mine who is a DC cop manning a barricade so I stopped and chatted with him for about a minute. His family was doing well.  From there, I proceeded to run on the sidewalk past the US Capitol and Senate buildings and down the monuments of DC. At about mile 3, I saw one of my USMC buddies I haven't seen in about 10 years (I knew he was running though) and ran with him for about 4 miles. Actually, I paced him until we got to the hilly section of the race, where I beat feet up the hills and left him in the dust. I knew there were going to be hills but didn't expect there to be that many. The hilly section lasted until about mile 9 then they gradually diminished headed down North Capitol St. towards the Capitol. I had gu's at miles 5 and 9 to replenish the energy supplies and hit random water/gatorade throughout the race. At about mile 9.5 my right hip started to seize up and at about mile 11.5 I had to stop and stretch it out. Once my hip was loosened up, I hit the last couple miles and picked up the pace on the last mile to about a 6 1/2 minute mile. Total race time was 1:42:01 for an average of 7:47 miles. That's pretty good considering the furthest I ran for training was 5 miles with the dog. I attribute my fitness to my P90X routine. Race splits at the 10k mark was a 47:45.

Positives....I can still run a half marathon at a decent pace while training minimally. My Plyometrics training definitely helped with the hilly portion of the race. I felt as though I was able to explode up the hill, rather than plodding along. 

Negatives.....My right hip, which has been good for a while, has jumped out at me as a problem again. It could be running form, yet it could be something larger and more sinister. It generally happens when I start running up hills. My next race (April 24th) is on an entirely flat course so I'll test this theory.

Overall, it was a good race and good to see some friends who I haven't seen in a while. My time would have probably been a few minutes quicker if I hadn't stopped to talk and paced my friend. Oh well, I'm not gonna worry about that.

Bike to/from work for a total of 18 miles. Ran with Pepper after I got home for 3 miles in about 22 minutes. Did Plyometrics for an hour after running with Pepper and the dog park. Probably burnt about 2000+ calories exercising today.

18 miles to/from work on the bike.

18 total miles to/from work on the bike.

5.25 miles along the creek on the 4 Mile Run Trail after work with Pepper in 40:08. Several rolling hills at about the halfway mark during the run. Tried to stop and get water for the lad at the turnaround point, but the water fountain wasn't turned on yet. Damn you Arlington County! Ended the run at the dog park where the boy had to stay on leash due to a bloody ear. He was however, able to get some water and see some of his friends. End result, need new running shoes and should be able to get them Wednesday after work. 

Biked 18 miles to/from work. Walked for 4 miles with the pup after work.  Did the P90X leg workout afterward and the legs are thoroughly trashed.

Biked 18 miles total to/from work today. Ran with Pepper for 3 miles in about 23 minutes after work and REALLY felt the biking and leg workout from yesterday. Enjoyed a cool and refreshing Labatt Blue after everything was said and done.

Rode 9 miles to work on the bike then took the long way home. 13 miles home where the middle 5+ was all uphill. Legs were shot after that. Felt good....hmmmm, real good.

9 miles to/from work on the bike for a total of 18 miles. Hit 28.5 mph while motoring in this morning on one of the slight declines near Reagan National airport. Fun!!!

9 miles to/from work on the bike for a total of 18 miles. P90X after walking Pepper for about 4 miles. Quite warm around here, about 90 degrees today.

9 miles to work on the bike. Left the bike at work and rode the metro home. Going to bring suits/shirts/ties into work tomorrow and can't bring them on the bike. Oh well, legs were getting tired in this 92 degree heat anyway. Not used to it just yet. Ran a very easy 3 miler with Pepper after work tonight and wandered and socialized at the park with him afterward. P90X after all that (Biceps, Back, and Abs). Tired....

18 miles total on the bike heading to and from work. P90X and walking with Pepper after work.

18 miles total on the bike to/from work. P90X and walking with Pepper after work.

18 miles total heading to/from work. Walking with Pepper, dog park, and P90X afterward.

18 total miles on the bike to/from work. Walking Pepper, Dog park, and P90X after all that fun.

18 total miles on the bike headed to/from work. 3 mile run with Pepper to the dog park, hunting squirrels for an hour, then walked home. Since I started P90X almost 8 weeks ago, I've lost 12 lbs, several inches on my waist, and I'm in some of the greatest shape in my life. Another 5.5 lbs and I'll be back down to my USMC weight where I used to run 5 1/2-6 minute miles. Let's see how age has screwed that one up. Half Marathon in 8 days...woohoo!

18 total miles to/from work on the bike. P90X after work.

18 total miles to/from work on the bike. P90X after work.

18 total miles to/from work on the bike. P90X after work.

18 total miles to/from work on the bike. P90X after work.

Ocean City Half Marathon 2010

Weather was quite nice, about 50 degrees and mostly sunny with a slight breeze at the 7am start of the race. Felt pretty good at the beginning of the race and jogged about 1/2 mile to warm up the legs. First race with my new running shoes, although they had about 25 miles on them from previous runs. Pre-race hydration/fuel included granola and a banana, a small coffee, and a large bottle of water.My allergies were WAY out of control due to the crazy pollen in the air. I could only breath through my nose, at least until my Zyrtec kicked in. This screwed up my breathing for the first 2/3 of the race and I couldn't get into a rhythm.

Beginning of the race, I headed out at the end of the front pack and we headed down the boardwalk where we hung a left onto the Route 50 bridge. At the conclusion of mile 2, I was running at a 6:30 pace, so immediately brought my speed under control to a slower/more manageable pace. If I remember correctly, my 3 mile split was about 20 minutes while my 4 mile split was at 27 minutes. As we made our way out to Assateague Island, the first thing I noticed was that I started to get a horrible pain in my upper left side under my lowest rib. I slowed my pace to try and run through the pain, but it was radiating through my torso and I eventually stopped and tried to stretch it out. Feeling better, I continued. Now, the race information I was provided said that they would have water and gatorade every two miles. Ha! Little did I know, but they only had water. I ran, ran, ran, through miles 5,6, 7, and finally at mile 8, I got a gu packet and some gatorade. Wow...by that time, my legs were feeling pretty sluggish and I had slowed down significantly. Also, around that time, I began to feel that my feet were getting mighty warm, and figured that I was getting some blisters on my feet. Race continued as I plodded through the remaining miles and only received gatorade at one more refreshment point (mile 11). Well...I was thoroughly disappointed but continued my race. Mile 12 brought the final straightaway and the bridge onto Assateague Island. I made it up the bridge, then picked up my pace as I hit the bridge downward slope. Winds on the bridge felt great as the temps grew to about 60 degrees and the sun was blazing on my head. I hit the last 3/4 mile and picked up my pace. As I entered the Assateague Island state park I began my sprint to the end. I actually had some left in the tank and had a good sprint over the finish line.

 Lessons learned from this race:

1. Make sure you always have your own fuel for a race (e.g., gu, carb loaders). I made this mistake and paid for it DEARLY.

2. Take allergy meds long before the start of races in the spring.

3. Think about training (running) for races....not just riding my bike.

4. I should always get the wide running shoes. I have wide feet, therefore, I need to ensure my shoes are also wide.

That's about it. Overall, quite an interesting race on a mostly flat course. Scenic views were great when near the ocean, yet running through the trailer park-laden roads of the Maryland Eastern Shore requires at least my Ipod, which I stupidly forgot. Oh well, still a respectable time and placing amongst the other competitors. Yet another show of the crappy support....people posting reviews on the active website noted that the finishers from 2 hrs and beyond did not have water at the end of the race. Wow...talk about crappy. My beer and nap following the race were quite nice and I probably ate about 3 lbs of food for dinner because I was so hungry.

9 miles on the bike to work. Riding metro home due to severe thunderstorms in the area. P90X after dog park fun with Pepper. Perhaps we'll go for a run too....TBD.