Running With Pepper

Ran from my house to the WOD trail and went towards Arlington. Pace during the entire run was good. Finished 10 miles in 1:20:00. Nice 8 minute mile pace for the entire run. The best part was coming back when  nice thunderstorm rolled through the area and I was cooled by a wonderful rain. I'm always a little nervous running under the high tension power lines on the trail during a storm, but oh well. The rain felt great. In the first couple of miles, I felt that my right ankle was a little wierd...not sure what it was. I had tendinitis last year in that ankle, so I want to make sure I'm not heading down that painful road again. Well...off to bed so I can wake up for work in the morning. Running continues to be my ultimate stress reliever.

(Brooks Infinitis 192.2 miles)

Went to the gym at night instead of running to get back into the strength training. Did about 20 minutes of some intense core work of which I really needed to do since I haven't done it in a while. Also did some great arm workouts and hope to get to the gym at least 2 more times this week. I needed to rest the legs after Sunday and my right leg is still feeling a little squirrely at times. I'll just keep stretching it and hope for the best. Went for a nice 2 mile walk with Pepper when I got home...he liked it because we found TWO tennis balls. Yes...it's a big deal for him. :)

Ran from the office, down through Rosslyn and past Arlington Cemetary onto the DC Mall. Ran all the way past all the monuments, grabbing some water along the way at the various fountains, and continued up past the Capitol and down Pennsylvania Avenue. Ended up finishing up at Eastern Market where I promptly bought a gatorade, stretched, hopped the metro, and went back to work. I probably could have run back to the office, but I just didn't feel like it nor did I want to really push it today. It was getting a little warm and the water past the Mall is pretty much non-existent (unless I jump in the Potomac!). Finished my run at 6.3 miles in 49:13. Not too bad for a Tuesday afternoon when I really should be at work. Here's to looking forward to having Friday off and spending the day with Pepper!

(Brooks Infinitis 198.5 miles)

No running today as I can't bring myself to do it for several reasons. I did manage to make it to the gym for a nice core workout, chest and shoulders. It made me feel a little better but didn't fix everything. My right leg is still feeling the lingering effects of something odd, maybe my ITB Band is acting up again. As I'm posting this on Thursday morning, it feels better but still a little odd.

Took another day off with my IT Band issues. Decided to get some more core work and other strength training done at the gym. Overall, worked for about 35-40 minutes on the core and also did some other strength exercises. Took Pepper to the East Falls Dog Park and he had a blast as usual. It's nice to see him tired for once.

Went hiking on the White Oak Canyon/Cedar Run in the Shenandoah with several folks, including fellow blogger Lucia. Overall, it was great to get out with nature again and as per the norm, I decided to take the road less traveled and left the trail to climb up the river with another guy, Patrick. The trail was quite steep, so you can only imagine the fun we had climbing up river on all the bolders and up the various waterfalls. Overall, the trip was great as we also got to hit some natural water slides along the Cedar Run portion of the hike. To be honest, I probably could have hiked another 5+ miles after I was done, but it was nice to head home to Pepper at the end of the day. A happily wagging tail can certainly warm the heart and soothe the soul.