Here I go again!

Drove to Northern Maryland to see Will's family cabin - very rustic and very cool - no running water, no electricity, kerosene lamps, an outhouse...

Went kayaking for a couple of hours to Deep Creek lake. Very nice day.

Went road and mountain biking to a state park in West Virginia. Not great but pretty good exercise. Drove back to DC.

Biked to the office from Chevy Chase, ran 3 miles before work - plan on running another 3 after school this evening.

Biked to the office from Bethesda, super fast!

If you think Bonnie is nice on the blog, wait till you get to meet her in person! I dare you to find a nicer girl - you won't! She radiates positive energy, which is very rare to find in people these days (though this blog is an exception!)

I can't think of a better person to pace me in the marathon this fall (though the way my training is going, I don't know if it'll be a good idea to run it)

I stayed in the office until 9 pm to put out a fire that started at 5 pm and had to be dealt with before my boss leaves on vacation tomorrow. No running, no working on my paper, not happy...

To Fletcher's and back at lunch

Ran with Bonnie! Had dinner with Montelepsy! Running friends rock!

Biked to Chevy Chase after dinner.

My boss gave me back the newsletter that I write every week and he edits, with almost no changes!!! Usually when he gives it back he has something to say about EVERYTHING I write and wants to change the whole thing, but this time, it was almost perfect!

What a great day!

Biked to the office from Chevy Chase, stayed in the office working on my paper until 10:30 :( It's just much easier to work here because I have two big screens so it's sooooo much faster than my laptop...

Technology is just not my friend today... Couldn't do remote work from my laptop from home and couldn't install my statistical software package (Eviews for those interested) so I had to metro to the office. Did some work and went for a run to Fletcher's and back, super nice day here. Going to do some more work and bike home - our office IT guy responded to my e-mail asking about the remote connection very fast, what great heart that guy has, so now I should be able to work from my house tonight. He's actually training for the Marine Corps too, and I'm sort-of his coach. It's pretty cool, now there are 5 people in the office that are getting into running and ask me questions or tell me about their runs every once in a while. Allison even started running home from the office some days, I let her borrow my pack (Nathan Intensity) to try it out and she loved it so she's going to buy one (hopefully soon cause I need mine!) so she can run home. It's all about runnin'!

Productive day but still a lot of work to do tonight and tomorrow.  

Second weekend in a row without a long run... I was so stressed about my paper today that I had to work on it all day till I felt better about it - finished around 8 pm and went out to the Lincoln Memorial and back, 10 minute miles, exactly 1 hr 20 min. A hot and humid night, but the worst part were the little tiny bugs everywhere that get in your eyes... so annoying! Felt pretty good throughout, though left heel hurts a little - icing now... maybe it's time for new shoes, it can't hurt to try... 

Hottttt! Biked to the office in the morning and ran home the long way in the HOT afternoon. 10 min mines, feeling sluggish. 

I don't think I'll be able to qualify for Boston in 2 months. I just haven't had consistent training or done the work and don't have the base.  And that is ok.  Better to do things right.  I'm probably going to do a couple of Yasso workouts on Thursday to see where I stand, what my predicted marathon time is, and if it's too far from my goal I'll keep building my base and qualify on a different marathon.

On other news, Bart Yasso is coming to a DC running store so I'll get to meet him tomorrow, and run with him!!! I am psyched!!! 

A fabulous little running event by Runner's World and Saucony - went down to the Saucony van, only 5-6 blocks away from my office, after work - they were doing short stride analysis (and of course recommending a Saucony shoe for you), then if you tried the shoe they recommended you got free socks! Woohoo! We also got a free copy of Bart Yasso's book, and of course I asked him to sign mine. Pictures coming! He seems like a cool dude, really.  He told me he had ran in Buenos Aires and climbed the Aconcagua, and that it was so hard to follow a vegetarian diet when he was down there - don't I know it! He would ask for a piece of pizza with no meat and they would give him a slice with ham - that's not meat! haha... It's like my mom when I tell her mom, remember I don't eat meat, and she says "this is not meat, it's chicken!"

He talked a bit about his experience in Badwater 146 in 1989, when less than 20 people were into ultrarunning... he said now it's acceptable to walk, but back then they thought they had to run the entire time! Too funny. 

Ran with the group, 5 miles, made it in 40 minutes, felt pretty good. Biked home.

Ran to the office from my house, feeling OK but my backpack is rubbing against my neck a lot... My co-worker needs to give me my Nathan backpack back, she's had it for over a month now!  May run at lunch, we'll see...

A very loose attempt to a Yasso workout... I read some stuff online about it and the fabulous Bonnie gave me some tips too. I tried to set it up on my garmin so I wouldn't have to go to a track because I don't like the idea of running in circles... so I went to the C&O canal, warmed up for 20 minutes (may be too long?) - my right calf felt super tight, but I didn't want it to stop me. My stomach felt queezy but I didn't want to let that stop me either. I had to go to the bathroom too... but I figured I could wait.  So, I have to do it again when my calf feels better, when my tummy doesn't hurt, and when I don't have to go to the bathroom...

I set the garmin to beep after 20 minutes and start the 6 repeats, 0.5 mile, then 4 minute rest, etc.  I should've done what Bonnie said and do 0.5 mile instead, but I have a feeling that would've been more... the actual Yasso I think is supposed to be a rest time equal to the time it took you to run the 800.  Anyway, I rested 4 minutes in between repeats - results (drumroll please)

3:54:06

3:26:29

3:28:58

3:27:21

3:34:33

3:58:00

Average: 3:38:14

The stuff I read says you're supposed to do 10 repeats.... I don't think I could've done 10 of them - but this was also my first time and it seems I went out a little too fast on some of them - maybe if I slowed down a little bit, once I know my rhythm, I can do 10 at that pace.

So, for those of you not familiar with the Yasso 800, they're supposed to predict your marathon time.  If you can run sets of 800 meters at an average of 2 min 30 seconds, your marathon time translates into 2 hours 30 minutes.  So, if Yasso is correct (and apparently it's quite accurate), I am in shape for a 3 hour 38 min marathon.  This is quite encouraging... so maybe if I do some good workouts in the next 2 months and if I'm consistent with my training, I can qualify for Boston, or at least be close.  Next Wednesday is my last class this semester, then I have a couple of weeks off and the new semester starts after Labor Day... Classes next semester should be easier, but I am taking 2...

After the workout I ran back to the office, picked up my backpack and ran a couple more miles to the metro and metroed back - I didn't want to run too much since in the last 2 weeks I haven't been very consistent, I don't want to risk injury. 

As always I welcome your suggestions and thoughts!

Oh - here's my pic with Bart Yasso!

Lunchtime run, not too hot outside, nice! Did my Bonnie route, a bit past Fletcher's and back to the office, average pace 9:08 min/mile - I was aiming for 9:30 so I'll take it! Felt great the whole time. Don't you love those days?

Biked to the office and will bike home after our make-up class.

Very nice morning = 87 degrees, sunny. Warmed up with my neighbor's dog who I am taking care of this weekend - he's a hound so he wants to sniff everything... not really too fond of running, but a very cute dog nevertheless.  Then I ran from home to the office, feeling good. I felt like I could run a little faster than 10 min/miles for about 16-18 miles... but fate had different plans... After a pit stop at the office and refill of G2 with ice, I left for the C&O Canal, and from there to the Capitol Crescent Trail - the plan was to go past Bethesda and then come back on the metro.  But at about mile 11 I started feeling fainty - a very strange feeling. I kept hydrated, I thought, the entire time.  I didn't feel hungry... it wasn't lack of energy - not sure what it was. I was going a little faster than usual, but 9:30 miles vs. 10:00 miles couldn't make that much of a difference, especially in such flat trails.  Anyway - I took some walking breaks and made it to the metro - I had to sit on the yucky metro station floor because I couldn't stay up... I got some newspapers so I could get a seat on the metro, hoping it wouldn't be too crowded that other riders had to smell me...  Vision blurry and feeling queezy the entire ride home.  Now I'm feeling better, but not sure what happened there... I hate those days!  

Paper, paper, paper

Lunchtime run to almost Fletcher's and back, hot but not that bad, sunny and beautiful, feeling great.  

Wasn't going to run till the evening but Ashley wanted to go at lunch - I can't say no to Ashley, she's too much fun to miss. It was very hot and I think she got really dehydrated... good run nevertheless, though we went by the White House and through some crowded streets...

Biked to the office this morning...

Probably will run to Will's house this evening...

I learned two new words/phrases today...

"What's your Achilles tendon?" = name your biggest weakness

"Boondogle" = the leather things the Boy Scouts wear around their necks - OR a wasteful project...

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Ran to Chevy Chase circle in the evening, Will picked me up from there - it was HOT and HUMID and  HILLY and HORRIBLE ... the 4H! Felt pretty good...

From Will's place to the office in the morning. 4H! Legs feeling very tired... Average pace: 9:15 Man, that route seems hillier every time I do it! Or maybe it's the heat and humidity... My colleague Mike was coming back from his run as I was walking into the office. His training for Marine Corps is going well, I helped him modify a novice guide from Hal Gigdon to fit his schedule better, cause he's also a commuter biker and he has two young and active twin girls.  He asked me how to get more energy during long runs so I told him about the gu... he said this weekend he had 3 gu's during his 15 mile run... hmmm.... that seems a bit excessive to me but I don't think it can hurt him, right? 

Plan on biking to school after work and then home.

Happy running bloggers!

Biked to the office from home, worked all day non-stop, then worked on my final paper for the class which is ughhhhh soooo confusing! I always thought I was a numbers person, but this class (Microeconometrics) is proving I am not - I have a newly found respect for the Bonnies of the world... Biked home after work but no running.  Left heel hurts a lot more than it has in a long time (plantar fasciitis). Icing it all day. Planning on running on the (ugh) treadmill tomorrow night to see if it helps. Wish me luck with my final paper, I really need it...

Biked to the office in the morning, worked my butt off all day non-stop, finished my paper, sent it in, and thought about all my options... it was already 8 pm so running and then biking home was going to take a while... so I filled my big pack with my stuff and ran home. Boy was that pack heavy! I did 10 min-miles nevertheless, so I was pretty happy.  Weirdly enough the heel doesn't bug me that much when I run, it's mostly after - I think that's a common symptom of plantar... I'm going to look for new shoes next week, both my newest pairs have done a combined almost 800 miles and that doesn't count a lot of walking, biking, etc. I've done in them... Let's hope that helps.  I'm free from school for a couple of weeks, that feels really good.  Hopefully I'll pass the Microeconometrics class.  Next week I'm going to Colorado with Will to do a lot of biking in the Denver/Colorado Springs and Fort Collins area and visit some friends, I can't wait!

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Zero... lazy weekend - first weekend without school so you'd think I'd be motivated to run... nope... Hosted the girls to brunch with creme brulee french toast, delicious... walked with the girls to Eastern Market. Back home to prepare a frozen cheesecake to take to a pizza party but it didn't freeze in time, so I brought another ice cream instead... Went to a pizza party that turned out to be an engagement party for a friend, it was really cute.

I can't explain how I felt today - no energy, no desire to do anything but lay on the couch watching TV and snoozing every so often... It was like complete exhaustion but more mental than physical... It would've been a perfect day for a long run and I wasted it...

To Fletcher's Boathouse after work, and back. Ran (literally) into my friend Ileana, also a runner, who did the Muddy Buddy with me back in 2006 - she's getting back into running after a long pause, she's done several marathons but I don't think she ever broke 5 hours, and is not interested in getting faster either. A fun girl though. Went very slow with her. Metroed home.

Ahhhhhh Colorado! The air smells fresh and cool... 

Flew into Denver, got there around noon - picked up rental car and went back to the airport to pick up Will, who was on a different flight cause he has free miles or something. Then we both had the same thing in mind: let's bike! Drove to Boulder and picked up rental bikes at a great shop, Will got a mountain bike because of his foot problem and I got a road bike. Then we were off to Left Turn Canyon or something like that... A beautiful ride, steep, not too many cars. Will was going super slow,  huffing and puffing and I was making fun of him, riding circles around him on my cool fast road bike, taking pictures of him. We did about 12  miles, 6 up and 6 down, 1,500 ft elevation gain according to Garmin. Then Will exchanged his mountain bike for a road bike, risking foot issues... While he was doing this, I sneaked a 5-mile run in a trail that goes by a creek, close to downtown Boulder. Sooooo beautiful! Runners, bikers, walkers... such a nice day.... nice weather - feeling great. Then a nice dinner - yummm!

Woke up and drove from Boulder to Estes Park... We stopped mid-way to do a ride around Lyons that was in Will's cycling book. We went up about 5 miles, then all the way down, 1,400 ft elevation change.

Then we drove to Estes Park. Sooooooo beautiful!!! It was very cloudy but we were just happy to be there...  We went straight to Rocky Mountain National Park to do a big ride - but the storms were very close... We went anyway, hoping for the best. Went up about 6 miles, a very difficult slow ascent... then there was lightning very close to us, so we decided to turn around and went down the mountain. It got cold very fast and it started to rain.... it was kind of cool, felt very hard core. Going down with the cold wind and the rain hitting your face and hands.

Then we checked into our beautiful little cabin by a river just outside the park and drove to Estes. Will went shopping or something, and I went for a nice run.

6.65 miles in 1:02 around the lake in Estes Park. Didn't want to push it cause I was worried about the elevation change, but felt very good. Sunny... sooooo beautiful, mountains all around us. 

Had dinner at the St. Mary's lodge and headed back to the cabin. 

Ok, so this was our BIG ride - one of the hardest rides in Will's cycling book - it says cyclist use it as training ground for the Tour de France. I didn't think we could make it, but we did. My quads were burning. It was up, up, up, up, up, sooooo steep, for 17 miles. Almost 4,000 ft elevation gain, Garmin says 4,900 total ascent. It took us 2 hours 20 minutes to get to the top, including a few short stops to take pics and have a snack. It felt like the top of the world - such a great feeling to do something like that. I never thought I could do it. We took some pics at the top, saw lots of elk and a couple of big horn sheep next to the road, and headed back down - the downhill was so fast, it took us less than 1 hour. Then we realized we didn't have our camera! We had either dropped it somewhere, or left it at one of the stops... we hope a good person saw it and took it to the ranger station to the lost and found... soooo sad! It wasn't a good camera at all, but the pictures were priceless! 

No running today for obvious reasons. A good meal and to rest!

Checked out of the cabin and went to the ranger station to fill out a lost and found report. Got a cheap disposable camera.

Then we went on a 10-mile hike to a beautiful lake. Then we drove up the mountain to take "fake" pictures because Will wanted them (I couldn't care less, it's not the pic that counts but the moment!). Then we decided to take the "scenic" way from there to Fort Collins, not realizing it was a REALLY long way. Took us several hours and we both got in a very bad mood. The scenery was gorgeous, and we stopped to look at two moose in a creek on the side of the road. Finally we made it to Fort Collins, to my friend's house. It was good to see him and his dog Roxanne - He was my boss in 2003 when I was the front desk manager at Rising Sun in Glacier NP and we became good friends. He has a congenital disease and is losing his sight slowly, and he has a knee problem so he can barely walk. And he doesn't take care of himself so he's overweight, which doesn't help. So it's hard to help him out... getting a white cane won't do much because he can't walk much. Getting a scooter won't help because he can't see where he's going. It makes me very sad... He is dealing with it so well, I can't imagine what it would feel like. Spent the night at my friend's house.

Alright, now to the best part!

Woke up at 7 am to a beautiful morning in Fort Collins, planning on a 20-mile run, having eaten only a banana and a granola bar for breakfast. Took my little pack with water and nuun, and a gatorade. Went all over the trail system in Fort Collins - sooooooo beautiful, sooooo great! It was the best long run EVER. Felt great the entire time, no pain whatsoever. Then around mile 18 I got lost and ended up doing 2 miles longer than I wanted to - the last 2 miles I slowed waaaay down cause I didn't want to over do it, they were 11 and 12-min miles, so I wouldn't really count them... still including those two slow miles the average pace was 9:40, so maybe without them the average would be even better! Eventually I found my way back to my friend's house and met up with Bart, went to a great brunch, and Will picked me up (he had biked in the morning in the hills around Ft. Collins). and we drove back to Boulder, returned the bikes, had some food, and drove to Denver, we stayed near the airport to catch an early flight tomorrow... sooooo sad the trip is over!!!

Early flight back to DC. Sad. So sad. 

I was thinking about running but didn't do it. Tidied up, unpacked, did laundry, etc. 

6.13 miles after work, average 9:03, a very cool day in DC, feels like fall already! Let's hope it stays like this!

Now I have to catch up with all of your blogs, but I can't do it because I forgot my computer at my friend's house!!! Bummer... It feels kind of good not to have a computer though - but I rely on it for so much! 

9 pm and I'm in the office typing this... gotta get home and eat! Happy Monday!