Here I go again!

An absolutely perfect racing weather day in DC. Woke up, biked to the World War II memorial to meet up with my colleague Mike - we walked to the start line chatting. He used to be really overweight, and a few years ago started biking to work and back, about 30 miles round trip, and lost a lot of weight, Now he started putting it back on, and is turning 30 this year, so he wants to run a marathon - the problem is, we've signed up for 8ks, 10ks, and 10-milers together, and he NEVER trains!!! So, I'm trying to get it in his head that a marathon is no joke and that if he wants to finish without being injured, he needs to take the training a bit more seriously. So that's what we talked about until the race started. I told him our goal was to finish in 30 minutes, 10-ish minute miles, didn't seem hard to attain... it turns out I didn't realize how out of shape he was... We started pretty good, 9:30 the first mile, then he started to breathe really hard and sweat, so I started slowing down a bit... crossed the Memorial Bridge, turned around, had some water, and started the 2nd half to the finish line. I tried to motivate him to go faster but was worried he'd have a heart attack or faint on me, so I didn't push too hard... We finished in 30 min 30 seconds, not bad at all! I think it was a good race to do so that Mike realized how much work ne needs to do before Marine Corps...

After the race I met up with a bunch of othe runners, so weird how you can see people you know in a crowd of thousands of people! Then I biked home and met up with Will to go on a gorgeous bike ride to Annapolis, followed by crab soup sitting on a sunny restaurant deck by the bay. Will's kids got 1st and 9th place on the kid's 1-mile fun run.

What a fun day!

Biked to the office from Bethesda on the CCT, soooooooo beautiful!

Biked to school after work and biked home! Windy now, thunderstorms tonight maybe?

Biked to the office (5), after work ran in Rock Creek Park for 30-ish minutes, then biked to Bethesda (10). Gorgeous but cold day.

Lowering my bike seat seems to make a difference - my tendon pain is not bad today, even after biking lots yesterday and today. I also didn't go very hard or got up and pushed hard on the hills, just lowered the gears a bit more. The positive thing is, running doesn't seem to affect it.

So my boss tried to convince me that I got a "promotion" yesterday... I was given two huge extra responsibilities, one is writing a weekly newsletter to our members that includes information that I know NOTHING about, so it'd all be new research, the other is managing a huge data mining project, that a research assistant and two interns are working on. Ummm... did I get a title change? Nope. Did I get more money? Nope. Supposedly it'll happen soon... I'm going to be spending LONG days here in the office for a while!

I am wearing my "skinny pants". I haven't been able to fit in these pants since 2006 (ironically, since just before I started training for my first marathon) They're slightly tight, but fit enough to wear them to work, so I'm happy. I'd like to lose 5-6 lbs more, but I'll take my current weight! It's amazing how much it affects my mood. I feel so much more self confident now than 3-4 months ago, even though probably nobody else can notice much of a difference.

Peace out!

Biked to the office from Bethesda in the beautiful morning. I love that ride! After work, went running for about 30 minutes. My tendon was hurting, probably from the morning ride, so I didn't want to push it, though running doesn't seem to make it worse. I went on the C&O canal, wanted to try to find where the Dumbarton Oaks trail start, so I went under this dark and scary tunnel that goes underneath Canal Road... then I saw what appeared to be a trail through the trees... so I followed it... bad bad idea - lots of garbage and signs that homeless people stay there often... so I tried to go fast - thankfully, it just went to a road in Georgetown University, so I ran across the campus and back to the office. I'll have to look up that trail some other time. Biked home after the run.

I cannot be-lieve what a PERFECT day is today. Gorgeous, sooooo pretty, sooooo many pretty flowers, soooo much sun but a few pretty clouds... absolutely breathtaking.

Biked to the office, did the bridges run in about 45 minutes, going slow cause my tendon still bothers me a little, no shin pain!!!. Now I'm biking home and will have a biiiiiig salad with lots of baby spinach, yummmm! I cannot be-lieve I am having baby spinach cravings, what's going on here?

Happy running friends!

Another gorgeous day in DC - it was supposed to rain but it didn't. This weekend is supposed to be very wet, which is perfect for me since I have to work and study! Biked to the office, we closed early for Good Friday, so around 3 I went for a run around the bridges - I looked at the route closer on mapmyrun.com and it's longer than I thought, almos 5 miles, so I'm updating my miles from yesterday too. It's really hot, almost 70. I don't think I ate properly pre-run or drank, cause I didn't feel too well - my stomach cramped up for the entire first half, and the deep breaths didn't help much. Finally it went away and I was exhausted - I wanted to stop and walk soooo many times, but I never gave in - I slowed down at parts but then I sped up to get it over with... I think the change in temperature affected me. I did take my camera with me this time, so I could show you the gorgeous places where I run, especially the beautiful flowers - I can't wait for Azalea season!

Some pics: First, the sunset from the cherry blossoms in the tidal basin, the Memorial Bridge on the back

Next, the same trees from the other side, illuminated by the sunset

Red tulips adorn the entrance to the Arlington Cemetery, on the other side of the Memorial Bridge - the Lincoln Memorial is on the background

And last, another flowering tree on the trail by the Rock Creek Parkway, the last mile of my ride to the office. The Key Bridge and Georgetown in the background.

I hope you enjoyed the photos, Happy weekend!

Wow. I am sitting in my office looking at the rain out the window and having one of those "wow", overwhelming moments when you realize how good it is to be alive.

It's pretty cold, rainy, and windy out there. I came to the office to do some work, and the running routes from here are much better than from my house so I often run from here. Left the office with the intention of doing the regular 4.8 mile bridge run... It felt so good to be outside! Running seemed so easy! No shin pain! Almost no tendon pain! As I was approaching the cemetery where I'm supposed to turn around, I was feeling so good that I decided to go to the next bridge, 395, so I did... not that great of an idea, the wind was really strong there and I got a little bit cold, but it felt so good! The cherry blossoms are almost all faded away, but the ones left are absolutely gorgeous! About 100 yards from my office I ran into my friends Brent and James, who had just started their 15-mile run! I cannot believe the amazing coincidences, I see them all the time, even though we don't live or work nearby, and no matter how many people there are at a race, I always run into them. It was so good to see them. Anyway, I ended up doing almost 7 miles, which is great cause I have a 10-miler coming up in a few weeks. It's hard to believe my shin spints are gone... I'm still stretching and strengthening, and will for a very long time, but it seems all paid off! I owe that to so many of you, especial mention to Barry, Lori and Josse, your recommendations were so helpful!

Already, now it's back to work, then biking home if the rain stops and the sun comes out as weather.com says! Then rewarding myself with dinner at my favorite vegetarian place, Java Green! Have a great weekend everyone!