February Training Log

Thursday 2/28/2013
We went to Riverbend today in order to avoid some of the wind of the Reservoir. Instead, we were thwarted by flooding trails. Nearly the entire system of trails in the park were flooded out so we made our way on foot to the Reservoir to take our chances. It ended up turning out that the wind wasn’t too bad today and we even ended up doing 6×30 second strides in the middle of our Reservoir loop. We ran around 56 minutes total. Good end to month.


Wednesday 2/27/2013
Went out to the Reservoir again to run on a soft surface. It was miserably cold and windy with sleet/snow pelting our face throughout much of the run. We managed to do one lap and took a little over 40 mins. Simply glad to have done something on such an unmotivating day.


Tuesday 2/26/2013
Unexpectedly took the day off. Knee was definitely bugging me. It got better as the day went on and I eventually went for a long walk in the evening.


Monday 2/25/2013
Julie and I ran for 3:12 from home in Findlay, to the Reservoir, around and then down to Riverbend Park. We did a couple laps there and then back up the Reservoir for another lap and a half. We then ran home. Beautiful sunny day, best we’ve had in Ohio in what feels like a long while. My upper, medial left knee got progressively sore throughout the evening. Feels like a little tendonitis.


Sunday 2/22/2013
Julie and I ran from home around Findlay. We headed north toward the University, then west, and then back home. We comfortably ran 67 minutes. The weather wasn’t too bad either.


strong>Saturday 2/23/2013

Off day as we drove 10 hours from Delaware to Ohio. Feeling a little sluggish and bloated after all the car time. Need to get in some good training over the next couple weeks in order to be prepared for the 50 in two weeks.


Friday 2/22/2013

Julie and I ran around the Dover Air Force Base for 55 minutes this morning. Not too cold but certainly not nice out. Good to be moving but I am definitely not in any sort of rhythm with my training right now. We did manage to get in 4 x 30 second strides in the middle of the run. I can tell I haven’t been running fast at all lately by how sluggish my legs were feeling.


Thursday 2/21/2013

Julie and I ran in Ocean City, NJ in the morning before making the trip to Delaware. We ran the beach for the first part of our 30 minute run. The wind finally broke Julie and we got off the exposed beach and had some protection behind the houses on the way back.


Wednesday 2/20/2013

Julie and I ran 60 cold minutes on the beach in Ocean City, NJ. It was sunny most of the time but the wind was strong and cold. My face and hands were exposed and took the brunt of the cold. The beach was well packed though and it was good to get off the roads and onto a softer surface.


Tuesday 2/19/2013

Unplanned off day. We simply didn’t want to run. We actually drove to the Tow Path in Georgetown, parked our car, and got so far as putting our first 50 cents into the parking meter. The meter didn’t register the money. I looked at Julie and said that I had no desire to run at the moment and felt like moving on to Baltimore where we had lunch plans with family. The weather was cloudy and crappy and began raining. We bagged the run and headed north. It proceeded to rain the rest of the day; I think we’re becoming fair weather runners.


Monday 2/18/2013

I did about 87 mintues on the AT from the road crossing near Boonsboro, MD. I ran with Julie off and on but she was feeling blah and not into the run while I was feeling awesome. I began doing the climbs on my own, then the big downs, and eventually, I proceeded to do large sections alone, coming back to her to check in. On the way back I went ahead and finished on my own a couple minutes before her. I felt really good out there and am gaining confidence in my trail running abilities. This section today was much more techincal than the route we ran north on the trail yesterday.


Sunday 2/17/2013

Ran the AT with our friend Brian Whitesell. We ran from the trail head at Washington Monument State Park in MD. We went north on the trail and ran for 78 minutes. It felt great, it was good to run with an old friend, and good to be on the AT again.


Saturday 2/16/2013

Ran with Julie and Rumblestrip near Bainbridge, OH today. It was blustery cold with occassional snow showers. We got a tour on foot of the local Mennonite community with stops at the local bakery, general store, craft store, and produce auction house. Julie even managed to sell a couple books while we were out on the run (Rumblestrip is delivering them later but Julie got paid while we ran!). Legs are feeling OK, not great, and we are a bit tired of all this cold running.


Friday 2/15/2013

49 minutes with Julie at our normal Cincinnati bike path. Feeling pretty good, especially relative to how Julie was yesterday.

Julie looking cute at the Bass Island trail head after our run today. Notice the cloudy, gray skies that seem to be the backdrop for the vast majority of our runs here in Ohio. We had a good day out there today though despite the cold.


Thursday 2/14/2013

We ran a measely 28 minutes at Sharon Woods park in Cincinnati. We did the lake loop with a few side trails before Julie bagged it. Neither of us was particularly energetic but we left part of the park unran. We were up with her grandparents earlier in the day and decided to try this park since we were already up there. We’ll need to come back and run the rest of it some day.


Wednesday 2/13/2013

It was snowing but thankfully Julie and I had gone to bed last night with a plan to go to Mt. Airy and run trails.  We ended up doing 91 minutes at a comfortable pace all around the quiet and nearly desolate park.  Snow came down the entire time and stuck not only to the ground but to us.  The ground was still squishy and muddy due to the warmer temperatures.  It was a fun run and I’m glad we went.  We went to an Indian buffet for lunch where every item on the buffet was vegan.  Long run, lots of good food…and then we went home and took a nap!  Good day.

After 90 minutes of running, my head seems to have accumulated a litlte snow!


Tuesday 2/12/2013

Julie and I ended up running 55 minutes total today in the sunny, high 40’s temperatures of Cincinnati. We actually ran the first 20 minutes around neighborhoods in Terrace Park before hopping on the bike path for the rest of the run. Left leg is still sore but is noticably better than yesterday, which was better than the day before that. It’ll still be at least a few days before I try doing anything faster. That’s OK though because I don’t race for another 3.5 weeks.


Monday 2/11/2013

Julie and I ran for an hour on the bike path in Cincinnati.  It was warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt but windy.  My left hamstring was hurting and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it very far or not.  Fortunately, I loosened up and was able to run somewhat comfortably.  Glad I got out there even though I was definitely feeling the effects of Holiday Lake.


Sunday 2/10/2013

Day off as we drove 7.5 hours from VA to Cincinnati.  My left hamstring is really sore and there is no way I’m running today.  I won’t likely run hard for at least a week, probably a little longer.


Saturday 2/9/2013

Race day, Holiday Lake 50k (it was actually a little over 33 miles).  2nd place overall, 3:51.  Felt strong nearly the entire race, had a good group to run with through the first 20 and then on my own for the rest.  Click here to read the full race report.


Friday 2/8/2013

30 minutes around Holiday Lake on the course around 3 pm.  Beautiful day, actually took my shirt off during the run while in the sun.  Legs feeling fresh, but I can still feel the discomfort in my left hamstring.  Otherwise, ready and excited to race again.


Thursday 2/7/2013

Unexpected off day.  We woke up in Chicago with intentions to run but with friends to sit and chat with and sleet outside, we opted to wait.  Then we drove all day, not stopping for the night until after 11 pm.  Oh well.  I’m race-ready and will plan on getting in a short shake-out run tomorrow before the race.


Wednesday 2/6/2013

Ran 59 minutes with Jeff and Julie around Madison.  We had the tour of the capitol area, ran along the other lake (Wenona??), and then ran all around the UW campus.  It was cold, really cold, and a bit windy, but it was run running with Jeff again.  Comfortable pace and appropriate pace given that I am still feeling the soreness in my hamstrings from last Saturday’s race.


Tuesday 2/5/2013

71 minute run with Eric Schneider and Julie in snowy Madison, WI.  The temps were warming a bit (maybe close to 20 degrees) and while the snow was coming down, it still didn’t seem nearly as bad as some of the other runs over the past couple weeks.  I felt good considering it was my second run back since the marathon.  My hamstrings are still really sore and tired but otherwise I felt good.  We had nice conversation and Eric lead us on a pleasant route through the arboretum and around Lake Wingra.


Monday 2/4/2013

50 minute run with Jeff Urbanski and Julie around Madison from his place.  It was sunny but cold, probably single digits.  We ran around Minona Bay and then along one of the lakes close to his home.  We saw where he’ll be doing his Ironman next September too.  Good run back, definitely still sore though.


Sunday 2/3/2013

Took the day off.  Drove from South Bend, IN to Chicago, IL for the day.  Snowy weather, not inviting weather for running.  Julie was even prompted to run on the treadmill today while I rested.


Saturday 2/2/2013

Race day in Grand Rapids, MI.  Good run, 1st place, 2:58.33 in nearly a foot of snow.  Click here to read the race recap.


Friday 2/1/2013

Ran with Julie in Findlay, OH on the loop from home, down Sandusky, to Main, to Sixth, and back home.  Took us 40 minutes; we went slow.  Wind was cold.  Motivation was low.  Ugh to this Ohio, Midwest winter weather!

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