Back to the Roads & Trails

After a marathon-like two days of travel last Wednesday and Thursday, I hit my bed hard. I felt like I was on a cloud. I awoke early the next morning (due to jetlag) and chugged some coffee before venturing outside in a deluge to meet Sam and Karl as if I had never missed a beat. The rain came down in buckets, but at least it was warm outside. The 6 miles was the longest I’d run in 3 weeks (pathetic yes, but I defer to my earlier blog posts as to why). I got through it just fine and longed to keep up the consistency. 

On Saturday I drove to Patapsco State Park for a birthday party/hike. Before said hike, I ran the hilliest trails I could find in an effort to “smoke” the slothfulness from my lungs. Mission accomplished. The run left me panting, but heading in the right direction.

On Sunday, I met Karl, Sam and Patrick at Riley’s for a “long run”. I opted to try 11 and thanks to my new GPS watch, I was pleasantly surprised to see me pace cut down as I progressed: 7:10 down to 5:55.

My contract with NatGeo expired on Friday so I am currently between jobs/looking for the next gig. I suppose that means I am unemployed at the moment. This means I drink beer all day and walk around in my robe and slippers cursing at the world for turning. Close, but not entirely accurate. In fact this slight reprise gives me a chance to catch up on a number of outstanding things that have piled up on my desk. I'm also hunting for a new home and a new car - lots to keep me busy. 

I ran a solo 8 on Monday afternoon and felt fantastic, but on Tuesday morning I was dog tired trying to maintain 7:20s for 9 miles while running with Sam, Karl and Ben. I suppose it was time.

My plan going forward is to press ahead on training and start workouts NEXT week. I'll ease into them while keeping the weekly mileage at 60-70. If I am to have a spring season, then I need to really get cranking. The big unknown is the job - if I get a job that entails lots of travel, it will be very tough to maintain a consistent training cycle, but if I get a gig that keeps me local, then I train on with all the diligence my body can muster.