Winter Comes Early

On Monday afternoon, I went for an easy run in Cabin John. The going was tough, because the rarely used trail was littered in leaves. About 2 miles in I tripped on something and went down hard. I cursed out loud and checked to make sure everything was okay. It was, aside from a bruise on my hip and a few scrapes on my right side. I got in 7.

On Tuesday I started a new job, so I had to run a little earlier than normal. I hit the ground running at 6:20am and got in a solid 9. I saw a beautiful red fox along Rock Creek. We stared at each other for a minute or two.

On Wednesday I ran 9 in the Tilden neighborhood. I paused for a few minutes to watch a massive ten-point buck slowly making its way along a creek.

On Thursday, Scott and I did my old Radio Tower Field loop. We got in 9.5. 

I didn't run on Friday. I had a dentist appointment at 8:00am so I would have had to wake up pre-5:00am to get something in. #excuses. 

On Saturday, I met Sam, Fridge, Outlaw and GRC's two new superstars, Luke Meyer (1:03, 2:19) and Mike Franklin (14:06, 29:27) at Radio Tower Field for a cross country workout. Although I am not racing at Clubs this year, it was a good opportunity to get out and get a good workout in with others (since I am attempting to avoid the track). The workout was - 4k (at race pace), 2k (2:00 hard, 2:30 settle, finish hard) then 2 x 1k hard. I started off easy in the 4k and gradually worked my way up towards the coattails of Sam/Mike/Luke. I hit mile 1 in 5:06 then proceeded to pick it up ever so slightly. By 1.5 miles I was in their pack and we hit mile 2 together in 10:06 (5:00). I fell apart a bit after that, but ran the 2.5 miles in 12:38 (the loop it turns out is just a little longer than 2.5 miles). I was pretty beat up, but determined to stay in the workout. We took off running 4:30 pace during the next repeat, but I settled into 5:06 again for my first mile. I picked it up after that fairly significantly, insomuch that when I crossed the "finish" line, I never checked my watch - I was too exhausted. The workout had cramped my entire stomach/chest, so I decided to sit the first 1k out. My legs were still okay, but it was hard for me to breath. It was a weird feeling. I hopped in the next 1k and ran it in about 2:58; a decent clip considering this was done over undulating grass. We got in 10. Later that night, the sky spit snow.

On Sunday, I met Karl and Scott at Edward's Ferry. The temperature was about 25 degrees, but the windchill, which made it feel like 5 degrees, was almost unbearable, especially along the Potomac River, which was boasting white caps. The wind hit us head on for the first 5 miles. We did our best to distract ourselves with the various fauna - deer, turkeys, hawks and owls. When we made the turn down River Road, we were greeted by warm sunlight and the wind at out backs. We sailed through "Kansas," which resembled Siberia (just without the snow), and then turned left after 8 miles to begin the hilly section of the "Large Animal Loop" (Scott went straight back along River). The hills took their toll on us, but we kept the pace (at least the effort) pretty hot. The wind seemed to buffet us from all sides and the sweat we accumulated in "Kansas" now chilled our spines. Karl looked over and told me my nose was bleeding. It was that cold. Misery loves company and it was good to have company on such a run. We got in 14+.

A light week - 58.5 - this week.