Ya Win Some, Ya Lose Some

So today I woke up early and hit the trail just before sunrise!

I was proud of myself for getting my ass out of bed and out there in 28 degree weather. I ran the first mile and then started having problems.. My hip started hurting so bad i was limping again. So instead of struggling through three I ended up walking the last mile for a grand total of 2 miles.

Sunday I'm hoping I'll be more awake and ready to tackle 5 miles.

Hitting the Streets

So I woke up once again and was planning on running. Once again, I went back to bed.

So tonight I was faced with a desision to make. I could either go run on the treadmill at my parents house, (which I hate) or go run in the dark on Main Street.

I ran on Main Street. I'm not sure if I ran 1.9 or 2 miles though... I'll have to double check it in my car tomorrow. Either way I did it in only 27:54.

Even though street running is better than treadmill running, it still doesn't beat the trail. To bad the trail isn't lit or else this wouldn't be an issue. Streets don't have mile markers and you have the added hazard of traffic.

Maybe next time I'll remember all of these minor issues of running at night and I'll actually get up off my rear end and run in the early morning daylight before work.

Next run's game plan: 3 miles
Weekend long run: 5 miles
10K goal December 8th.

BRING IT.

Let's Start Adding Some Miles

T-minus 45 days until the Walt Disney World Half Marathon!

With that in mind I've started trying to gain back some of the mileage I've lost. Meghan and I went out on the trail for 4 miles today. I haven't been able to do that since before the injury.

I'm the first to admit that I'm not fast. I'm not fast by any stretch of the imagination. With that being said, I'm lucky that Disney is a very forgiving race as far as pace requirements go. So at this point the main goal is to add up the miles. My next goal is to be able to run a 10K in two weeks. I feel great after running 4 today so I'll easily be able to go 6.2 in two weeks.

Doing the math, I'll be able to add 2 miles to each long run each week and still have a week of rest before the race. It's a tough training schedule.... But I have to start making up lost time somehow.

Frosted

Since my return to running the weather has turned much cooler. Wednesday, I finally got up out of bed early to go run. I step outside my door and I'm greeted by this:

It's cold outside.

But I'm proud of myself for going out there early and doing it. I ran 2 miles under my 16:00" mile goal pace. With the Thanksgiving holiday and all that I wasn't able to blog about it.

So today I went back out and ran 3 miles in 45:27. That's the furthest I've ran since my injury and I'm damn proud of it. It's not fast but at this point I'm just looking to gain back some of my distance endurance. I assume speed will come with that. So far my pace has improved drastically since my injury so I'd say I'm just about on track for Disney.

Do I still feel pain? Yes. Most of the time. But It's a much more manageable pain now and it's more of an annoyance than anything else.

Well I Tried

So I woke up early fully intending on running out on the trail this morning. The alarm went off and I rolled out of bed. I looked out the window and what do I see?

Yeah that's sleet.

I'm going back to bed... zzzzzzzzz

But I made up for it and hit the treadmill tonight. I ran 2 miles! That's the furthest I've gone since the injury so I'm pretty pleased even if I did have a crappy time.

Taking a quick vacation the the west coast this weekend so hopfully I can squeeze in some Seattle runs!

Shoes are packed.

Bordering Bare

Today I ran a mile. This is pretty important for many reasons.

1. I haven't been able to run a mile for months. And I find it awesome that I did.
2. I did it nearly naked.

That's right folks. I ran today's mile nearly naked, bordering bare, essentially exposed, virtually vulnerable.   And I looked fabulous doing it.

As nearly naked as I felt, I really wasn't as naked as some brave souls bared today.

Most of the men were fairly close to nude.

Because this was only a mile race, runners were separated into different waves by expected running times. Needless to say, my cousin and I ran in the last wave.

Here we are waiting patently for our time.

The goal of today's race was to raise money for the Medstar Burn Center in Reston. The run was all about feeling comfortable in your own skin while freezing your bums off. Although Mother Nature decided we were going to have a fairly warm run, we did get a chance to feel comfortable being ourselves. I loved this group of guys who decided to paint the word "insecurity" across their chests.

 

We got lined up for our nice slow group and I have to say I'm fairly proud of my results. I ran the entire mile (no walking!) in 12:21. That's pretty impressive considering I could barely walk a few weeks ago.

Afterwards we celebrated with free booze and pizza from a pizza place appropriately named Naked Pizza.

Now I know dear readers you're begining to wonder.... What does the newest free shirt look like?

Well, I didn't get a shirt. :(

I got a pair of the worlds smallest boxer shorts. :)

They even have a picture of a naked fireman on them!

We also helped collect clothes to donate to the burn center.

And as always, =PR= photographers always seem to catch me at my best and I will share with you all my running shot.

That's genuine nearly naked happiness right there guys.

Let's Get Back Baby

Since I've stopped running its gotten awfully cold out. I woke up early fully intending on running on the trail.

Lemme tell you... Its cold out there. One look at the clock and another look at the grey day out side and my decision was made easy for me.

So I went right back to bed and ran on the treadmill at my parents house tonight. Much warmer. I don't have any cold weather gear yet. That's my excuse. Tonight I ran 1.8 miles in 30 minutes. I shaved about a minute off of my average pace from Sunday. If I can just keep that up for 13.1 miles with out curling up in pain then I'd be set.

Now, that's not to say I'm not pain free now. So far I haven't injured myself further and I promise you dear readers, I will stop if that happens. But at the moment I'm not feeling any worse so I may as well play through it.

Glow in the Dark 5K in DC on Friday.

Welcome Back

Its been a while.

Its been a long while.

Two months since my last real attempt at running. I've been to the doctor and he believes that I pulled my hip flexor muscle. Click here for more information on it. 4 weeks of physical therapy and I'm still in pain.

Last weekend I came to the realization that my half marathon is in 2 months. I need to get back on it now or risk loosing it until next year. So today I was finally able to get out and run.

I have a mild cold so breathing was a little difficult but I managed to run a mile and a half. In those two short months the trail has really changed.

66 days until Walt Disney World marathon weekend. 66 days and I feel as though I'm basically starting from scratch.