Miscellaneous Musings From A Road Warrior...

It looks like my current project will have me on the road - traveling to Southern California - once a month for the next few months. I have never traveled this often in the 16+ years that I have been working....

When I was in my late 20s, my job at the time had me traveling once every 6-8 weeks or so for 2-3 nights at a time. I was living in Dallas and I had the opportunity to travel to New Jersey a lot for a project with AT&T. I would burn the midnight oil by driving into New York City and hang out with my sister or go Israeli Dancing, staying out until well past midnight, going to work the next day and crashing when I got back home to Dallas. For some reason, I'm following a similar pattern even now. I was in Irvine for four nights - two of those nights I drove up to Los Angeles (about an hour each way) to go Israeli dancing. On Monday night I left LA at 11pm and got to the hotel a little after midnight. Last night I stayed in LA until midnight and arrived at my hotel at about 1:15am. I was still in the office by 8am the next morning. The problem in all of this...my kids are early birds so I will not get to crash and catch up on the sleep that I didn't get this week....

Talking about going back to being in my 20s, one of the nice folks I met at Israeli Dancing last night asked me how long I have been dancing. I stopped to think about this for a few seconds and then said that I guess I have been dancing for close to 20 years. She shook her head in disbelief - she said that I looked way to young...she thought I was in my 20s! Later in our conversation I told her that I don't know too many of the recent dances since I haven't been dancing as much since I had kids. Again a surprised look from her - you're too young to have kids!!! Maybe acting like a 20-something this past week made me look a little younger....

For those of you who don't believe in the power of Social Networking and the internet, this one is for you. My blog is fed over to my Facebook profile, and after I posted about my soaked run on Monday morning a high-school friend of mine wrote me a note that he was also in Irvine, CA for business this week. Whoa! We haven't seen each other in 18 or 19 years. We met for dinner on Tuesday night and it was great to reconnect with him. This reunion never would have happened without social networking apps....

Oh, yeah. This is my running blog. Right. While in rain-soaked Southern California this week I got two runs in. One on Monday morning in the dark and in the rain, and one on Tuesday afternoon. After the rain stopped - and tornado warnings lifted - the sun came out. My project schedule for that night's activities had been sent out already, so I slipped out of the office and went for a run on the Mountains to Sea trail - running towards the ocean. This trail is built on the creek bed that is used as a drainage system. Last month when I ran on this path it was totall dry. On Tuesday afternoon it looked like I was running on the bank of the Potomac River near Great Falls! The trail has underpasses under the roads so runners and cyclists don't have to dodge traffic. However, on Tuesday many of these underpasses were flooded so I had to cross the streets. Except for one which I could not cross - Interstate 405. I ended up having to trudge through a wet mud/sand mixture under the I-405 underpass. It wasn't all that bad, though - there was a Great Blue Heron perched on the bank by the underpass and I ran right near him. What an amazing creature....

Before I was a runner, I don't think I ever saw a Great Blue Heron. I now have seen them on many runs - on my community's lake, running along the C&O canal, while I was running in Boynton Beach, FL and now while running in Irvine, CA. I didn't know what I was missing before I started running....

Getting Back On Track

The post-marathon soreness in my legs was virtually gone by Thursday morning - I'm sure the massage helped tremendously!!! So Friday morning I headed out for a morning run. I wanted to get a few miles in before my chiro appointment to see if my hamstring issue flared up again.

It was still dark outside at 6am when I left the house Friday morning. Hey...wasn't changing the clocks supposed to help with this morning darkness thing??? Also, it seemed really cold. I found out later it was only 37 degrees - so my choice of a long-sleeve NikePro crew (which retains heat) may have been a bit too much...but it sure made the first mile a bit more bearable.

I headed out on a route that I could make 2 miles or more - depending when I re-entered the community. It's a bit hillier than my normal route, but I didn't want to go 4.5 miles - just in case the pain came back. Luckily, the hamstring didn't bother me.

I ran 2.5 miles - at a 10:42/mile pace. Nice and easy.

I did not run this morning - I think another day of rest is probably a good thing right now. However, resting didn't mean that I sat on my behind all day. This afternoon, I took my 7 year old to Seneca Creek Park for a little hiking. We hiked all the way around Clopper Lake. It was about 4 miles of walking for the two of us. My son did start to complain about 3/4 of the way around the lake, but otherwise he was a real trooper.

At the very end of the hike, we started to hear a sound that was like a hyena or monkey, however, we realized it was coming from the sky. We stopped and looked up and saw a bird stop at a nearby tree. When we got a better look at it, we saw it was a woodpecker! The bird stopped "laughing", pecked the tree once and then entered a hole in the tree. It was really cool. A little bit after that we started to see lots of deer. Seeing all of the wildlife definitely took my son's mind off of the fact that we had just walked 4 miles.

I'm planning to go for another run tomorrow morning - hopefully in the 5-6 mile range. We'll see how that goes and then decide on next week's plans for running...

Hints Of Autumn

Walking out of the house this morning a little before 6am, I had to do a double-take. It was still dark outside, and it was crisp and cool. Not a cloud in the pre-dawn sky. 55 degrees. Great weather for a morning run!

I ran my usual 4.5 mile loop, however, I had a bit of a spring in my step due to the scrumptious weather. My overall pace was 10:09/mile - this is more in line with my average pace over speedwork sessions and not easy runs. My average HR was 152 which is definitely in line with other 4-mile easy runs.

I am soooo happy to be running in cooler temperatures and lower humidity!

Two observations from today's run. First of all, I had the pleasure of seeing our neighborhood great blue heron glide down for a landing in the woods at the entrance to our community. It's an awesome sight - I always love getting to see this heron!

One thing that I have not liked seeing over the past few months - there is a house that I pass on this loop that has been doing some renovation. There is a dumpster and port-a-potty on the side of their property, and every morning there is a 1990s-vintage Honda Civic coupe parked up the block - with one of the construction guys sleeping in the back seat. I always feel sorry for this guy. If he were doing work on my house, would I feel comfortable if he slept in his car every night??? I have a feeling that at some point I would likely find a place in my house for him to sleep - even if it was an air mattress in the space that was being renovated. I guess it's a positive sign that he has work, right?

That's all for today. I hope the weather holds! I'll be really bummed to have to run in hot and humid conditions again.

Morning Run/Walk With My Son

This morning, I actually woke up before 6am and got out of bed to run! I guess I'm finally starting to feel like myself again.

When I left my room, I noticed that the light in my son's room was on. At 6 years old, he's still an early bird (people promise me that in about 6 or 7 years that we'll struggle to get him out of bed every morning...I just don't believe it at this point). I went to his room and asked if he wanted to run with me - he lit up on the spot!

My plan for him - run/walk for about 30 minutes...2 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking - repeat 10 times.

We left the house around 6:05am to a chilly, crisp 38 degree morning and started to walk as a warm up. At that point my son was complaining on how cold it was outside. We only walked for 2 minutes as my son wanted to start running to get warmer - so I obliged and we started our first two minute slow run.

Of course, at the beginning it was really easy for Doron - but he started to get tired about half way through the fourth or fifth run.

We ran through the neighborhood and up to our "downtown" - past the movie theaters, the Star Diner and many of the other stores (and unfortunately - many "For Lease" signs...it seems like new ones pop up each week). After that we went towards Inspiration Lake where we saw many different types of birds to my son's amazement. I'm used to seeing all of these feathered friends, but it was all new to him. A red cardinal, a few red-winged blackbirds and we even had a visit from the great blue heron that frequents the lakes in our neighborhood!!

At the end, we ended up doing 11 "sets" of 2 minute runs and 1 minute walks. We covered 2.45 miles in a pedestrian 38:33 (15:37/mile pace). However, Doron made it through all of the two minute run sets...and he can't wait for his next morning run!!! Perhaps a summer 5k for him is not such a crazy goal after all...

No Shabbat Long Run

I normally had run long on Shabbat morning. However, since tomorrow is Father's Day, I've decided to do my long run tomorrow. However, I'm not sure which route I'm going to run.

Last year, I drove down to the C&O Canal early and ran on the towpath for an hour. It was a really nice run - I love running near water for some reason. I saw a few great blue herons on the way and lots of ducks and geese. I always get a kick running under the American Legion Bridge - as I used to slog across it in my car during rush hour when I had a commute.

There are a few other ideas I have for a long run tomorrow: The Capital Cresent trail in Bethesda, Rock Creek Park trail (I would also pick this one up in Bethesda), or the Clopper Lake loop run that I can do from my house.

As I was thinking about it yesterday, I was really leaning towards Clopper Lake - however, around the lake is a trail through woods and I don't like running it alone (although I normally do...yes, I know I'm pretty stupid that way - but at least I'll bring my cellphone if I do run it alone). I called up a friend of mine yesterday who is getting back into running to see if he wanted to join me, but he's not available.

Either way, it should be the perfect way to start Father's Day. And if my hamstring starts to flare up mid-run, no issues - I'm going to the Sports Doc the next day :-)

Wimping The Weather

As I mentioned on my post yesterday, the warm weather has made me a wimp to the cold. So, for this morning's run in 45 degree temperatures, I put on the running pants instead of shorts.

However, I stuck with only the long-sleeved tee and baseball cap - no windbreaker, winter cap or gloves :-)

It was a nice, short "easy" run. Barely enough time to warm up! It seems so odd to run such short distances with such a big run coming up this weekend, but I'll respect the taper and try to remind myself that I ran 20 miles three weeks ago, so 26.2 is well within my reach.

Again, I tried to keep my HR down...I did pretty well with an average HR of 151. My pace was 10:11/mile. The glass of Shiraz from last night didn't impact my run at all ;-)

Today's music was the sounds of nature. Since I will not be wearing an iPod during the race this weekend, I want to get used to not being "plugged-in" to the music while running. I heard so many different songs of various birds it was amazing! I wish I knew which birds sang which songs...but I'm not one to join the Auduban Society or go birdwatching or anything.

Inspiration Lake - Nice To See You Again!

For the past 2 1/2 years, one of my favorite runs has been to Inspiration Lake, around the lake twice and then back home. It is about 3 1/4 miles round trip.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to do this run so far during my marathon training. The problem is that I have been running early in the morning - before the sun rises - and a good portion of this route is unlit and adjacent to forest areas where some foxes live (these foxes are not my relatives!). I have chosen alternate 3 mile routes for my pre-dawn runs as I don't want to risk running on this trail in the dark.

An opportunity opened up in my schedule today where I had some time around lunch to go for a short run (telecommuting definitely has its advantages!). There are some things at work today that have been frustrating me a bit and the run would definitely help me blow off some steam. The weather was also cooperating - about 45 degrees and sunny. Inspiration Lake - Here I Come!!!!

I must say, it was nice to not start my run in the darkness. I originally thought I was a little underdressed - I wore a long sleeved tech shirt and running shorts with a baseball cap. I was quite chilly at the beginning of the run and as a result my pace was a little fast (always seems to be my issue), but I warmed up and settled in nicely.

I had a few bird encounters. First, there were a some seagulls flying around the lake and one was approaching me as it was starting to hold its wings to glide in the air. I started to wonder whether he was going to use me for target practice. Needless to say, I watched that bird closely until he was nowhere near me. Next, there are a lot of geese that live on the lakes in this area and they cross the street every so often. As I was running I saw two geese on the side of the road just waiting. All of a sudden, I see a car about to approach and the two geese decide to cross the street. It's almost like they were trying to toy with the humans - "hmmm....I really want to cross the street, but let's wait until someone drives by and make them stop for us... Oh! here comes someone - Game ON!".

I listened to Billy Joel's "Turnstiles". I kinda felt like that "Angry Young Man" earlier today at work. Now I'm a lot more relaxed!

Jogging on Jog Road

For this morning's run, I hit the main streets around the perimeter of my parent's development.  One of the streets is Jog Road...I found it very appropriate to be jogging up Jog Road :-)

One big change that I noticed on my run (besides the fact that the weather is much warmer, of course!) is in the types of birds that were flying over head.  This morning, I saw a few small herons, and lots of gulls (there was also a flock of some type of white birds with a long skinny beak - I don't think they were great egrets, but they resembled them).  My neighborhood in Maryland has a lot of nice birds - and one great blue heron that stops by every so often - but seeing the different birds today were really a treat.

I listened to some Harel Skaat and Harel Moyal on my run today.  These artists were the runner-up and winner (respectively) in Israel's version of "American Idol" - called Kochav Nolad - a few years ago.