When I am pressed for time like tonight when I have chicken and baked potatoes in the oven and the timer reads 30 minutes, I have to get out for a quick run and this loop has filled that role nicely. It is easily completed under 30 minutes and if I boogie, as I did tonight, then it is closer to 25 minutes. I long steady downhill to start, a mile of flat, a ton of steps, and then a flat finish.
Last time I pushed it and finished in 25:01 so my goal was to break 25:00. Not a drop of rain all day but of course I stepped out the door and it was raining. After 8 minutes downhill this didn't matter and I settled into 5-10K pace along the flat portion on the Burke-Gilman trail. I felt awesome. Light and bouncy cruising through the streetlight dappled puddles. Across the street there is an enormous marina in the Shilshole Bay. There has to be 750 boats, many decorated with Christmas lights up and down the main mast lines. A new sight for me.
I hit the stairs as hard as I could and then kept glancing at my watch for the final half mile home. I was full out the last few blocks and finished in 24:21. A huge improvement from last time but that is only because this time I had goal in mind. Getting under 24 minutes will be much more difficult.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The sun is out! A beautiful sunny, crystal clear morning and I was trail running on Cougar Mountain with a fellow runner from work. It really is more of a hill than a mountain, only topping out at 1200 feet but it did have some great trail running. The weather yesterday made the perfect setup this morning with wet trails at the bottom and lightly snow covered at the top. With the sun cresting the surrounding hills it was a picturesque.
It is about a 35 minute ride from home and definitely worth the trip. We started at 8 am and I just followed Cory for nearly 3 hours including a couple stops. The pace very easy but I did not mind, it was just nice to be out for miles on the trails again especially with another runner. I haven't gone for a run like this since leaving Philly and I would say the difficulty of the trails was very similar to the Wissahickon. No killer climbs but general rolling terrain.
Cory's GPS read 14 miles but it didn't seem we were going that slowly, maybe.
I actually had to use my sunglasses on the ride home, it was fantastic. Akin to a 50 degree day after a major cold spell in Philly. Almost rejuvenating. Now I'm prepared for a another 20 day stretch of clouds. I just hope it doesn't happen.
It is about a 35 minute ride from home and definitely worth the trip. We started at 8 am and I just followed Cory for nearly 3 hours including a couple stops. The pace very easy but I did not mind, it was just nice to be out for miles on the trails again especially with another runner. I haven't gone for a run like this since leaving Philly and I would say the difficulty of the trails was very similar to the Wissahickon. No killer climbs but general rolling terrain.
Cory's GPS read 14 miles but it didn't seem we were going that slowly, maybe.
I actually had to use my sunglasses on the ride home, it was fantastic. Akin to a 50 degree day after a major cold spell in Philly. Almost rejuvenating. Now I'm prepared for a another 20 day stretch of clouds. I just hope it doesn't happen.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
My motivation has been horrible this week. I passed on a couple chances to run telling myself it was to late, to cold, to rainy but in reality it was none of those things... well maybe a little but not enough to stop me from running. I tell myself it is the holidays and I deserve a break but I really haven't been keeping up that many miles to really take a break. Can't analyze it to much but I know if I keep it up I get into a rut and it gets harder to return.
I headed out this morning after the early rain for a run out to Phinney Ridge. This is turning into a regular loop for me. On nice days you get a great view of both the Olympic and Cascade mountains. I thought the clouds would obscure everything today but I was treated to a glimpse of the now snow covered Cascades. 6 miles in 45 minutes.
I headed out this morning after the early rain for a run out to Phinney Ridge. This is turning into a regular loop for me. On nice days you get a great view of both the Olympic and Cascade mountains. I thought the clouds would obscure everything today but I was treated to a glimpse of the now snow covered Cascades. 6 miles in 45 minutes.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
12 of 14 days so far this December have been rainy. The gloom is beginning to eat away at my "screw the rain" resolve. It's been enough at times to leak into our basement and require some fancy equipment to dry out the rugs before the mildew and mold arrives. This means you are either running just before it rains, during the rain or just after the rain.
I pushed off any kind of workout until 9:15 tonight when the radar gave me the all clear. Instead of the rain I was treated to a very light mist which I really don't mind. I wanted a hard workout in my mind but my body just wasn't into it. Jogged over to a fake turf field about 1/2 mile from the house. Almost all the community fields are fake turf here. I guess they got tired of playing in the mud. The good thing is that the fields are actually decent turf and permanently lined for baseball, football and soccer. I took advantage of the lines to run some lines as follows. I ran out and back to the 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 yard lines (including the end zones). Tried to run as hard as possible the entire way. Took a complete break to almost fully recover and repeated.
Round 1: 2:56
Round 2: 2:58.
I figure they were somewhere around a half mile but run harder than I would in an 800 interval.
Was planing on three sets but the steak and potatoes I had for dinner were angry with me so I jogged off the damp dark field and headed home. May repeat this one in the future, perfect for a hard workout and easy to measure progress.
I pushed off any kind of workout until 9:15 tonight when the radar gave me the all clear. Instead of the rain I was treated to a very light mist which I really don't mind. I wanted a hard workout in my mind but my body just wasn't into it. Jogged over to a fake turf field about 1/2 mile from the house. Almost all the community fields are fake turf here. I guess they got tired of playing in the mud. The good thing is that the fields are actually decent turf and permanently lined for baseball, football and soccer. I took advantage of the lines to run some lines as follows. I ran out and back to the 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 yard lines (including the end zones). Tried to run as hard as possible the entire way. Took a complete break to almost fully recover and repeated.
Round 1: 2:56
Round 2: 2:58.
I figure they were somewhere around a half mile but run harder than I would in an 800 interval.
Was planing on three sets but the steak and potatoes I had for dinner were angry with me so I jogged off the damp dark field and headed home. May repeat this one in the future, perfect for a hard workout and easy to measure progress.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
A supremely rainy weekend in Seattle, the rainiest in two years. A very rainy weekend here has nothing on a rainy weekend in Philly. Seattle doesn't get deluged with rain, it just pisses drizzle all the time.
I headed out for a quick 3.5 miles, not really because I wanted to run that short but I didn't have any more time. I pushed the pace on loop through Golden Gardens park which included a long trip up all those damn steps. I have counted them but can't recall the total. Maybe 300? 25 minutes.
Today the rain let up and the temp was in the upper 50s. I was sweating on a loop out to Magnolia which is a neighborhood on the hill south of my house across the canal. My goal was to reach a blinking red light that I always see when walking at night. It was hard to judge how far I had to go but it turned out to be 4 miles away at 28th and Dravus. Plenty of hill but I took it very very slow. 7.8 miles in 1:07.
I headed out for a quick 3.5 miles, not really because I wanted to run that short but I didn't have any more time. I pushed the pace on loop through Golden Gardens park which included a long trip up all those damn steps. I have counted them but can't recall the total. Maybe 300? 25 minutes.
Today the rain let up and the temp was in the upper 50s. I was sweating on a loop out to Magnolia which is a neighborhood on the hill south of my house across the canal. My goal was to reach a blinking red light that I always see when walking at night. It was hard to judge how far I had to go but it turned out to be 4 miles away at 28th and Dravus. Plenty of hill but I took it very very slow. 7.8 miles in 1:07.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
I was walking the dog last night in the schoolyard across the street. The playground over there has an adult sized pull-up bar and picnic benches that are at the perfect height for box jumps. In fact, I think there about a million different body weight workouts I could design with the playground equipment. I can warm up in the house and then literally walk across the street to work out. It was only me and a few kids smoking weed.
Workout
40,30,20,10 jumping pull-ups, bench jumps, and walking lunge. 8:21
I actually cut the jumping pullups in half each round. It would have taken me much longer to do the full amount. I was definitely better at all this stuff this time last year, out of practice, though I am not as sore today as I thought I might be.
Workout
40,30,20,10 jumping pull-ups, bench jumps, and walking lunge. 8:21
I actually cut the jumping pullups in half each round. It would have taken me much longer to do the full amount. I was definitely better at all this stuff this time last year, out of practice, though I am not as sore today as I thought I might be.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Headed to the backyard after Heather arrived home at 8:15. I currently have nothing to lift back with exception of a broken vacuum cleaner. You can't easily throw things in the trash in Seattle like in Philly. Heather was in awe of the things the trash men would pick up there. Queen mattress, broken microwave, bed frame.. just about anything. And I swear if you tipped them 20 bucks they would take a dead body. If the trash men didn't take it the junk man in his beaten up old Ford, stacked high we crap would always swing by. Not here. I am limited to one trash can, anything over that and I pay more. Hence the leftover vacuum cleaner. I haven't had the oomph to figure out how to toss it.
I had to settle for a workout of:
4 rounds - 30 double-unders and lap around the block (about 440M). 9:56.
I forget how hard you have to push in these workouts. I was hurting after the first lap and then you are right back to the rope. Like intervals with no rest. My double unders suck. I don't think I was able to string together more than 15 at once. I'll need a new rope, it snapped 13 reps into the last set.
I had to settle for a workout of:
4 rounds - 30 double-unders and lap around the block (about 440M). 9:56.
I forget how hard you have to push in these workouts. I was hurting after the first lap and then you are right back to the rope. Like intervals with no rest. My double unders suck. I don't think I was able to string together more than 15 at once. I'll need a new rope, it snapped 13 reps into the last set.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Dreaming
Thinking of moving back here. Been logging at several different sites but always somewhat nostalgic for the old blog and how much history I have logged here. Seems a waste to just let lie as a dead web-page, like an abandoned pet. The truth is I don't log that much running or working out these days but the fire to do is definitely still there.
I completed a half marathon a couple weeks back and its like "Now What?" Maybe I'll just surf the couch into an over-weight middle age. It always seems I have the best intentions on nights like tonight and then everything gets in the way, then blog and often workouts fall by the way side too. Been kicking around the idea of turning my back yard into a bare bones crossfit gym. Buying only the bare essentials and then finding or building everything else. Large rocks, homemade medicine balls a pull-up bar made of pipe.... whatever I can locate, steal, or "borrow". Throw together nasty workouts with all that crap and still run 40 miles a week, delay the aging process, be the fittest dad within 20 miles and swim across Lake Washington next summer. Yeah, that's what I'll do.
I completed a half marathon a couple weeks back and its like "Now What?" Maybe I'll just surf the couch into an over-weight middle age. It always seems I have the best intentions on nights like tonight and then everything gets in the way, then blog and often workouts fall by the way side too. Been kicking around the idea of turning my back yard into a bare bones crossfit gym. Buying only the bare essentials and then finding or building everything else. Large rocks, homemade medicine balls a pull-up bar made of pipe.... whatever I can locate, steal, or "borrow". Throw together nasty workouts with all that crap and still run 40 miles a week, delay the aging process, be the fittest dad within 20 miles and swim across Lake Washington next summer. Yeah, that's what I'll do.
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
The snow is melting, temps are creeping up and this winter seems to finally be dragging it's ass out of town. I love the snow and was amped to see Philly crush it's single season record with almost 80" of snow and still a chance to get more (including tonight) but I am happy to see the sun getting higher in the sky and snow cover quickly melting away.
With the change in seasons my running has been on the rise as well. I got out there four times last week for nearly 24 miles. Relative to the last 5 years this would be a low mileage week, as compared to the last 5 months, I am mileage monster.
I can feel the lack of fitness on these runs, especially when running a well known loop around Chestnut Hill. But really not as bad as I would expect.
With the change in seasons my running has been on the rise as well. I got out there four times last week for nearly 24 miles. Relative to the last 5 years this would be a low mileage week, as compared to the last 5 months, I am mileage monster.
I can feel the lack of fitness on these runs, especially when running a well known loop around Chestnut Hill. But really not as bad as I would expect.
Monday, February 01, 2010
It looks as though my plan to post a couple times a week has turned into once every two weeks. I have every intention of writing something in the morning but one things leads to another and I never get around to it. You can understand that I must be extremely busy with the no working and taking care of a kid that sleeps three hours a day. I wanted to post a picture of Zach but just realized I am writing this on my work computer which has no pictures.
I went out for a few runs over the last couple weeks. All on the trails, a luxury that comes from having days off in the middle of the winter. Although night trail runs are also possible, I bought that headlamp about a month ago. So far I have used it twice and it is fucking awesome! If I didn't know the park so well I'd probably wouldn't be able to handle not seeing more than 20 feet and feeling totally isolated on a freezing cold night but it wasn't creepy at all. I brought Boomer along and his eyes have a startling glow even from 100 feet away as do the multitude of deer that come out in the dark. Imagine 4 sets of glowing orbs up a steep hill. I have yet to come across one on the path but I'm sure that will be unsettling. The one concern I have is ice. That will come up real fast at night and I worry that I am going to go down hard. That has kept me out of the park at night during cold stretches.
I've also been doing Crossfit several times a week. I think about blogging on it but it just doesn't seem so interesting. It definitely isn't any kind of weight lifting that I have done before. For instance, on Saturday I did 7 rounds of 7 snatches, 7 snatch balances, and 7 overhead squats with 65 lbs. All as fast as possible. It's like a track workout where you take short breathers when you feel it is necessary. It took me 16:35 and I was getting looks from many when I was left panting in a puddle of sweat. I like the balance of this with running.
I went out for a few runs over the last couple weeks. All on the trails, a luxury that comes from having days off in the middle of the winter. Although night trail runs are also possible, I bought that headlamp about a month ago. So far I have used it twice and it is fucking awesome! If I didn't know the park so well I'd probably wouldn't be able to handle not seeing more than 20 feet and feeling totally isolated on a freezing cold night but it wasn't creepy at all. I brought Boomer along and his eyes have a startling glow even from 100 feet away as do the multitude of deer that come out in the dark. Imagine 4 sets of glowing orbs up a steep hill. I have yet to come across one on the path but I'm sure that will be unsettling. The one concern I have is ice. That will come up real fast at night and I worry that I am going to go down hard. That has kept me out of the park at night during cold stretches.
I've also been doing Crossfit several times a week. I think about blogging on it but it just doesn't seem so interesting. It definitely isn't any kind of weight lifting that I have done before. For instance, on Saturday I did 7 rounds of 7 snatches, 7 snatch balances, and 7 overhead squats with 65 lbs. All as fast as possible. It's like a track workout where you take short breathers when you feel it is necessary. It took me 16:35 and I was getting looks from many when I was left panting in a puddle of sweat. I like the balance of this with running.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
September 27th... Has it really been that long? A lot has happened, Zach added 8 pounds, I added 5 pounds, Heather is back to work, I am on family medical leave until March 29th, I completed my degree, Christmas in Seattle, Eagles are toast, Philly gets a soccer team. The list goes on.
I have this huge break from work, nearly 3 months off. Until my last day of work I really didn't think it was going to happen but now that I'm two weeks in I am already having a hard time remembering what day of the week it is. Why is there so much playoff football on a Friday night?.. Oh yeah it is Saturday.
Runs have rarely happened over the last few months. I spent 10 days in Seattle, one run. There hasn't even been a week that I've run more than once, until today.
Tuesday, I ran an easy 5 miler with Heather, Zachary and Boomer. The entire family in tow. The park is loaded up with ice, creeping over boulders, oozing down forbidden drive, it makes for some dicey trail running.
This morning Steve K made the drive out to Chestnut Hill and I led him on a very foolish route through Wissahickon. Foolish because I was not ready for 90 minutes on extremely hilly trails. I think Steve was more prepared than I but we were both dragging our asses up Rex back to my house. Right now things aren't so bad but I will pay for this over the next couple days. This is our second run together in as many weeks, it's nice not to be running alone and Steve is always good company. This must be our fifth or sixth year running together.
If anybody is still checking in on this thing I do hope to get a little more regular (a couple times a week) with this thing although it will likely stray from all running. I am building quite an obsession with Crossfit.com workouts. What a difference it has made in 3 months.
I have this huge break from work, nearly 3 months off. Until my last day of work I really didn't think it was going to happen but now that I'm two weeks in I am already having a hard time remembering what day of the week it is. Why is there so much playoff football on a Friday night?.. Oh yeah it is Saturday.
Runs have rarely happened over the last few months. I spent 10 days in Seattle, one run. There hasn't even been a week that I've run more than once, until today.
Tuesday, I ran an easy 5 miler with Heather, Zachary and Boomer. The entire family in tow. The park is loaded up with ice, creeping over boulders, oozing down forbidden drive, it makes for some dicey trail running.
This morning Steve K made the drive out to Chestnut Hill and I led him on a very foolish route through Wissahickon. Foolish because I was not ready for 90 minutes on extremely hilly trails. I think Steve was more prepared than I but we were both dragging our asses up Rex back to my house. Right now things aren't so bad but I will pay for this over the next couple days. This is our second run together in as many weeks, it's nice not to be running alone and Steve is always good company. This must be our fifth or sixth year running together.
If anybody is still checking in on this thing I do hope to get a little more regular (a couple times a week) with this thing although it will likely stray from all running. I am building quite an obsession with Crossfit.com workouts. What a difference it has made in 3 months.
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