Friday, November 30, 2007

Had another great run on the Rockcreek trail in Rockville. Found the start of the trail at Lake Needwood and ran to where is started the day before at Veirs Mills Road. In the two days I ran , 2:40 minutes I cover from Lake Needwood to about 2K into the "Rock Cliff Park" . I cover at least 15 of the 20 miles of trails. I highly recommend these trails, with the exception of crossing the odd road you wouldn't even know that your running in a large urban area , no problem with the air either ! See http://www.bikewashington.org/trails/rockcreek/md.htm .

I started off wanting to run the trail around lake Needwood but there was construction at the Dam and the trail was closed. I didn't realize it but I was at the North end of the Rock Creek Trail ... just lucky ! So off I went , beautiful sunny late fall day , temps around 13C .. a little warmer then the day before. The trail was beautiful, big old Oak/Ash/Beech forest. Some of the Oak trees still had lots of leaves, they were a copper colour and with the sun shine it made them glow ! The trail runs though a valley between very exclusive homes, There were rock outcrops here and there and you could see where climbers had left hardware in rock face . Not much on the way of hills , more or less flat . There were these neat little arched bridges that crossed the river here and there . Came across a half dozen or so roads on the way to Viers Mills but only one was a major thoroughfare.

I didn't eat anything before I ran at 12:3O pm and I was started to feel the lack of energy ! Legs were a wee bit tired from the day before and they actually had a bit of a burn on . Rarely do I feel that way but hey I havent been doing too much running outside lately . I was wearing shorts , a metal shirt and a light nylon wind breaker . I was comfortable to warm , probably could have lost the jacket !

So its back to the snow tomorrow , when winter sets in and things freeze up I will attempt to take to the road again , all be it with a layer or two of clothing on.

Ron.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Been running , haven't been blogging!

Had a classic head cold that headed south towards the lungs on the 17/18. Did my first run on the treadmill on Thur Nov 22 11 days since I ran on the beach n the DR. Only did 6.6 K that day , my lungs were a little congested so I didn't want to push it , not to mention it was the first run in awhile.

Friday Nov 23 , did a 10K on the treadmill. Didn't worry too much about the time. Somewhere around 54 minutes.

Did the same on Sunday Nov 25 , 1oK on the treadmill in a little under 50 mins. As is usual I broke the run up into thirds. First 3.3 was at 11K , next at 12K and finally crossed the line at 13.3 ! At the 6.66k mark the heart rate checked in at 146 bpm . Not to bad ! Was thinking always go harder faster in any run , never back off and make it easier unless you are overheating or behind in the O2 or you need to conserve energy to make it the rest of the way.

I find myself in Washington DC this week , before I came I Googled running in the DC area . Came up with a series of trails running through Rockville. Today was perfect conditions for a run , Sunny , light breeze and temps near 10C ! The trails are some 20+miles in all and run from the North end of Rockville all the way to DC . Not sure where I got on but it I parked at a Soccer field that runs next to the trail . Started running South towards DC, the trail was paved and in no time at all I found myself in the middle of a forest in the middle of a very big city yet it felt like I was on a run at home in the middle of the bush ! There was a mix of Ash / Oak and Beach trees . Some were very mature. The leaves were still on allot of trees, much like running at home in mid October . The trail ran through allot of parks and crossed fewer streets then I imagined it would. At around the 10k mark I entered "Rockcliff Park" , I am sure I have seen this place used in a movie set. The highlight came at about 40 minutes in to the run when I came across a historical plaque , it went something like ... here in 1774 George Washington built a Mill to help feed .... Wow , 1774 ... two years before the US became a country. So I turned back and picked up the pace a little and found myself back at the car in 1:20 . It was a pretty flat run so I estimate I did around 15k . I hope to try a different trail tomorrow ...

Ron.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

70K on the Beach Last Week!

Ran, most of the way :<), a 10K each day Mon Nov 5 thru Sunday Nov 11 !

I was staying at the Palladium , when I hit the beach and turned left West ) I ran to the Grand Bahia Primncipie 5K. If I turned right ( East ) I ran past the dolphin pens and the turnaround occurred at the wharf , 5K ! I used Google earth to map out the course and distance before I went !

First run was way to late in the morning . First day there I started the run at 08:30 , it was more then 20C warmer then my last run at home. Temps were near 30C with high Humidity , not to mention the Sun beating down on me with no Breeze ... I WAS HOT! First 20 minutes were OK . When the internal body temp started to rise I was done! The solution to overheating is simple , cool down. Throughout the week when I found I was overheating I would walk for awhile. Another thing I did the rest of the week was to run much earlier .

Highlights of a week of running on the beach ......

  • Dodging the waves , it got to be second nature! The sand is very powdery , no shells. The only firm surface was where the waves washed up!
  • Smelling the Food Prep at all the resorts!
  • Other runners, in the 100's of Ks I have ran at home this year I have never passed another runner nor encounter more then a pedestrian or two. There were three types of runners on the beach 1) the ones the serious types ( like myself) 2) the so-so runners that well do some running now and again 3) the I am going to run on the beach because I am on a Holiday.... not runners at all. OK , now I am new at encountering runners on the beach but I was expecting a friendlier bunch of folks , after all we are all brothers and sisters with a very strong bond! Only 1 in 3 runners I said Hello to or waved at even acknowledged my existence!
  • SUN , good and bad. The sun was low in the sky and it felt SO Good until I overheated
  • Clouds, when it was too hot I prayed for clouds... better yet RAIN !
  • Other folks on the beach , I was fun seeing everyone . I was amazed how many were on the beach at 07:00 am !
  • Taking laps through the Grand Bahia Precipice ! I stayed here a couple of years ago and it was cool to return ... brought back lots of memories !
  • I really appreciated the different climate/topography/vegetation. The palms all along the beach, the sound of the waves !
  • At then end of the run I would grad a couple of bottles of water , remove my shoes and lounge by the pool then jump in and cool down. I had time on my side so I would take 30 to 60 minutes after to cool down!

The reset of the week I was usually out around 07:00 am . Temps were around 25C so it wasn't to to bad. I was use to these sort of temps running last summer !

I was surprised how few Type 1 runners had water bottles! I had my fuel belt , I would have never been able to run as far without it !

This past week I was busy working on some projects at home and then I had to work 12 hour days Fri/Sat/Sun , I also came down with a classic head cold so I haven't had a chance to run in the past 7 days. Mentally and physically I really look forward to getting back on track, it may be on the trad mill or maybe outside ... doesn't really matter just want to get moving !

Ron.


Friday, November 2, 2007

Cool runn'in !

Did my 16K loop today, 1:28:41. Weather was 8C, sunny with gusty winds. I wore my shorts, cotton T with a Nylon Wind Breaker and for the first time ever , cotton gloves. I was pretty comfortable , opened and closed the wind breaker as I heated and cooled. Gloves were supper, you can tell the seasoned runners this time of year...they are all wearing gloves. Its amazing how cold your hands get and how uncomfortable it is even at 8C. Lets felt OK, little stiff but I suspect that may have some thing to do with the cooler temps and shorts . I just got a pair of running pants , I thought that they would be too warm today, I will wait until it gets a little closer to freezing to wear them.
Heading to the Caribbean next week for some R&R with my wife. I have a route all mapped out where I am going, a 10 and 20 beach run. Looking forward to be back in the warmth , it will probably take a couple of days to thin the blood a bit !

Ron.