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CM & I leave my home 7am, and take Linden La past Walter Reed Annex to Rock Creek Park, then head upstream. Two small deer standing in the field by the trail stare at us. We crank out a 10:49 mile between marker posts. Just past the tunnel under Connecticut Av it feels like the planned 16 miler today might be too long, given yesterday's 5k race. So we take the bikepath back to Connecticut and follow the sidewalk northward through Kensington, climbing to University Blvd, then on past Wheaton to Sligo Creek Trail. I reminisce about the "Super Sligo" 4 miler, my first race here. A painted marker on the asphalt leads me to challenge CM to do a comfortably-fast mile, so we accelerate and punch out one in ~8:30, then have to walk to cool down. At Forest Glen Rd near Holy Cross Hospital CM's GPS says only ~9.4 miles, so to avoid falling short of 11 we keep on SCT to Colesville Rd, then come back to my home via Dale Dr, a total of 2:08:25 for 12.15 miles. My left hip flexor starts to ache: is it connected to our speedwork, or yesterday's race, or would it have happened anyway at this point?
^z - 2009-01-06
Barry Smith of JFK 50 miler "Team Lanterne Rouge" kindly gives me a ride to the MCRRC "New Year's Resolution" 5k race this morning. We arrive to the usual madhouse in the start/finish gymnasium, but I soon get registered. Thanks to wonderful friend Christina Caravoulias who's behind the desk I snag bib #333 again this year—the Half Beast is back! (Trail grrrl Caren Jew gets #444, so she's one-sixth more beastly than I.) CM Manlandro, Emaad Burki, Wayne Carson, et al. chat until it's time to venture out. I'm wearing only shorts and short-sleeved shirt, plus hat and gloves, which compared to 95% of the other runners is skimpy in today's 30°F weather with strong gusty winds. But my engine runs hot, and soon I doff the hat. At 10am we start: Caren & I cross the line ~11 seconds after the "gun". Mile one is a brisk 7:28, at the end of which I catch up with CM who's rolling along strongly. I push through a second mile in 7:21, at the end of which I catch Wayne.
"You sandbagger!" I gasp to The Master, as he slows slightly to let me pass. There's no mile 3 marker, but the final 1.1 mile segment flows by in 8:13, for a total official time of a hair under 23:15, doubtless a new personal best for me. Wayne zips in only a couple of seconds later, still sandbagging as he claims that he tried but failed to catch me. (Yeah, sure!) CM is under 25 minutes, a fabulous new PR for her, and then comes Emaad. Caren glides in at just hair over 30 minutes (but under 30 allowing for "gun"-"chip" offset) followed by Christina, recovering nicely from a workout injury.
^z - 2009-01-04
Kind Caren Jew picks me up at 0645 and drives us to the stables at Wheaton Regional Park, where in the dim dawn we set off downstream beside Northwest Branch. It's warm and humid, temps in the upper 50's or lower 60's already, and the wind which greeted us when we started soon fades away. We admire rocky outcrops and scenic sloughs. Caren spies a fox that speeds across the trail at our approach. After 40+ minutes we pass the point where Mary Ewell and I turned around last week (cf. 2008-12-20 - Northwest Branch with Mary) and continue on ~10 minutes to Rt 29. We joke about daring one another to tiptoe across the dam's spillway, but neither of us is foolish enough to try. After energy gels and drinks we take the Rachel Carson Trail back on the left bank of the stream. It's longer and far more rugged than the NWBT, with steep hills and half a dozen muddy tributary stream crossings. Halfway back Caren stops to point out a large gray-and-blue bird with white wing blazes—a kingfisher, most likely. She gives me half a dozen wonderful lime-flavored sports beans, one of which I drop and get to pick up off the trail before eating it. We spy tracks left by cloven hooves—deer, or demon? Back at the stables after 1:54 we visit with the horses briefly.
^z - 2009-01-02
"Don't eat that!" Cara Marie Manlandro admonishes me. "It fell in the mud."
"No, it landed on gravel," I say as I stop to snag the orange sports bean and pop it into my mouth. "Besides, I have to keep up my reputation as a trail runner!" We're 15 miles into a new longest-ever run for CM. Seven miles earlier I pick up another fallen sports bean near the Arizona Avenue trestle. My packet of Hammer Gel is solidified to taffy and I'm hungry, OK?
Our journey begins a bit after 7am when CM's new GPS achieves lock. We tag her car, start our watches, and set off via neighborhood streets to join the Capital Crescent Trail via the Georgetown Branch. The satellite nav system confirms my estimate when it indicates 1.02 miles to the 0.5 milepost on the CCT. Like all good training runs today's is uneventful. In downtown Bethesda after we've done 4 miles we pick up Emaad Burki and Ken Swab as planned. There's also a bonus fellow, Jim Rich, with them. Much banter ensues as the distance flows by. Jim's wife Patti is a bit ahead of us; we chat with her as we pass. After 3.5 miles Jim reaches his turnaround, just inside DC. The rest of us proceed by Fletcher's Boathouse and reverse course at CCT mile marker 8.5, a bit over 9 miles from my home.
CM and I begin to build up a lead during the next few miles, and CM notes that she has a new half-marathon PR of a bit over 2:20 when her odometer passes 13.1 miles. My left hip flexors ache a little. CM get a cramp in one foot, but a Succeed! electrolyte capsule seems to drive the evil spirits out within a mile or two. Just before we're back to Bethesda K&E sprint, catch up, and bid us farewell. CM and I zig-zag between cars, avoid getting run down, and accelerate to make the 16th and 17th miles our fastest yet—near 10 min/mi pace. At the end of the GBT (milepost 0.31, GPS mileage ~17.5) CM finally takes a walk break, once she's well past the 15 Nautical Mile point. We recover a bit and walk/jog the final leg home. Her magic tights have done the job again.
Cumulative time and individual mile split data:
Time Split Comment 0:11:04 0:11:04 1.02 GPS miles to CCT 0.5 0:22:00 0:10:56 0:32:31 0:10:31 0:43:51 0:11:20 meet Emaad, Ken, and Jim in Bethesda 0:55:11 0:11:20 1:06:09 0:10:58 1:17:13 0:11:04 1:28:07 0:10:54 1:39:06 0:10:59 turnaround at CCT 8.5, past Fletcher's Boathouse 1:49:46 0:10:40 2:00:17 0:10:31 2:10:58 0:10:41 2:21:24 0:10:26 2:31:44 0:10:20 back to Bethesda 2:42:06 0:10:22 2:52:10 0:10:04 3:02:07 0:09:57 17.23 GPS miles back to CCT 0.5 3:16:22 0:14:14 home after 18.25 GPS miles, including cooldown walk (note that some mile splits are off by up to 5 seconds when I was tardy in hitting my stopwatch button)
^z - 2008-12-31
"Merry Christmas!" a passing runner gasps out to me; "Merry Christmas to you!" I return, panting. Paulette has given me permission to run a bit on her birthday, so I trek eastward to Sligo Creek and then head downstream, nibbling at a seasonal pumpkin spice Clif Bar and sipping my electrolyte blend. A brisk mile between trail markers near Forest Glen Rd and Colesville Rd flows by in 8:25, which confirms my plan to go all in for a mile on the Old Blair track. So I slow down, walk half a lap when I arrive at the field, doff my vest, and recite bits of Henry V's St. Crispin Day speech to inspire me. A new PR apparently results, with laps 1:45 + 1:46 + 1:45 + 1:41 for a total of 6:58.4 taking roundoff into account. Wow! Of course, the track may be short, my watch may be off, and I may just be a brain in a vat deluded by a Cartesian demon—but I don't really care, if I can go sub-7 again some day. I walk a few minutes to get my heart rate down and take Dale Dr home. Police cars lurk on side streets and one zips past with sirens on; perhaps a local VIP is slumming today?
(cf. 2008-07-11 - MidSummer Night's Mile, 2008-12-09 - Dose of Insanity, ...) - ^z - 2008-12-29
Christmas Eve, and cars pull into the LDS (Mormon) Temple parking lot to prepare for the live nativity scene in a few hours. After eating half of a Chinese carry-out lunch of egg fu young and watching Eternal Sunlight of the Spotless Mind with Paulette, at 4pm I sense a sudden urge to run a hill. The nearest long one is on Stoneybrook Dr, a half-mile 6% grade where Christina Caravoulias and I tested our legs three weeks ago. Trotting along the sidewalk to Ireland Dr this warm afternoon feels so good that I fantasize doing ten or more repeats. Dream on! Rock Creek is brown with suspended mud as I take the gravel path beside it toward the Beltway.
Then reality sets in, as my first climb from Beach Dr to Kent St takes 5:35, followed by a leaf-in-the-wind return of 4:56. My limited arithmetic powers suggest that I don't have time for many iterations before sundown. Even with fluorescent orange shorts on I won't be visible in the dark along local streets. The next cycle is faster, 5:28 + 4:42. I roll up my sleeves and start to sweat. A black SUV beep-beeps at me and the driver waves through tinted glass. Who was it? Commuter trails rumble by and a man leads his little boy into the woods by the church so that the kid can relieve himself.
A crimson sun peeks through lavender-fuchsia-mauve cloud banks behind Temple spires. The words "purple mountain's majesty" gush to mind, cuing up a tinny version of "America the Beautiful" on the mental Victrola. The first verse repeats in synchrony with my stride as I blast out a final 4:49 ascent and finish with a fist-bump to the stop sign's post at the top.
Homeward bound now I fail to record the last downward split, distracted by a truck at the Beach Dr crossing which pauses, perhaps to avoid taking down Santa Claus before his evening journey can begin. Climbing back to Walter Reed Annex on the forest path I recall the frosty poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". The journey today is all run, no walk. Maybe training, and keeping one's weight down a bit, can help even me?
(cf. 2008-11-30 - Hillwork with Christina, ...) - ^z - 2008-12-27
Freezing rain, sleet, and thin layers of ice force Caren and me to punt on this morning's plan to run the Bull Run Run course from Fountainhead together, but by early afternoon the sun has come out and it's safe to trot. CM Manlandro and Emaad Burki are planning an excursion down Rock Creek Trail from Lake Needwood, so I walk/jog to Georgia Av and catch the Q2 Metrobus to Shady Grove, a pleasant 45 minute ride, where CM picks me up and drives me to our starting point. I've got multiple layers on today, which turns out to be good when the chill wind blows.
Three deer turn their tails toward us as we pass the area where a rampaging doe knocked CM off her feet last month. We ramble down the trail to Aspen Hill Park where after a brief debate about crossing Veirs Mill Rd we loop around and head back upstream. On the return trip we explore two side trails that include quarter-mile climbs—good hillwork! Emaad reveals his true sandbagging colors when he takes off for a final sprint during the last quarter mile. CM runs strong after setting a new 5 mile PR yesterday.
^z - 2008-12-25
Mary Ewell picks me up and we drive to the stables at Wheaton Regional Park. The day is cool and winds are light after some heavy rains, so we dodge puddles and damp manure piles as we trot along the horse trail, cross Kemp Mill Rd, and follow Northwest Branch Trail downstream. We go 5k as measured by Mary's new GPS, which seems to get good data even under the occasional trees. A couple of intent runners blast upstream toward us, and we meet a few dogs and their owners. At a concrete sewer manhole we turn back, probably half a mile or less short of Colesville Rd. At Mary's car we brush mud splashes off our ankles, and on the way home visit the Silver Spring food coop.
^z - 2008-12-23
Physical therapy session this morning for the recovering arm is fun, and by 1pm the cold rain has begun to taper, so I set off from home to re-learn how it feels to run in 40°F drizzle. Overall I'm fine with a cap, mittens, and a windshirt over a regular running top—but below the waist gets a bit frigid, since I'm only wearing one pair of trail shorts without any extra insulation "down there". But after about five miles I've become comfortably numb, to quote Pink Floyd, and the run otherwise goes so well that I can scarcely complain. Along Rock Creek Trail I cruise at 9:58 + 9:47 and continue at roughly that pace up Cedar Lane and down Old Georgetown Rd into Bethesda. The final four miles on the Capital Crescent Trail take 9:37 + 9:47 + 9:48, a total journey time of 1:53, probably a course record for me or close to one. I carry water in a spiffy new hand-bottle that Caren kindly gave me, and subsist on two root beer barrels during the circuit.
^z - 2008-12-21
Since I still can't drive, kind Christina Caravoulias picks me up at my home and gives me a ride to the Rockville senior-center where today's MCRRC Jingle Bell Jog 8k will start and finish. She's a race volunteer, and I do my part by testing the club food & drink. Jim Rich takes photos of all and sundry. Fast runner Pete Darmody chats with me about trains, sound effect phonograph records that we remember from our youth, and classic-rock musicians. CM Manlandro appears, as does Wayne Carson; we visit until almost time to start. Then, outside in the chill, I find Christina and her friend Houra Rais whom I met two months ago at her comeback race. We run together comfortably along the course of bikepaths and neighborhood streets with splits of 0:10 (to cross the start line) + 11:07 + 11:30 + 11:17 + 11:54 + 11:35 (the final 0.97 mile). The MCRRC annual meeting is uneventful except when Wayne wins a door prize. Don Libes and his daughter Kenna race about the parking lot playing keep-away/tag and joking with passers-by.
^z - 2008-12-19