Tag Archives: trails

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

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Last week was a great week back after a couple extremely busy weeks that made for some lousy weeks of running – or more appropriately barely running. I put in nearly 40 miles last week though – all easy paced to start getting back on track – and felt really great doing it. Here’s the day-by-day breakdown:

Monday: I nearly bailed on this run, but with a little motivation from Ian (Sunday night I told him no matter what excuses I made to remind me I said I absolutely had to run Monday night – he held me to this!), I got myself out the door after work for 3 easy miles on the W&OD at about an 8:45 pace.

Tuesday: I was up early for a P90X core workout then taught boot camp before getting in another 3 easy miles along the W&OD and Custis trails – again about an 8:50 pace. After work I ran home taking the Mt. Vernon, Four Mile Run and W&OD trails for about 6.7 miles at a 9:15ish pace. It absolutely downpoured for this run and my shoes were soaked through for days, but it was a blast.

Wednesday: Rest Day – much needed!

Thursday: I got my core workout in before teaching boot camp in the morning again, but wasn’t able to fit in any post bootcamp miles today. I had to work a bit later than planned, but thanks to the longer daylight hours at this time of year I was still able to run home again for another 6.6 miles this time at about an 8:45 pace.

Friday: I put in 5 miles at about an 8:20 pace along the Mt. Vernon trail on a beautiful and warm evening after work!

Saturday: I got up early (for me) and decided I wanted to run long-ish for the first time since my half marathons and Cherry Blossom. I put in 11 hilly miles along the W&OD and Custis trails averaging about 9:15 and felt great. I didn’t look at my watch at all along the way, but was pleasantly surprised to see my last 3 miles were by far my fastest.

Sunday: I almost took today off since Saturday’s 11 miler was chased with hours of walking around Bob’s Discount Furniture and Ikea, but managed to get out after dinner for 3 easy miles at an 8:20 pace that felt surprisingly good. Ian and I then went for an hour walk topping off a great week of exercise!

 

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

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OK, I know it’s no longer morning, but I’m finally getting around to last week’s recap. It was an up and down week with some great workouts, a tough 5k and an awesome trail relay run!

Monday: My legs were feeling real heavy after Saturday’s speed session and Sunday’s race, but I pushed through three easy miles along the W&OD after work.

Tuesday: P90X in the morning followed by teaching early morning boot camp.

Wednesday: Thanks to a work-from-home day I got my run in during my favorite time of day to run turning lunch into runch! I put in 6X400s along the trail with a 400 recovery between each. I was so pumped when I got home and saw I’d done each one progressively faster working my way down from a 6:57 pace to a 6:16 one. Here are the splits: 1:44, 1:40, 1:39, 1:37, 1:36, 1:33

Thursday: P90X in the morning followed by teaching early morning boot camp and a quick strength workout of my own.

Friday: Another day of getting in my P90X routine before teaching boot camp in the morning followed by the Crystal City 5k Friday race at night. Recap coming soon!

Saturday: I ran the North Face Endurance Challenge marathon relay with fellow Oiselle teammates and had so much fun out on the trails! Recap on this one coming soon too.

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Sunday: I had good intentions of getting a run in, but turned into a lazy, recovery day that I really needed and felt great!

Change of Scenery on the Run

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The monotony of the same old route can be tough during marathon training, so I try and mix things up as much as possible. While sometimes I like to do my most familiar routes to test my fitness and make comparisons to previous times running there, I also like to run in completely different places on long runs. The not knowing what’s ahead can be intimidating, but the new scenery can help take my mind off of how far I have to run and help the miles fly by. Thankfully the D.C. area has an abundance of areas to run in so I never get bored.

At the beginning of August I made a trip home to Syracuse so I really got to mix things up and run around my old stomping grounds. I’ve lived in Arlington since 2006 now, so I really don’t run back home all that often. I got in a great track workout at my old high school overlooking the softball field I spent many hours playing and practicing on back in the day. We were still in the midst of some very hot and humid weather in D.C. at that point, so the nicest part of that workout was the 60 degree temps and slight, but cool breeze.

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I also got a long run in while I was home in the beautiful, but super hilly Green Lakes State Park. I actually worked at Green Lakes for three summers during college and it’s where I met my fiancé, so it holds a special place in my heart. It was a relatively mild day again, but a touch humid. I ran 17.2 miles over some major hills along the main road that runs through the park by the golf course before looping around the beach trails, which has to be one of the best spots to run ever. I also ventured up into some of the hiking trails by the campgrounds that I hadn’t explored before, which was fun and very challenging for this runner girl who usually sticks to the road. If you ever find yourself near Fayetteville, NY, find time to fit in a run here! You won’t regret it. I did my best to snap some shots on the run, so here are a few that didn’t come out super blurry!

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Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

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Last week was a pretty solid training week featuring a mid-week track race and a long run that included some trails that I don’t run on nearly often enough. I’d like to start speeding things up, but am happy with the mileage base that I have.

Here’s the day by day breakdown…

Monday: Spin Class at Revolve – real ride.

Tuesday: I ran home from work again – this week it was “only” 90 degrees out when I set out and I got an entire extra mile in in the same amount of time. I finished up with 10 miles – love being able to hit double digits during the week.

Wednesday: DC Road Runners Track Championship! I ran the mile in 6:21 for a 3rd place finish in my heat. Check out the full recap.

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Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Strength training – core and upper body.

Saturday: 16.5 mile long run. I got myself going a bit earlier this week and was on the road before 8. I took a route I’ve only done once before and even mixed in some trails along the Glover Archbold Trail before running through the zoo and home via Rock Creek Parkway. I don’t run trails very often so it was a pretty challenging run for me, and I’m probably a little too proud that I didn’t fall this time and I only got lost once!

Sunday: 45 minute treadmill run.