I haven't been in the blogging frame of mind lately - at least not blogging about running. Sometimes I think I should switch to blogging about Salsa because that seems so much more interesting, but for now, I'll stick with the current format.

So I went to the gym this morning because prior to vacation, I had left a favorite necklace of mine in one of the lockers at the gym. Luckily I realized it pretty quickly and was able to call them and have them put it aside for me. Unfortunately, it's locked up in the safe (which is nice and all, but the things prolly worth less than 40 bucks), so I need a manager to retrieve it and, apparently, there's no manager on duty until 10 am.

So anyway... I did a hamster wheel run. Nothing fancy, nothing out of the ordinary. And unfortunately that fresh-as-a-daisy feeling I had earlier in the week is pretty much gone by now. But I ran, and that's the whole point, right?

5 miles in 42:27

Springy!!!

Wow... taking a week off from running seems to have helped my legs recoup a bit. Today was my second run since being back from vacation. I did a neighborhood loop with a few hills - just shy of five miles - and even towards the ends of the run, my legs felt downright springy. It was such a nice and unusual feeling. Maybe I should take time off more often!

4.86 in 41:24

Island Time

Yeah... it really was that beautiful. Seebo and I just returned from a week long getaway to Tortola where the lizards, chickens, and beautiful beaches are plentiful. It was nothing short of amazing. If you want to see more pics ... just ask... but given that this is a running blog... I'll stick to running stuff (mostly).

We both gave up running for the week, but I'll tell ya.. anyone who thinks they've done hills before hasn't seen squat until they've seen the hills on Tortola. Walking them was quite enough for me. Anyway... back to running....

So I ran Tinicum this morning - just the 4.5 miles that comprises the lower loop and the out and back to my place. I was sure that I'd see turtles this time around since this was the exact weekend I saw them laying eggs last year, but alas, there was no sign of them. Seebo hypothesized that either I wasn't looking hard enough or that I had already fulfilled my turtle viewing quota for the year given that we had seen several sea turtles while snorkeling in Lenister Bay. I'm not sure where the turtles have gone.

Left the watch at home - trying to stay on island time as much as possible.

10k before Vay-Cay

That's 6.25 the day before leaving for vacation.... on the treddy (on account of the rain).... in 52:42. Felt like a rock star... well, not really, but I felt good.

But the really important piece of news, which is somewhat sad, is that the Cluster Map at the bottom of this page was reset on May 14th. This means that all of my beloved red dots of various sizes from all 'round the globe have disappeared. It's too bad, really, because it gave me a lot of joy to know that at least three people on the continent of Africa had stumbled across my blog.

No running for the next week, but plenty of snorkeling!

Maggie's National Naked Running Day (observed)

A few days ago my friend and fellow runner/blogger, Maggie, wrote a lovely post about getting back to the simplicity of running; running for running's sake. You really should click here and read it - it's very thoughtful and nicely written.

Simply put, Maggie suggested that this coming Monday, we observe and celebrate Maggie's National Naked Running Day. No, she's not suggesting a mass streak across the city of Philadelphia. Rather, she suggests we leave our watches, iPods, Garmines (if you have one), and technical running gear at home and just go out and "enjoy the run for what it is".

My schedule didn't happen to sync up to allow me to observe this 'holiday' on Monday, so I chose to celebrate a day early. Now... to be fair... I don't really have non-technical running clothes - so I just wore what I normally wear. And, I don't usually run with my iPod unless I'm on the hamster wheel, so leaving that behind wasn't too difficult. Leaving the watch on the dresser, however, was not easy. I won't lie. I looked at the clock immediately before and immediately after I ran - so I do know approximately how long I was out... and of course I G-mapped the course (which I had already had archived) so I could know how far I ran.

Confessing these things may make it seem like I cheated a bit, and maybe I did, you can decide for yourself. But for me, I had the right mindset. I ran a neighborhood route, through the bowels of Southeast Delco - watching people doing yard work, walking home from church, or arriving for Mother's Day celebrations. The weather was beautiful and lots of stuff was in bloom. There is this one particular stretch of road that is about a mile in length that falls around the fifth mile of this loop. I love this road for the simple fact that, to me, it has the perfect rolling hills. You really can't even call them hills. Not even I, who might consider some large speed bumps hills, would call these hills. Rather, the roll of the road with its slight inclinations and declinations make it a very enjoyable stretch for me to run. It was a very zen like experience for me today running that stretch.

So here I am, a week past Broad Street, two weeks past the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon, and I'm trying NOT to worry about pace. It was a challenge, but I'm glad that I was able to do it. I felt good, strong, and thankful that I have the ability to get out there and enjoy the run for what it is.

Thanks for the suggestion, Maggie.

(8.2 in about 72 minutes - sorry... old habits die hard)

P.S. Ran 5 miles(42:22)on Friday on the treddy due to the rain.

Tinicum.... yes, again... you'd run there too if you lived close by

I guess it's still a little early for the Tinicum Turtles, but that didn't stop me from looking hard for them during my morning run. I didn't see any dug-up spots where they might have already laid their eggs. I wonder if somehow the eco-system of Tinicum is different this year, causing the turtles to change their breeding patterns. There has been a good deal of change in Tinicum over the past year - significant clearings, drainage, etc. I'll give it another few more weeks before I get too concerned.

Incidentally, this was my first run since Broad Street. I am still feeling soreness in my legs - mainly my left quad, but my calves too. Otherwise, the run felt good. I felt like I was keeping a decent pace, but wasn't pushing too hard.

I did the initial loop plus and out and back along the trail that connects the lower and upper loops. Ate a bunch of spider webs and counted nine or ten bunnies along the way - all adults. I'm sure the brazen adolescents will be out soon. A couple of deer were out as well.

5.6 in 48:41

Broad (running down the) Street

As smart of a race as I ran last weekend... this weekend, I was kind of a dumbass. It all worked out in the end, but it didn't feel good. For some reason, this past Friday seemed like a really great day to do some serious weight training. I don't know why. Yes, of course, I knew it was two days before Broad Street, but that didn't stop me from doing squats, lunges, and lots of upper body work. Somehow it seemed like a good idea at the time. Saturday I woke up so very sore and so very sorry, knowing that this wouldn't go away by Sunday... and I was right.

Weather was great, overcast and cool... no significant wind. Just like last weekend. Of course it was a zoo... as usual. With 22,000+ registrants, how could it not be? The first mile was the usual zig zag-ing through the throng of runners. I knew I went out fast - first mile was something like 8:04. Silly for me to be running the first mile that fast. I knew I should slow down and I tried, but miles 2, 3, and 4 came in around 8:14. You might be tempted to think that I was feeling good, putting in splits like that. When, in truth, I wasn't feeling so good and I knew I'd be in trouble down the road. Since I was so sore from lifting, my body and my legs felt tired, pretty much from the get go. But I knew that the tired and sore feelings were more about my Friday weight-lifting-fest - so I didn't feel like I could trust the messages I was receiving from my body.

By the time I made it around City Hall, I was definitely hurting. I saw my friend, Ron, spectating in the crowd right before mile 6, so that helped. It's always nice to see someone you know cheering you on. By the time I hit mile seven, the momentum was gone and I was toast. Shortly past the mile 7 marker, I stopped and walked for a short bit. I knew the last three miles were going to be really long, and they were. I kept trying to tell myself that I had less than 5k to go, but that didn't make it any easier. I walked a second time during mile eight, but still somehow managed to do it in under 9 minutes.

By the time I got to the 8 mile marker, I knew I had just two more miles to go. Unfortunately, these are the two most uninteresting miles of the course and seem to drag on forever. I just wanted to be done. I don't know what pace those last two miles were - certainly slower than my first few, but probably around 8:30 or less.

Funny thing is... for as crappy as I felt and given the fact that I walked here and there during those last three miles... I was surprised to find that I beat my time from last year. Not by much, but by about a half minute. The Broad Street web-site was down at the time of this posting, but by my watch, I ran it in 1:23:15

Update
Chip Time 1:23:14 - which is the exact time I ran it in in 2006
7th Place in the Rebecca Division (out of 66)

Keeping my fitness

I've been taking a nice little rest since last Sunday. My legs were pretty sore for a few days following the Lehigh Valley half. This morning, was my first run and really, my first return to exercise since then. I meant to run yesterday morning, but a late Salsa night squashed that plan.

I set out to do my usual West Philly loop and felt pretty good. I noticed some soreness in my calves, but this wasn't the same as the tightness/soreness that has plagued me in weeks past. This was more just residual soreness from charging the Lehigh hills last Sunday. Ok, ok, so 'charging' is probably a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point.

I did bring my watch, but now I forget what my time for the loop was. I know that I was running on the faster end of my usual pace - so probably around an 8:30 pace on average. Really, this morning was about shaking out the cobwebs and priming the pump for Sunday. I'll probably go to the gym tomorrow morning and throw around some iron - just so I keep that buff feeling.

Rain, rain stay away for Sunday!