A run to (not for) the White House

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Originally uploaded by yumkerun.

... okay, that's my not too witty headline for this post. R. is about 25% moved into DC. That is, she's started her job, her air mattress is in her new place (in Penn Quarter) and we're waiting for her boxes and some furniture to arrive from Toronto.

That said, I was there again this weekend when we decided to walk a few blocks from her place and find ourselves in front of (see above) the White House. As you see, a beautiful running day, and I was a bit jealous of the runners who were out there near the Lincoln Memorial while we were strolling.

Jealous in hindsight as well, cause on Sunday morning, little rain turned into big fat flakes of snow which caused me to be caught in DC for an extra night and have to take today off while waiting for a flight back.

Luckily, I was smart enough to go for a run before the snow really hit. I ran from Penn Quarter down to the Capitol buildings, then decided to do a big square from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. It was a nice solitary run as the snow was falling -- a few tourists, a few runners and me, running two miles there, two miles back, then a little of a zig zag journey back to Penn Q. All said, I did 9K and I'm looking forward to next weekend, when I plan to explore another part of DC.

Last week's mileage: 27K (not good, but getting there)
Year to date: Oh boy, losing count.. will have to calculate for a later posting..

How many hours...

With the new job and commute, I've figured I have to make real tweaks to my running schedule so I can get them in. I now have about four hours of free time after work before I have to go to bed. Which means i'm going to have to be smart if i'm going to be able to match last year's marathon training schedule. My game plan will have to take the following tweaks:

• Run at work once a week -- in March, I'm going to aim for a 8K run midweek in lieu of the non-existent lunch break. When it's spring/summer, i'm just going to run home once in a while, which is about 17K.
  
• Run before work once a week, for now -- this means I'll have to be on the road by 5 a.m. to get a 10K run or so. In the late spring, summer, this will be a breeze
• Starting doing real weekend long runs -- I've been doing wimpy 10Ks and 15Ks. I should build to 20K and beyond to rack up the mileage and build for the long run training.
• Don't be afraid of late night runs -- i usually try to run before dinner, but tonight, i had a quick dinner at 7, then went for a 10K at 8 p.m. It worked out quite well. Must do that more.
  

Hopefully that'll get my running started and back toward a better weekly mileage. I ran a 10K today, and I hope to bring my weekly mileage to 25K before the weekend arrives. Which will let me do one long run in DC.

Or one can only hope I can achieve this.

Still here

It's been awhile since I last posted... (thanks for your concern Sonia). Just a note that I'm still here and running. Last week was a tough one, since we were moving R. down to DC. I fit in two 10Ks, then spent a few days down in Washington. This morning, I flew to Toronto on a 9 a.m. flight and was in work a few hours later. I was happily able to get in a 5K tempo pace run in the evening.

Now that R. is settled, I'm trying to get mileage back up and i'm looking forward to my first run in DC this weekend when I visit...

Cold!

Fear not, I'm still running. I'm getting a little upset that i'm missing my running hours because of the commute, but I'm making time. All you runners out there -- those braving the cold training for fitness or Boston -- you make me feel like it's possible to bear the weather.. of course it is bearable, i've run winters before.

Today's 10K was windy, but I layered and was nice and toasty by the 3K mark... On Tuesday, threw down a 6K run after work. I should get in another run then it's off to DC for a few days. Hopefully, Sunday will bring my mileage to a healthy level...

Week done

Ugh, it's cold. I did manage to get four days of running this week, including a 10K yesterday afternoon. Today, I was going to, but couldn't find the bravery to face the biting windchill.

I'm starting to make plans to run during work. My new job has a two-hour commute (both ways) each day, compared with my 15 minutes (both ways) in my last two jobs). That extra hour and a bit has had a real impact on my running, not to mention the cold. March will be my target.

Mileage
Weekly mileage: 27K
Year to date: 148K

Signed up

Did 5K after work, finding it hard to find speed in my legs. Spurred on by JellyP, I signed up for two races for the spring, it being cheaper to buy a race pack.

I'm running the Spring Run-Off 8K, (in 64 days) which, as it turns out, my old workplace as a sponsor is fielding a whack of teams, so i'll be bumping into friends. Also doing one of my favourites, the Sporting Life 10K (in 93 days), which I've run in the last two years and, weirdly enough, is presented by my new employer. Odd...