The day after Christmas

Twas the day after Christmas and I needed a run.....

And that's as creative as I'm feeling right now, mainly because it was a cold and damp the entire time, but that's what you get for running in December. So it was a nice 5 miler, or close enough to, with a two decent climbs between miles 3 and 4, back to back with just a little rest, so I'd say they're the hallmarks of the trot.

The run's attached here

So over the next week I'll be putting together my top ten runs of the year and hopefully getting enough downtime to clean the blog up a little bit. Merry Christmas

Back again

So I took a break, a few weeks to be truthful, but I haven't stopped running yet, just had to migrate to a treadmill, now that I'm back on the road for a bit I'll be posting a bit. Back in CT today was a simple 4 mile route, listed here.

So it was a simple little route, just a few changes in elevation, with some small climbs. Overall it's good but the road is a little narrow due to the snow now but otherwise it's a nice little run.

Morning Turkey Trot

Before the turkey is the run. Or at least that's my mentality, I need an excuse to pig out. But its kinda a tradition, I used to do the Turkey trot in Manchester except with all the travel I feel the need to get more than 4 hours of sleep. . So here's todays run. It was nice, pleasant with some slight hils, nothing extravagant but a good time.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3341629

I'll be lazy today for y'all as well as give a shout to my route tracker.

Also this runs in Connecticut, so a slightly different locale than normal

Grok Sprints

Since I'm stuck on a treadmill here, due to the excellent(sic) location here at night, I've been getting creative in the runs, mainly to make it interesting. As I've said before, needlessly, running on a treadmill gets boring. This all brings me to tonights workout, sprints...barefoot. I figure even though its on a treadmill, I can still call them Grok Sprints in spirit.

The workout's pretty simple, I do a minute at 4 mph, then the next at 10mph; one at 4 then one at 10.5, ramping to the max speed. Following that, I just go until I'm tired and feel like I'm done. Pretty simple, but it turned into a solid 30 minute workout, 3.2 miles down and its great.

Treadmill review: Matrix T5x

As promised; upon day 2 on the treadmill here I'm writing a review. By day 2, I'm referring to the second day of many in a row because the suns going down to early here, so I've been on this treadmill before and know the ins and outs. I'm currently at the Staybridge Suites in Corpus Christi and they have the Matrix T5x treadmill.

The T5x is a newer treadmill, at least based upon my recent hotel experience, and the one here still has the feel of a newer piece of equipment. The link above shows the stats on it, basically standard for any treadmill nowadays, 0-15% grade and 0-12mph, nothing to exciting. The unit here has a very tight belt, and a stable deck so there's not a lot of rattle when I'm running on it flat or while running and adjusting the height. The user interface is a little confusing at first but you can navigate the options easily.

For my test I covered two workouts, the first was a longer run/jog to wake my body up that I usually do on Monday and then a speed workout the second day, both of which cover most of the functionality.

Pros

• The belt didn't slip at all during the long run, or the speed workout(1 min walk, 1 min 9.5mph+ and repeat 15 times). For me this is a huge plus because I run heavy when I get tired
• Speed adjustment can be keyed in on the keypad by your right hand
• Comfortable run, the deck went up and down easily without much noise.

Cons

• The E-Stop button is among the worst placed, it's dead center of the heart rate guard, so when you speed up sometimes you'll bump it. I did this once in the long run
• If you do not change the time BEFORE you start your workout, you're stuck at a sudden shut-down at 20 minutes, this may have a fix but I haven't found the command yet.

Grade: B - that estop is really annoying
Overall though it was a pleasant run, I'd still prefer to be outside but the hours I'm working now are not encouraging it so I'm going to be on this puppy for a while.

Daylight Savings

I woke up this morning for the start of my yearly attempt to run in the morning during winter because I can go in a little later and hopefully avoid the treadmill. I did a nice primal workout consisting of sprints and felt great, only 5 for 30 seconds and 5 more for a minute, so more middle distance speed work, but still speed work and felt great. So daylight savings started out well....

Unfortunately I forgot that the sun goes down earlier, the same yearly defeat that place me on the treadmill tonight. Usually I'd venture out but there have been some local law enforcement problems near the hotel I'm staying at so it looks like it's treadmill time. In honor of every runners hated/loved device I'm going to put a few posts on hotel chains and which running aids they have; because I'm picky. So that'll be the theme as well as how to get a good run without being bored; which thanks to baseball I was able to put a solid 5 miles in without a problem.

First run from my new Home

So this past week was the move from Palmyra, NY to Waldorf, Md. This drive down wasn't too bad other than the monsoon outside, but hey...at least it wasn't snow. The town of Waldorf itself is a nice bedroom community, most people here work north in DC or south at Lexington Park. That translates to a lot of 4-6 lane roads, with center medians and paved sidewalks along those same roads. From my random driving around, I'm pretty sure i can string together 20-30 miles of paved sidewalk throughout the town but that'll be later.

The first run here will probably be my standard, it's a nice 5.75 mile loop that's almost entirely on the paved sidewalk, and it's a relatively pleasant run. Of the four roads, only Smallwood dr is developed with the other three roads appearing to be brand new and wooded on both sides, in fact the Middletown Road portion has some small ponds and marshland below which seem to be bird sanctuaries so there's at least some scenery. My only issue is that the sidewalk disappears upon turning from Middletown Rd to Billingsly for about a mile until you turn back onto St Patricks. The route starts and ends at my complex, and is predominantly flat, so I'll need to find some hills. As always the route's posted below..

Normal Run in Waldorf (5.75 miles)

Posting to Post

So I've been gone a little while and unfortunately its because I haven't run any new routes in a bit. It's been a stretch of recovery runs, combined with lighter(3-5 milers) while I change my diet over to something a little healthier than "whatever is available". I'm moving towards the primal diet as championed in the blog, Mark's Daily Apple and it seems to be going well, but the shift off dense carbs while running hard hasn't been conducive to me staying awake during the workday so I've been fiddling with the details and trying to get everything balanced before kicking it to high gear again in a week or so.

On other news I'm moving to the Waldorf Maryland area so there will be new routes coming in from that area over the next week, and my next jobsite is in Green River Wyoming so I'm looking at running snowshoes. I figure it's cold, mountainous and snows all the time so running shoes might not cut it.

The Bourbon Chase

Hey there everyone, I know it has been a little while but I've been a little busier than normal so haven't had time to squeeze a post in, so here goes a race review. In the spirit of TheTravelingRunner, it's in a different state and all over the state.

The race was the Bourbon Chase a nice jaunt along the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky. Last year some of my friends from Team Shirlock mentioned there was a race across Kentucky that involved Bourbon. Being a consummate whiskey drinker this was the perfect race for me. The best part was the longest leg would be 8 miles, so I didn't need to worry too much about getting longer distances in, which has been very difficult the last few months being in Corpus Christi.

I'll be posting more in depth reviews and feedback this week for my legs, 2, 14 and 26 so if anyone else out there wants to review their own legs please shoot me an email.

First impressions, great race, very well run and well marked. There wasn't a time i was lost on the course or felt the organizers didn't have everything under control. The best indicator of this was the run through the Wild Turkey Distillery at 3-4 am and the distillery was open and serving Derby Pie. I will definitely be doing this race again, but more to come.

Back down in Texas

Hey everyone, so this one's not going to have a route posted. Tomorrow I should have a decent one as I'm planning on going for distance here in corpus, looking at 10 miles or so.

The post today though will be about one of the best days, New Shoes Day. Everyone knows new shoes day, its the day you get new shoes and have to break them in. Mine occurs about every 2-3 months, or around 400-450 miles of running. The main indicator i use is when my knees start to twinge a bit, the shoes are hosed. I'm wondering what everyone else uses to tell them they need new shoes?

In case anyone cares, i run in the Asics Kayano, whatever the version is but i like the 15 better than the 14.

Benchmark Run

Hey all! I meant to post this run two days ago when I ran it but got sidetracked traveling back to NY and then back down to Texas. The life of a traveler, the only problem was my knees were a little stiff today during the six miler I've started using as my basis here in corpus, for reference here's the 6 miler.

But the real one I wanted to pose was what I call my benchmark run. It's a simple 5k, or close enough to a 5k, with a good amount of elevation change, that I use to see where I am in my training. My best time on this was when i was 18 and I ran it in just under 18 minutes. Now, ten years later my time was 21:30, so I'm a little off from my teenage years.. It starts off at my house in CT, and here it is, my Benchmark Run

Hey all, I'm back again after a little bit of travel where I didn't have a reliable connection. Also my French is horrible, so most of the time I just ran until i got tired and tried to find my way back to the hotel.

To kick off the new season, I've got a run here in South Windsor CT, starting out at my parents house and shooting down Dart Hill road. It's a nice start as the run then flattens out before taking a turn uphill. The total elevation change is about 200 ft after a nice downhill start. On the downside the road does narrow at points and gets a little choppy but its worth it.
Happy Trails

Home again

Hey all, here's an easy 4 and change one in Palmyra
http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/ny/palmyra/977125107650873624

I had to do the map my run because i did more trail running.

The Daily run has been found

So I've finally found my faithful daily run, or rather the fallback when i want to run but I'm just too lazy to actually search for a new one. This one's a nice easy, ok if its cool out its easy run..most importantly its flat, but where in Texas isn't it flat.

The route itself starts at the Staybridge Suites, heads out and and takes a right on Flynn parkway. As soon as the canal comes above ground i start following along the upper bank to get off the roadway and stay with it until I hit Saratoga Blvd in Corpus. You then run along Saratoga until the country club entrance, hang a left and keep going until you hit Williams Drive, take a left and run back home. Overall it starts out in the sun but once you hang the left into Corpus Christi golf club, it becomes pretty shaded until the last half mile. Happy trails

I might've found my 5 miler fallback

Hey all, looks like i might have found my fallback run here, at least in theory. In practice, it definitely is too tough right now to be a fallback run. I'm not sure if its the heat or just dead leg now because the average temp I'm running at is the mid to upper 90's but I haven't had great runs in Rochester...more to come.

More importantly the route, it starts at the Staybridge in Corpus Christi and just loops around the local streets cutting through a neighborhood at the end. Still not a scenic route, but i think i may have a good one along the beach coming this weekend. This might become a regular run, if so I'll start posting times next week.

Writing to you from Corpus Christi Texas...

Hey all, so I've skimped a bit due to my schedule, so it was a treadmill day yesterday, today though, i decided to brave the heat. To put it simply, it was a failure. i got about 3.5 to 4 miles in and just died. It was ~100 degrees so i don't feel bad, but it does mean i have to run before the sun comes up, or after it goes down for any long runs...that or lose 20 pounds real quick.

So the Route's here, I'll call it the hot jaunt; not a bad run but i did get lost for a little bit in the neighborhood. The attempt was to make it to the beach, but i ended up missing it by a few hundred feet. Next Time

Back home for a Day, so here's one from Upstate NY

How's everyone doing? I went home, initially for two days but my continental flight had some mechanical difficulties, leading to a 3+ hour delay and a second 3 hour delay because i missed my flight, so it was about 24 hours of home time. So the rule is always avoid Newark when flying.

Needless to say that messed up my body and my running a bit. I'm not sure how much but I suffered a serious case of dead-leg, so wasn't able to hit the 5 miles i wanted. Instead I did the light 3 mile run here in Palmyra, NY, kudos to anyone who knows what Palmyra is famous for, and its not a largest ball of twine. It's along the canal trail which is the left turn i make off of a mail road. I follow the trail to the park surrounding the canal lock and then turn back onto the main road. I had to use mapmyrun instead of gmaps this time because gmaps didn't register the canal.

Tomorrow will start the posts from Corpus Christi and one of them is going to be a 10-11 miler, probably thursday.

Friday Evening 10 miler

Well, this will be my last new post from California, for a while at least, I'll post one from home Monday and then start creating routes in Corpus Christi next week. If anyone knows any in Corpus, post a comment but i figure there's got to be some along the beach or on Padre Island but i have to make sure to avoid the Southern part of the island, i might get sidetracked.

So today's was my 10 miler, nice easy route to lead into the weekend. I used to do it T/W but it's been shifted as my long runs have slipped. So it's a lead-off of the 5 and 7 milers, link to the route is here.

As an aside, i forgot to thoroughly wash my water containers in the fuel belt, so i had a mildly soapy taste in one of my water bottles. Of course it was the one I started drinking out of second so i ended up running a little dry. Anyone have a good soap for water bottles that doesn't stick like dish-soap?

7 Miler in Pleasant HIll, Ca

I found out yesterday that this will be my last week in Pleasant Hill/Benicia California and I'm heading to Corpus Christi so it'll be a few days until i get a new set of runs. If anyone has any, please forward them on.

Today's run was a little over 7 miles, a pretty easy run once you get past the first 3 miles its either flat or downhill so it can be fast. There's a nice straightaway that's about a mile long which i usually kick it into high gear for, otherwise it's an open pace which is on trails nearly the entire time. As usual it starts and finishes at the Mariott Residence inn.

The link here will bring you to gmaps for the trail.

Today's Run 7/29/09

Here's one of my regular runs, so regular I usually run it 2-3 times a week as a regular one.

It's a little over 5 miles, starting and finishing in Pleasant Hill, Ca. The Run starts out in Ellinwood Square at the Marriott Residence inn, warms up through the loop and then I turn up Contra Costa, most of the route is sidewalk or trail with a nice view of Mt Diablo about 1.5 miles in. The only warning is you do have a decent warmup climb, so the run does start out harder than it finishes so sometimes I run it in reverse, but that can lead to very fast second halves.

If the links broken, http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3050692 will bring you too it as well.

Welcome

Well this is the first post, and it's not really entertaining, informative, or even really funny but I need to get something up here to take up space while I figure the next one out.

So a little about me, I'm a 28 year old male who likes to run, Or rather i used running as a way to relax, escape work and to explore. I like to call myself a marathoner, but I'm not very fast, still I want to qualify for Boston. While running I also travel for work, all over the US and on a weekly basis, leading to the title of a traveling runner. I run and I travel, simple..

In future posts I'm going to put routes up, or links to routes, times, my own training schedule, race thoughts and tricks I've found out during my travels in case anyone else ends up in the same spot.

-the first mile always hurts the most...