dailylife

The Zane family is here and we're spending a nice time together. I went for a run at 9.00 am after waking up at 7.30 am. I didn't have breakfast yet and in the last mile I felt very low energy. Having breakfast as I am typing this.

While I ran at 7.00 am it felt like 8.00 am -- end of Daylight Savings Time will do that to you. So slept in nicely and then went for a fast run, felt good. Even did the 4.5 distance.

Ran with my hat on which was good. It was 37 degrees. Cold arms and hands for the first 10 minutes but then nice.

When I ran past the Washington-Lee highschool I saw several trucks on loading chairs and equipment. President Obama will visit there tomorrow, pretty cool -- it's a few minutes from our house.

I surpassed my absolute minimum mileage for the year today. In 2010 I ran 358 miles and I consider that the lowest I should go in a year. Next milestone is the 2012 number, 379 miles.

Nora woke up twice tonight -- she has a case of the sniffles. So I woke up for the 3rd time at 6:30 and figured I'd go for a run. Wasn't too cold, run went well. In the mornings there is more traffic, so a longer wait to cross Lee Highway.

I planned to go for a longer run today but I felt tired on my run. I was a little bit grumpy in the morning so I guess I'm really tired. When I felt my right knee weirdly while going up the first hill on Custis, I decided to not do 6 miles but do our 4.5 miles course instead. First time in forever that I felt something like that so taking it easy.

I won't be able to run tonight so I went in the morning instead. Sasha gets up at 6.45 am these days so I got up with her and left at 7.00 am. It was still dark when I left, but when I got back the sun had gotten up. As usual, early morning runs are slower for me. I stretched well.

"I feel like I'm on stage", I told the bicyclist who came in the opposite direction with impressively bright headlights.

I went for a run without Nora so I used my new running belt, instead of the highly visible running stroller. The belt works well but there is always a trade-off between having it too loose so it moves and too tight so it makes my sides start hurting.

It's been a long time since I ran on two consecutive days. I try not to do it, in order to prevent injuries, but it was a beautiful Sunday morning and I wanted to take Nora out. We had a great run together, the first in almost two weeks. Ran slowly, felt good.

Last Saturday I ran 6 miles, and the next day I had a cold. The long run might have lower my immune system's strength a little bit. Anyway, thankfully it was a pretty mild cold (Nora had it a day before me) and I'm pretty much over it. I ran my usual route today, 4 miles, without Nora. I took it slowly and completed it in 44 miles. Feels great to be running again.

For the first time in a while I ran 6 miles again. Last long run was 6 months ago, the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. Nora is sleeping now and I took the opportunity to go for a longer run. I did our usual route but extended it. I crossed 66 near Henderson over a dedicated trail bridge.

I love the trails here in Arlington, and they are in great shape. The path along the Ballston Pond is a little bumpy though... but during this run I quickly read their brochure their about the renewal plans and it said they'll fix the trail also. Great county to run in.

Running this makes me want to go further and further. Why not to East Falls Church? What's beyond? Ha. Hope Nora doesn't get jealous... but a next time she can join me for this run, only takes about an hour and the hills are not steeper than normal.