Yesterday I took my workout to a new trail. And by new I mean both that it was my first time running it and that the trail itself is (relatively) new --- at least in its paved format. It was the Three Notch Bike Path! Ultimately it's supposed to run parallel along 235 or other parallel roads from the south end of Lexington Park all the way to Hughesville if not someday Waldorf. At present, however, the longest completed segment runs merely along the length of New Market and Charlotte Hall --- a three-mile stretch --- and for the most part combs the edge of the old Charlotte Hal road (where the sprawling veteran's home can be found). A lack of funding is probably the major culprit for the project's slow rate of completion. And from what I hear, there are some irate property owners in the county who are getting all up in arms over the very concept of a path being blazed across their land. Beginning my run through the path entrance connected conveniently to the Charlotte Hall library's parking lot, I headed north. I kept going until I was just a 100 yards shy of the trail's end, where the pavement runs closely parallel along 235 --- right past the McKay's Plaza (but on the opposite side of the highway). Then I doubled back. Now, obviously the trail has to cut across a few junction streets, and in these places you'll find crosswalk marks plus metal barriers erected to prevent motorized vehicles from accessing the trail. Well in one of these places I suffered a mortifying moment. A truck was coming to the stop sign, so I made as though to veer around its rear. The driver, however, braked and waved me to make the crossing --- compelling me to jerk back to the left, slip on some loose gravel, and fall front splat down on the pavement. I quickly got up, waved, and fled the scene of the embarrassment as fast as I could. And then I happened upon a trail hiker who just so happened to be an old family friend. Anyways, whilst maintaining a moderate tempo pace throughout, I returned to the library and then headed two-thirds of the way out-and-back again. Thus I ended up with 8.5 miles in 1:04:36 (7:35/mi). It was rather cold out. Perry: do you know what I saw displayed alongside the bike path at one point? A large, fancy park bench bearing the inscription "PaxVelo."

Yesterday --- when it was chilly but not raining --- I completed my longest long run since the marathon: 19 miles in 2:37:16 (8:17/mi). I parked by the Piney Point Lighthouse visitor center just a minute before noon, and as I used the facilities and stretched, I looked for the possible arrival of Joe and Perry. Yet since I figured Perry was probably saving up energy for his long morning today, and because I was a bit doubtful about Joe showing up (I later learned that he was still sleeping off a very late night), I went ahead and began the run shortly after 12:15 p.m. So, I ran to the mouth of Lighthouse Rd {1.35 miles}, turned left onto 249 and continued north for 3.25 miles before making a U-turn {4.6 miles}, headed straight for St. George's Island, ran the full length of both island branches (making U-turns at the end-end of 249 {11.6 miles} and, after turning left onto Thomas Rd on my way back out, where the pavement of Camp Merryelande Rd ends {13.5 miles}), and then it was a straight shot back to the lighthouse. As has become customary, I allotted myself three brief breaks --- all in the final 5.5 miles and two in the final 2.5 miles. Breaks are great for catching your breath, but damn does it hurt to when you resume running (my remedy was to walk then lightly jog back into the run ... and yes, I stopped my watch during each respite). Though not as fatiguing as two weeks ago at Greenwell (running on flat pavement rather than rolling, uneven grassy turf makes all the difference), yesterday's run was still grueling, and I could not muster a fast finish. Much to the contrary, I had to resolutely resist the temptation to take an unwarranted fourth break in the final half mile as I rounded that sharp curve on Lighthouse Rd. Plodding all the way home to 19.00 was victory enough.

Yikes, 59.5 miles? Have you been running multiple times in a day? I'd like to mention how grateful I am that I took care of my long run on Saturday and not today. Not only was the temperature still sub-20 at 9 this morning, but a sharp wind chill is out there making things all the worse.

Yesterday I returned to the Three Notch Bike Path and essentially repeated the same short long run/long tempo run workout from two weeks ago (8.5 miles in 1:04:36, 7:35/mi) --- with just a half mile added on. Thus, this time I ran 9 miles in 1:07:25 (7:30/mi). The weather was indeed uncharacteristic of late December; the temperature was pushing 70, and the humidity was plain balmy. However, there was also a steady stream of severe wind blasting against me on both of my "return" trips. Unlike last time, yesterday that trail boasted a high volume of cyclist/pedestrian traffic --- though I was the lone runner. Nonetheless, I was granted the assistance of a special "pacer" in the final stretch of my second and last return trip back to the library. With less than half a mile to, I was gunning to finish strong when a boy around 9 or 10 years old pulled out right in front of me on his bicycle. I thought he'd be shooting way ahead of me in no time, but as I took my pace down sub-7:00/mi, the young cyclist gained nary any ground! The poor kid actually looked a bit scared --- as though he were being relentlessly pursued by a crazy eyed runner, much like in T2 when the quick-footed T-1000 bore down on Sarah Connor's fleeing car. Thus he began pedaling with fearful fervency, and still I remained on the verge of kicking his rear tire. Fortunately, I shortly came to the conclusion of nine miles, thereby allowing the cycling lad to "escape."

Hmm, running 9 miles at a 7:30/mi pace was rather exhausting as far as workouts go. I'm not so sure I could handle 8 miles at that pace right after running 8 miles at a respectable 8:00/mi pace. What I was thinking was a solid 9.5-10 mile run at a 7:30/mi pace, with perhaps just a little bit of warming up beforehand. Not this weekend, but likely the next since I hope to complete a 20-miler on Saturday.

I hope to arrive at the Callaway Food Lion around 12 noon, and from there I'll do 10 miles out and 10 miles back (the U-turn will be a ways onto St. George's Island).

Alden and I met at Lake Montebello in the city for a long run this morning. We didn't start running until around 8:30, but we weren't faced with much of a crowd. Lake Montebello is a park which provides two lanes for walkers/joggers/runners and cyclists to exercise around a large body of water. The Forerunner measured one lap around the lake to be about 1.35 miles, so three laps is about four miles. For the first 10 miles, Alden and I took turns setting the pace (we would exchange after each lap around the lake). We completed the first 10 miles in about 1:36. Around 10.5 miles, Alden made broke away to visit the treeline bordering the neighboring Morgan State University. This resulted in me doing a fast finish for the final 3.5 miles. I finished the 11th mile in 9:06, and hit splits for miles 12, 13 and 14 of 8:16, 7:58, and 7:30. My time for 14 miles was 2:08:56. The total average pace for 14 miles was 9:12, which would translate to a 4:01:02 marathon time. However, being that my goal pace is about 8:45, I have no problem with even the 9:36/mi pace we averaged for the first 10 miles. I've read that marathon training pace should be about ~60-90 seconds slower than race pace, but I'm worried about how much of a workout I'd get at this point doing a long run slower than 10:00/mi (NOTE: I've had some recent long runs at that slow pace, but those were done on the hills surrounding my house). 31 miles total for the week. I'll try to kick it up to 35 miles next week, with a long run of 16 next weekend. I might try to squeeze in an interval workout, though I have no clue where (I doubt the local high school track will be lit, and it's a bit of a hike to Goucher College from where). I'll definitely try to get a tempo run in on Wednesday or Thursday before then.

My total was 20 miles in 2:52:48 (8:38/mi). That's a bit of a slow down from two weeks ago, when I ran 19 miles in 2:37:16 (8:17/mi) ... though I do realize that, when we were all together during the first six miles, the group pace was hovering just under 9:00/mi. In contrast to my last few long runs, I felt fairly strong towards the end today, and even mustered up something of a fast finish. I did, however, break my custom of taking no more than three brief breaks, giving myself four (around miles 13.5, 15.5, 17.25 --- at the top of the long incline --- and finally at 19.2). Having Perry and/or Crystal along for roughly half of my run definitely helped break up the monotony; those first six miles seemed to fly by, and having Perry to pace off of during the final grueling stretch was very beneficial. And in further contrast to my several most recent long runs, it was a bright, semi-mild day as opposed to being cold and dreary. Now I only have two significant long runs left to run before the marathon --- a 22-miler and a 23 to 24-miler, to be spaced out evenly over the next five to six weeks. In the times between I'll be focusing on my short long run/long tempo run workouts.