Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Cold Running and a Race Recap

I've been a bit quiet lately, but I can assure you that Matt is still running!  In fact, he's been running a lot.  By a lot, I mean he's logging less miles overall, but he's running them at a much faster pace.  It's no small feat getting in a track workout considering that we haven't seen the track for weeks because of ice and snow.  When we drove by the track this morning on our way to work it looked almost clear so this might be Matt's week to finally train on the track.  The last few weeks it has been challenging to find a safe place for Matt to run.  He came home Sunday night with a badly skinned knee, elbow and forearm after slipping on ice.  I can't even blame a fire hydrant this time!  (Though I did suggest that maybe 9pm was a bit late to go out and do a speed workout.)  I've gotten good at cleaning boo-boos with three little ones at home so he's all patched up and on the mend.  But now for the exciting news of the last few weeks...

On February 28th, Matt ran in a small 6-mile race called No Fear in Love.  The start was about a half mile from our house so it was ideal.  What wasn't so ideal was the 14 degree temperature at gun and the hilly course with lots of turns through neighborhoods near our house.  The race, which is put on annually to raise awareness, particularly among college students and young adults, about domestic abuse and to stop it in its tracks, had a small but dedicated turnout of runners and advocates for the cause.  We sit in traffic every night on our way home in front of George Mason University so we have time to watch the electronic sign of upcoming events and we saw the announcement for the race months ago.  (Sometimes the sign isn't so helpful, like when it is announcing that Frozen or some other Disney production will be at the Patriot Center prompting our girls to beg to go.)  The night before the race we loaded the kids in the car and drove the course so Matt would know what to expect.  Since gun was at 6:45 am, he decided to run without a guide.  The roads were pretty clear of snow and ice, but there were no big landmarks to help him remember his turns.  With a temperature of 14 degrees at the start I was able to talk Matt into wearing pants for the race.  I assured him that pants wouldn't slow him down that much.  Apparently it is his first race not in short.  I've raced in pants many times, but then again, I'm not running to win.  Even with the frigid temperatures, no guide, hills, and turns, Matt WON the race in a time of 37.42.  It isn't a good predictor of his track times, but it was still good to get him back into that competitive mode.

Next up, Matt will be competing in two events, the 1500 and the 5000, at Gallaudet University on March 28th.   This will be his first opportunity to run a qualifying time for Nationals in June.  He's hoping to qualify at this meet so he can spend the next few months on speed.  His fall over the weekend doesn't appear to have caused any injuries, which is a good thing considering he has his last physical therapy appointment in the morning!

I hope this detour out of winter that we are having this week means that spring weather is here to stay!  Happy Running!

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