It is a Beautiful Day!

March 10, 2013

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

― Christopher McDougall, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

This morning I woke up, and it was still dark. I grabbed my iPod, Garmin, and put my Newtons on my feet, and met up with L, at our spot. We hit the trail, it wasn’t dark long. Soon enough the sky turned orange, and the sun began to hover over the DC monuments. It is times like those that I am thankful I woke up early. I mean, no extra few minutes of sleep is worth more than seeing the beauty of the sun rise.

The running trail had such a peaceful energy, practically empty. I guess most of the runners decided to sleep in, considering it was day light savings and temps will get as high as 60 degrees this afternoon. Although, it was a chilly 40 degrees this morning, I felt amazing while running, and for the rest of the day.

Early Bird, Morning Run

September 30, 2012

Yesterday morning, Saturday, September 29th, I woke up to a text from my running buddy, Lina. The text said, “On my way.”

Oh damn, I rolled over in bed and looked at the clock, it was 6:30 am. I was late. We were suppose to be at our meeting spot at 6:30, and I was just waking up. I hurried and put on my running clothes, grabbed water, my garmin, my iPod and rushed to my car. It was still dark.

In my mind, I was thinking of how early it was, but I knew that after my run I would feel really good about doing it, I always do.

I got to our meeting spot around 6:45. The morning sky was just starting to brighten a little. Lina and I both parked and then started a slow warm up jog down Lee Highway toward the trail. Once we hit the trail we picked up the pace. With in minutes we went from running under a dark morning sky and through quiet streets to the sun rising over the Lincoln Memorial and a crowded running trail.

I must admit I really loved the morning energy. The sun rising was absolutely gorgeous. It turned the sky orange. The temperature outside was cool and crisp, it defiantly felt like fall. As for the crowded running trail, it was actually quite refreshing. I run this trail a couple days a week, and every time of day it has a different vibe. Even the different parts of the trail have a different vibe too.
Normally, the earliest I get on the trail is 8:30 am, when most people are heading into work. I come across a lot of cyclists or commuters, but this time it was all runners. Some days when I don’t make it out there early enough, the trail I totally empty. It can be quite lonely running by yourself on and empty quiet trail.

I never thought I would enjoy a crowded running trail, but I did. Normally, I run alone, or with Lina, but this time I was surrounded by a ton of runners. Some in running groups, others by themselves. Some fast, some slow. I loved the vibe, seeing all of these other runners made me totally energized. While concentrating on my form I was running stronger, faster. It was an amazing feeling, very motivating.

After we were done running. I hit up Starbucks and CVS. I just felt like refueling. I headed home, and took a shower. I felt energized and relaxed. I had the whole day ahead of me.

I have been contemplating changing my sleeping habits for a couple years now. I will admit that I have been waking up earlier then I use to. There was a time when I would sleep in until 9:00 or 10:00 am. I just have never been an early bird, but the weird thing is that I have never considered myself a night owl either. I am normally in bed by 11:00 pm. But I would like to have more time in the morning before I head into work around noon. I also would like to regularly run in the early mornings, instead of trying to squeeze it in whenever I can. I really enjoyed running early in the morning with all the other morning runners. I have to wake up early for most races so why not practice running at these early morning times everyday.

So the plan is to wake up early morning wether I run early or not. During the week, the earliest I will run is 6:30 am the latest I will run is 8:30 am. Unfortunately, the colder darker months will be here soon, so it will also depend on that. But I am excited about this new goal, and I think blogging about it will help me get on this new routine.

Questions for You

When do you run? Are you and early bird or night owl? Do you have any tips to share about waking up early? Please share, I need all the tips I can get.

Running the coast of Martha’s Vineyard

September 10, 2012

My Morning Run in Martha’s Vineyard

I am from DC and it is a pretty good running area. It is full of trails, great bridges to run over, and running loops around the Monuments. But I have lived here all of my life and sometimes it can get boring running in the same place everyday. Somedays, I have that, “been there done that attitude.”

So on my way up to Martha’s Vineyard, all I could think about was running. If you are a runner you would understand. One of my all time favorite things to do, is explore a new area by running through it. But the Vineyard isn’t exactly a new place for me. I had been there two years ago, and have memories of running the most amazing runs. Runs where I felt so good, that I could keep going. I just couldn’t wait, I was excited about running in cooler northern temperatures. Running with breezes from the beach. Running under sunny clear skies. But most of all running along the coast with breath taking views of the ocean.

Finally, it was the first morning of our trip in Martha’s Vineyard. I woke up and immediately put my running clothes on. I had just purchased some new Newton shoes, so I was also excited to get running in them. The running route I took was the same one that I had taken two years ago.

RUNNING ROUTE 1

I ran down to the Oak Bluff’s harbor ran along the water, and then hopped on the bike path that takes you towards Edgar’s Town. The path has some hills, but nothing to steep. It goes over some small bridges too. It is fun having water on both sides of you. And just how I remembered, the sun beats down on you, while the breeze from the water cools you down. I went 3 miles and then turned back, doing a total of 6 miles. I probably could have gone further.

Oaks Bluff’s Harbor.

Me running along the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in my new Newton shoes, the Gravity. I am still using the Distance U too, in my rotation.

: Ocean view from my morning run!

Ocean View on my running route

Views from my morning run in Martha’s Vineyard

So that was my morning run in Martha’s Vineyard. Along the coast from Oaks Bluff towards Edgar’s Town. I ended up running this route twice equaling up to 12 miles. Runs go by fast when you are surrounded by such beautiful scenery.

Questions for You

Would you want to run here?
What is the prettiest run you’ve been on?