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Andrew Eldredge-Martin

posted by Drew @ 10:22 AM 0 comments

Ok, wow, long time away...

My running has been... bad for a long time.

I did 34 minutes today, so I figured that was enough to start keeping a log again. I am trying to get back in decent shape so that when I visit Melissa next Spring in South Africa she doesn't totally pound me.

posted by Drew @ 2:19 PM 2 comments

Ok, wow.

Wow. I fell of the truck with the blogging, but the running has been pretty good as of late. Over the past three weeks, I have run

• in the Wis twice with such luminaries as Talbot, Sargrad, Iannacone, McCool, and Petro
• in a ton of locations: Ulster, PA | Towanda, PA | Wellsboro, PA | Philadelphia, PA | Haverford, PA | Arlington, VA... maybe I am doing too much travelling?
• some pretty decent 30+ minute runs, with hills even! I had a particularly nice run with Powell when we did Hairy Goat Balls across Rt. 66 in Arlington
• Started doing strides a few days a week, and felt good doing them! A few times in the past couple months, I tried adding strides after runs and just felt awful... tight, tired, sluggish... now the legs are feeling snappy again. A good feeling.

Ok, now, I just need to get a run in tonight and it is 8:36pm here...

posted by Drew @ 8:30 PM 0 comments

Ok... I'm back.

Small injuries, lack of motivation... a few weeks of bad and inconsistent running.

I did 20 miles last week in 5 30-35min runs. I ran the last four days of the week consecutively.

Monday: off.

Tuesday: 5 miles. 38 minutes. Hot and very humid. I felt surprisingly decent in the horrible weather. I kept it easy the whole run, which was smart.

posted by Drew @ 10:12 PM 2 comments

Whew! I was able to go for a run today!

Saturday: 1.5 miles around the lake. I just wanted to feel out my knee. it felt ok on the run and afterwards. 11 minutes. Hot and sunny.

Sunday: 4 miles. Melissa and I went around the lake and tacked on two short loops to make the run 30 minutes long. Hot and sunny. The knee felt a little weird later in the day...

Week total was 13.5 miles. Not bad for an injured week including a 2 night trip home to the lake.

Monday: off. knee felt ok, but I was making up some lost sleep and trying to catch up on homework.

Tuesday: off. I wanted to run and was planning on it, but needed to get reading done. I need to make a push this week to get caught up in my corporations class.

Wednesday: 4 miles. I went in the morning and just tooled around Bluemont Park for 30 minutes or so. There was a Arlington Co. Jail work crew doing some trail work. I said hello to the officers and inmates as I went by. Knee felt good. I hope I can get back on the normal running train now.

Week so far: 4 miles.

posted by Drew @ 1:32 PM 0 comments

Injured...

Monday: off

Tuesday: 4 miles, felt really tight and tired. 30:30.

Wednesday: 4 miles, felt tight, tweaked my knee a bit in the first 100 meters, but then it felt fine. I finished the run without any pain. Later in the day it was a little swollen and felt ... weird. It feels like what I have always considered "runners' knee," but I have no idea what it is. Normally ice, some Advil and a few days rest makes it all better. 31:00.

Thursday: off.

Friday: off. knee is feeling better but not yet runnable. I am going home for the weekend, so maybe I can get in a couple shorts runs at the lake.

posted by Drew @ 11:18 AM 0 comments

Long run + homemade sports drink = slight cramping

Saturday: Off. Just a little tired (mentally).

Sunday PM: 11 miles. Went out and back the bike path to Falls Church. I started out a little too fast during the first 20 minutes or so, realized what I was doing, and relaxed a little. After about 45 minutes my legs were feeling a little stale and tight, so I stopped by the 3/4 soccer field and did 3 laps with a minute rest. Each lap felt better than two days ago and it really helped loosen up my legs. Each lap was 55 seconds. Two days ago my laps ranged from 56-59. It might have just been a cnfidence thing on the somewhat uneven grass. I stayed relaxed for the rest of the run back to the apartment. Knees were a little achy after this run. Now I remember why doing long runs at Ptomoc Overlook makes so much sense! I also ran into some slight cramping during the run today. The only thing I can attribute it to is the homemade sports drink. I ordered more Conquest two days ago, so hopefully help is on the way. 1:26 running.

Miles for the week: 34. 34 with two days off is pretty solid in my book. I'll make another go at 40 next week. I'll be driving home after work on Friday, so I will get some additional variety into my runs at the end of the week. Variety is good.

posted by Drew @ 3:18 PM 1 comments

Drinking...

I am about to go for a long run, but I wanted to share...

I just made my own sports drink with recipe #3 from this page:

    * 4 tablespoons sugar
    * 1/4 teaspoon salt
    * 1/4 cup boiling water
    * 2 tablespoons lemon juice
    * 3-3/4 cups cold water
       1. In the bottom of a pitcher, dissolve the sugar 
          and salt in the hot water.
       2. Add the juice and the remaining water; chill.
    * Yield: 1 quart

Nutrition Information (per 8 ounces):

    * Calories - 50
    * carbohydrate 12 grams
    * sodium 110 milligrams
    * potassium 30 milligrams

It tastes quite good compared to the overly sweet stuff you buy in stores. I normally use Conquest, but I ran out... Conquest has a muted lemon flavor that is also quite easy to drink, not overly sweet.

posted by Drew @ 10:47 AM 0 comments