Flurries and Pacemakers

I met up with the Baltimore Pacemakers this morning for a much needed distance run. When we were gathering at the Red Canoe Cafe and Bookstore at 7:00 am for our run, someone said, "Are those snowflakes???" Lo and behold, there were flurries coming down. Not too much that it stuck, but annoying enough that they got in your eyes. Several people commented on me wearing shorts, I just gave them the reply, "Seriously, it was a few degrees warmer downtown." It was wonderful running weather, save for the occasional gust of wind when running west.

I hung with Cory for miles at a 7:20 pace. We wove a couple zig-zags across the hill at Harford Rd and Gold Spring Ln, before heading through Morgan State and over to Druid Hill Reservoir. It ended up being a really nice tour of those areas of Baltimore. The finish brought us back over to Lake Montebello and over to the Red Canoe Cafe again. It was a good temperature for running, and while a lot of people complained, I lamented the eventual arrival of the 80's and 90's that will eventually plague our area.

After running, I do have to say the Cafe hit the spot. They had Zeke's Coffee, of which I really enjoyed the Herring Run roast, black. And, they served up a croissant, egg, and cheese that was the size of my head. Unreal. It was so good. Great post-run food. Definitely a new breakfast place to take M when she's in town again.

Out to 11 miles

I've been fighting work and travel schedules, but I am starting to get some legs back under me. I have been out to 11 miles on the longest run, with about 35 miles total that week. I'll admit that the morning after the 11-miler was a struggle. My achilles/ankle pain was awful in those first steps to get to the shower. It loosened up in the shower and on my walk to work. It really doesn't bother me when running, just the day after. I did a 6-miler with a friend at about 9:00 pace the following day, and my ankle had no problems. It felt it's "normal" stiffness after that. I'm hoping that it doesn't get any worse from now until the Broad Street 10 Miler.

I also had the pleasure of running with a newer buddy, Davey, this past weekend. We did a 5.5-miler on Saturday and a 4.5-miler on Sunday, with most of the miles in the 6:40 neighborhood. He is unbelievably fast; doesn't even break into a running stride until we hit 6:20 or so pace. And he looks phenomenal while doing it.

Oh, and did I mention he never sweats?

Getting co-workers to run.

Three years ago, our labs were located at the UMBC Tech Center, just outside of B'more Proper in Catonsville (or Arbutus, depending on whom you asked). It was almost ideal for getting co-workers to run after work. There was a state park right there (Patapsco State Park), we were on a state road without a lot of traffic lights, and people in general had a shorter commute from there. I managed to get a bunch of people running, and we targeted a 5k in late October. Only four of us did the 5k, but we had about six people running regularly. The next year, we moved downtown to B'more Proper, and we had a little less group running. But, we had all targeted a 5k, and 12 people showed up to run. We had a few age group winners and everyone had a good time. Last year, I tried to repeat that feat, and only one person ended up doing the 5k... no one ran as a group. The city had seemingly killed everyone's desire to run. Or lives got busier and people had longer commutes.

Today marked the first day in two years that I really got some co-workers out running. Granted, we only ran a mile together at a fairly slow pace, but it was something. Neither of the other two had run in at least a year. We got through it with minimal wheezing, a lot of conversation, and a commitment to run again on Wednesday. That was really something. Hopefully, it will continue and we can pick up a few more stragglers. I am trying to find a 5k (or 6k) to target as a team building run. I'd like to get six people out for it, heck a former co-worker even said she's run on the team. So things are looking up for the work running team to reform this spring. It's nice for me because I can do a few miles with work, and then join another group for a few more miles on certain nights. Fun all around. I may also convince a few people that Downtown Baltimore is not so bad.