Monday, October 11, 2010

Anatomy of a Running Closet

Just because I haven't been running these past couple weeks doesn't mean I've been taking it easy. For the past week or so, Lizzy and I have been moving into our new home! It has certainly been its own special breed of "ultra" over this time, and even though my back is pretty much shot, I'm happy to report we are officially all moved-in!

My first project in the new house? Setting up my running gear! I'm not sure how everyone else organizes all their stuff, but I'm loving my new set-up in this over-sized closet!


In terms of my body, my legs are definitely enjoying the break from running (15 days and counting!), and now that the move is over, I think my overall energy will be jumping back to normal as well. Now that I have a new starting point for all my daily runs, I'm excited to head out on a few mapping expeditions to see what fun routes I can find. I'm already excited by the fact that I have a BIG hill (just shy of a mile long) just around the corner from me now, and there's also a nice cushy high-school track 2.5 miles down the road that will be perfect for speed work (I've decided to blow a few years of dust off my track workouts and integrate them back into my training for 2011).

For my long adventures, I'm just a couple miles away from hooking up with the Mt.Vernon Trail (my old friend), the W&OD trail (45 miles long), and the 4 Mile Run Trail (longer than 4 miles!).  All this talk of new training routes is getting me excited, but for now I'm even more excited to rest up for a couple more weeks so I can be completely healthy when I hit the ground running in November!

8 comments:

Q said...

I like your running closet, it looks well stocked!

Amelia said...

My dream is to have a closet that big!

Unknown said...

That is a lot of reflective gear...

nmp said...

Looks like a nice setup for your gear! Hope you are enjoying the new place - still in the city?

Also, I hope those crutches are not considered part of your running gear!

Dan Rose said...

Amelia - The closet is even bigger-looking in person. The ceiling in there is about 10-feet tall! I'll enjoy showing it off to you when you come down for the Richmond Marathon next month!

Miriam - Since I do just about all my running at night, that stuff comes in handy. ...as a side note, it also looks super-fly on the dance floor too. I'm just saying...

Nick - Funny story about those crutches: they're a souvenir from the knee surgery I needed after running my very first ultra 4 years ago (50 miler in MI). I actually had the injury (from hockey) 5 weeks before the race and knew I was going to blow my knee out if I ran on it for more than a mile (which was as far as I could run in "training" during the 5 weeks leading up to the race). The day before the race I went into town and bought a cane, knowing I would need it to walk the day after the race. Turns out, I was right (big time!), but it was all worth it as I finished that race in a semi-respectable 8:30 or something...and a couple weeks later I had the surgery I needed to fix the knee.
Today that cane is leaning against the wall next to those crutches...and I'm just as proud if it as I am of any buckle or medal I've won since!

runamanda said...

the W&OD is my baby... I fly on that thing.... but in Annandale I can't get to it.... :(

runamanda said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chris Roman said...

A little more scattered on my end. Love the golf clubs on the left and paint on the right but especially the green ST3's tucked in the running pile. Still have a pair myself :)))