11-31 May

11 MAY -- 1:17:00 -- 10.45 miles -- 456 elevation gain
12 MAY -- off
13 MAY -- 1:28:59 -- 10.67 miles -- 777 elevation gain (my last trail run in VA)
               -- 29:26 -- 1.95 miles -- 59 elevation gain (family run)
14 MAY -- 28:25 -- 4.20 miles -- 215 elevation gain
15 MAY -- 1:03:18 -- 8.12 miles -- 343 elevation gain
16 MAY -- 1:36:37 -- 11.67 miles -- 720 elevation gain
17 MAY -- off -- packing

TOTAL -- 6:23:45 -- 47.06 miles -- 2570 elevation gain

My last trail run was on the Fredericksburg Battlefield trails, my favorite close-to-home trail running location.  Unfortunately, the remainder of the miles this week were on roads and sidewalks near my neighborhood due to time restrictions as we prepared to move. 





18 MAY -- 31:48 -- 4.13 miles -- 207 elevation gain
               -- 35:00 -- 4.54 miles -- 197 elevation gain
19 MAY -- 1:30:00 -- 3.00 miles -- 174 elevation gain (mowing the lawn one final time...)
20 MAY -- 30:26 -- 4.13 miles -- 231 elevation gain
21 MAY -- off -- packed the entire house into a Penske truck in one day with the help of Alex P.
22 MAY -- off -- driving to Camp Lejeune -- but I did like 15 push ups in the morning with Eli
23 MAY -- off -- unloaded the entire truck in less than 3 hours with the help of my neighbors!
24 MAY -- 40:15 -- 5.29 miles -- 37 elevation gain (first run in flat Camp Lejeune)

TOTAL -- 3:47:29 -- 21.09 miles -- 846 elevation gain

Slow week for running since we had to pack the truck, make the move, and unpack the truck.  To be honest, I'm surprised I had the energy and motivation to run when I did.  Huge thanks to Alex P. and my awesome neighbors to take time out of their Memorial Day weekend to help me move our crap.





25 MAY -- 49:25 -- 3.05 miles -- 31 elevation gain
26 MAY -- off -- unpacking and interior decorating consumed my day
27 MAY -- 40:53 -- 5.13 miles -- 16 elevation gain
28 MAY -- 11:45 -- 1.39 miles -- 19 elevation gain (ran to the gym to use the Stairmaster...)
               -- 16:45 -- 0.28 miles -- 1488 elevation gain (Stairmaster)
               -- 15:34 -- 1.94 miles -- 19 elevation gain (took the long way home from the gym...)
               -- 29:21 -- 4.05 miles -- 39 elevation gain (why not...)
29 MAY -- 40:54 -- 5.20 miles -- 47 elevation gain
30 MAY -- 50:00 -- 6.45 miles -- 33 elevation gain
31 MAY -- 1:12:50 -- 9.48 miles -- 65 elevation gain

TOTAL -- 5:27:27 -- 36.97 miles -- 1757 elevation gain

Let me explain the Stairmaster workout before questions come up.  I did a little research - I did everything except physically measure the stairs on the machine I used with a tape measure.  I didn't remember the brand of the machine I used, so I used the most commonly referenced average of 17" per step.  After a little excel work, I translated the number of steps I climbed into mileage and elevation gain.  Simple.  Not really translatable to actual training and who knows if it will be good enough to sustain previous training, but it's really my only option.  I anticipate a lot of Stairmaster workouts between now and 2017.  And since I'll be spending so much time climbing steps, I felt that I should include it in my mileage and elevation statistics.  Right or wrong, who knows, but it's my blog and my study.  At the end of my running career, once (if?) I've reached my 10,000 hours or 100,000 miles or whatever the coolest milestone is to reach, if you have beef with it at that point then you can call me out.  Or, call me out right now and offer up a better solution to tracking this stuff - I'm open for suggestions. 

Camp Lejeune is the flattest place in the universe.  This is going to be a very long couple of years.  The nearest mountains are a few hours to the west, say, 3 hours drive to Raleigh.  The real mountains are in western NC about 6-7 hours away.  I'll most likely make the 5-6 hour drive back to VA before heading west to foreign trails.  I might take on some new challenges during my time at this duty station - possibly more timed events (24 hour, 48 hour, etc.) than races with actual finish lines.  The flat, never ending miles of service roads aboard Camp Lejeune make trail running possible but training for elevation impossible.  I might also have to trade my treadmill in for a Stairmaster...any takers?