Dawn Patrol on Mt Falcon

Most days I'm in the office between 7am and 8am. However today with a late conference call schedule with our corporate office in Sydney, I had the rare opportunity to head in late. Opting out of sleeping in or running more miles around the hood, I thought it would be fun to run Mt. Falcon before sunrise.

Goal was to simply head up and down the main face since I haven't ran trails in 3 weeks and had no idea what the trails would be like. At the TH before 6am and was pleasantly surprised by how much light there was from the night sky. Within minutes, the sunrise glow was glaring all over the place making visibility a non-issue.

Sunrise itself was an amazing experience. Just bringing everything around to life.



Got in about 55 minutes of easy running during my little adventure. This route during more normal conditions has been done a good 10 minutes quicker. Regardless, this was a great way to start out the day.

First Run in February

11 days into the month of February and I finally got a run in. At the end of January I told myself to take some time off to rest up since the pain in my left knee was getting annoying. The pain to be exact is the area where the Patella Tendon connects with the Tibia. Never had issues there till just recently. Not sure what set it off, but my sister in law/physical therapist suggested I heal it up cause if I didn't, it would continue to nag well into the summer.

The past days have been filled with cross training in the gym, lots of stretching and lots more massage icing.

This mornings run was 3+ miles at a slow 8 minute pace. Mentally, I felt like I could have gone all day. Physically, a few hours at this pace could easily be sustained. Knee feels fine but I think I'll know more in the weeks to come. The goal for the rest of the month is to continue the stretching and icing and log in many short and easy run. Hopefully by March and I can pick it up leaving me all of April and most of May to step it up.

January Summary

Runs - 17
Work Outs - 10
Injured - 0

The Bad: During one stretch at the beginning of the month, I worked 18 out of 19 days. Most of my runs this month were done in the dark on icy and snowy patches. Motivation to run is one thing. Running with any bursts of speed with fear of busting your ass is another thing. Lastly, my damn left knee left me taking it much easier then I wanted too and in all honesty will shelve me for a few days starting February.

The Good: Most of the months runs came during the last 20 days of the month. I was always motivated to get after it, regardless of weather or time of day. Got some great trail runs in as well which is a first for me during these cold, dark and snow packed months. Also signed up for two big races. Body and mind are ready to go for sure.

Bottom Line: As much as I hate to do this, I'm going to start out the month on the DL. At least 10 days. Hate to loose this training period but it'll be for the best in the long run. Something can't be right when I follow up a nice 2+ hour run with a solid 5 mile tempo run and my left knee is in pain. Thankfully I know where the pain is and how to treat it. Now I just got to stay focused on the rehab cause getting after it training wise won't be tough to do.