Sunday with Ciccone

Matt Ciccone visited and is advancing in his marathon training, so I met up with him for a run Sunday. I started from his girlfriend, Amy's, place in Logan Circle, ran west on P to the Rock Creek Parkway then went an intersection too far, adding an extra .9 onto my run. With almost 6 (at 6:30 pace) in the bag when I picked Matt, who wanted to start his run with a shot of espresso (he trains like an Italian),I figured I would wind up with some extra distance. We planned for 10 miles, which would be his longest run to date, with a loop from Amy's to Hains Point and back. We headed down the west side, and upon reaching the end, we saw the road was not plowed. We turned around and headed back and only wound up getting him a little more than 9.1, but it was okay because his run scheduled for the week before was supposed to be 9 miles but he kind of fell apart at 7 and didn't finish, so, baby steps...
We grabbed some chocolate milk, met up with Amy and had brunch at First Farmers, which was a wonderful experience all around. I had fried chicken, eggs and waffles, exactly the combination I craved when we were running into the wind north on Hains Point. We averaged 8:50 the time I ran with him, and he seemed pretty happy. Considering all the ice we dealt with on the way to Ohio St, it was good. Obviously 26 miles is different than a mostly flat 9, but I have confidence in him. He is a devotee of road biking for exercise, so he has a fitness base, and he's an athletic fellow. Of course, biking and running are different, as illustrated in this video:


That video is compliments of Pat McGuire, Ragged Mountain Running, Charlottesville, Va.

Anyway, I wound up with just over 15, and with another week at 75 on the schedule, it has given me a good head start on the week- certainly better than the 12 I ran last week and gave up simply because I was so tired after running through the snow. Only four days of work, and I am definitely trying to get some morning runs in, if only three or four miles.
My left IT band was a little tight, but it eased up once I slowed down with Matt. My right hip was sore after we finished, but I attributed that to a lot of awkward running on the ice. Most of my slight maladies have fixed themselves within a day or so, and I feel pretty good. I just want to get back to running fast and confidently on dry ground. This ice, though I haven't fallen, remains a deterrent.