Kiprunning Return: Run after the Women 5K

I have written elsewhere about the two ankle surgeries that I have undergone to repair a talar dome osteochondral defect in my right foot. I went down with this injury in July of 2018, and just as I started to make a comeback last fall, after my first (extensive) surgery, my foot exploded in pain once again, and I soon discovered that I required a second procedure, which I had in December 2021.

The recovery for the second procedure was nowhere near as lengthy as my first one, and thankfully, I was able to start running again in early March 2022.

It remains to be seen what the future will be for me. This is a major injury that has permanently reduced the range of motion in my right ankle, and I haven't run more than ten consecutive miles since the early summer of 2018, because my right leg has a lot of difficulty sustaining itself, it seems.

Today, though, I tested things out at the DC Road Runners Run after the Women 5K, the first race in their summer Bunion Derby Series.

I did okay!

Joseph P. Fisher finishing the 2022 Run after the Women 5K

20:13 for a 6:31 average pace.

To date, my longest run has only been six miles, and I have only run that distance twice, the second time being this morning.

I guess we will see how this goes.

Congratulations to all of the finishers.

Volunteer Support: DC Road Runners Annual Picnic and 3-Mile Cross Country Race

Coach Kiprunning was happy to offer race support for yesterday's DC Road Runners Picnic and 3-mile cross country race.

This event is held annually on the grounds of Bethesda's Landon School.  The course is a cross country course in the truest sense: the terrain is varied, and the hills are plentiful and arrive intermittently throughout the race.

Daniel Ritter claimed first place with a time of 17:52.  Liz Ozeki was the first female finisher, crossing the line in 20:38.

Afterward, attendees enjoyed plentiful food and plentiful dessert.  It was a great night for the event, and we were happy to support it.

Next week, we will also be providing support for the National Capital 20-Miler.  We hope to see you there.

Announcement: 2018 National Capital 20-Miler

Once again, Coach Kiprunning is proud to publicize (and to offer race support for) the National Capital 20-Miler, organized by DC Road Runners.

Both races begin at Carderock Recreation Area, running southeast toward DC on the C&O Towpath.  The 20-miler actually makes it all the way to Georgetown before making a return loop back out to Carderock.

Both events will be held on September 30, 2018, and they are perfectly timed to be tune-up races (or training runs) for any number of fall races.

Registration is available on the DC Road Runners website.  We hope to see you there.

In the meantime, feel free to peruse our photo album from last year's events.

Kip Accomplishments, July 2018 Edition

Vacation always goes by far too quickly.

Anyway, we're back now, and we've got some accomplishments to share.

This past weekend, Tanya Senanayake, who just rocked the Vermont City Marathon, finished the Napa to Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon as a training run for this fall's Chicago Marathon.

Cheers!

Tanya Senanayke

In other accomplishment news, I just competed in the Bluemont 5K, hosted by DC Road Runners.

I've talked about the benefits of joining a running club before, and I'll just reiterate that point here.  These races are free for club members (this is a perk specifically for DC Road Runners; I can't speak for other clubs), and they offer great training structure and easy ways to enhance weekly speed workouts by, you know, sponsoring some 5K races.  As always, the competition is strong enough to make these races worthwhile for runners of all ability levels and at all ages.

Look at these times!

Joseph P. Fisher

For my part, I'm still eyeing a December marathon, and in the meantime, I'm hoping to climb off of this six-minute plateau that I've inhabited for the first part of this year.  Still, I was pleased with last night's run.

Onto the next one!

Another Racing Dual: Lawyers Have Heart 10K and DC Road Runners 5K Festival

I know that it has been quiet on this blog. I apologize. Ironically, my summer teaching duties almost seem to take more time than my academic year teaching duties. No matter. It is all good work.

(However, I will take this opportunity to remind all of you that we remain very active on Instagram and Facebook, so please feel free to follow along in those places as well.)

This past weekend represented another racing dual for Coach Kiprunning.  Wilson Komen participated in the Lawyers Have Heart 10K on Saturday, and I was happy to run, along with my wife, in the DC Road Runners Women's Distance Festival 5K and Run After the Women 5K on Sunday.

Wilson Komen at the finish of the 2018 Lawyers Have Heart 10K

As is so often the case in Washington, DC in the summer, this weekend offered rather soupy humid conditions that weren't quite ideal for running.  The Lawyers Have Heart 10K is always a competitive race, and its long hilly and exposed stretches make it a particularly challenging event.

Coach Komen finished 41st overall, with a 5th place performance in the masters division.  He was pleased with his performance, and he continues to plan his next marathon race, now that he is focusing more intently on competing as a masters runner.

I was similarly pleased with my performance in the DC Road Runners Run after the Women 5K.  This race begins in Arlington's Bluemont Park, where the course heads northwest to intersect with, and ultimately to run along, the W&OD Trail.  There are some modest bumps along the way, but for the most part, the out-and-back course is flat and fast, and it too fosters some high-level competition.

I am officially a Dunkin' Donuts man, but I will happy take a Starbucks gift card whenever I can

My performance was just a little slower than what I turned in at the Mentoring Matters 5K, but I was still pleased with how things went.  I finished first in my age group (not counting, of course, the overall finishers, who were really, really fast), and given the heavy, thick air, I couldn't have given it much more than what I did.  It was a good way to start a Sunday.

Likewise, my wife was pleased with her race, which she used mostly as a training run.  All of us are looking to target some longer distances later this year, so we will definitely see all of you out there over the next few months.

Just remember to get out early and to hydrate!

Coach Kiprunning at the 2018 Mentoring Matters 5K

Coach Kiprunning will be participating in this year's Mentoring Matters 5K, sponsored by Teens Run DC and organized by DC Road Runners.


Saturday's forecast is currently looking a little warm, but it still seems like it should be a great morning for a run.

We hope to see you in Anacostia this Saturday in support of a great organization.

2018 Food from the Bar Campaign Kickoff

Coach Kiprunning was honored to be a part of the Food from the Bar Campaign Kickoff for the third consecutive year.

This year's event marked the tenth anniversary of the campaign.  To date, Food from the Bar has helped supply approximately 3.5 million meals for food insecure populations in the DC region.

The 2018 event was sponsored by DC Road Runners and the law offices of Koonz, McKenney.

You can read more about the campaign and about the Capital Area Food Bank on the event's official website.

We've added a modest photo album from Thursday's event on the Coach Kiprunning Facebook page.  We welcome you to share and tag the album as much as you would like.

Thank you again to the event organizers for inviting us to be involved with this excellent initiative.

Coach Kiprunning Is Supporting the 2018 Food from the Bar Campaign Kickoff

For the third year in a row, Coach Kiprunning has been invited to be a part of the Food from the Bar Campaign Kickoff, sponsored by the Women's Bar Association, the Capital Area Food Bank, and DC Road Runners.

This year's event is being held this coming Thursday, April 19, at Buffalo Billiards in Dupont Circle.

We've shared the official Facebook event invite on the Coach Kiprunning Facebook page, and we welcome all of you to join us on Thursday.  This event provides vital resources for food insecure populations in Washington, DC, and we are honored to have the opportunity to support this excellent cause.

We hope to see you on Thursday.

2017 National Capital 20-Miler and 5-Miler Photos

We were thrilled to lend some volunteer support for the 2017 National Capital 20-Miler and 5-Miler this past Sunday.  It was a warmer-than-usual day for the race, but the runners were in good spirits, and the volunteers were happy to support them in their performances.

We have posted a bunch of pictures from the event in a Facebook photo album, and we invite you to view them at your leisure.  (And, of course, you can most definitely like our Facebook page while you are on it.)  As you'll notice, the order of the photos progresses from darkness to light.  To reiterate the point, as you can see below, the time on my coffee maker read 4:54 am, which was the time that I was leaving my home and was also later than when I woke up for the event.  Remember, runners: always thank your race volunteers.

Hill workouts are easier than getting up this early in the morning

National Capital 20-Miler--20 Miles of Racing and Training

I teach for a living, so for me, summer is over.

For you, those of you who are not teachers, summer is still here, for a few more days, at least.

Nevertheless, the fall racing season is fast approaching, and it is with that in mind that we are happy to publicize the National Capital 20-Miler and 5-Miler, organized by DC Road Runners.

The 20-Miler is scheduled perfectly for a final tune-up run for a fall marathon.  It could also serve as a great training run for a fall half marathon or 10-miler.

The 5-Miler is similarly excellent for tempo run purposes or for a race event all on its own.

The details, including registration instructions and course information, are available on the race website.

Both courses run on the C&O Towpath, so they are flat and fast, allowing runners to stretch out for some good pacing work.

We wish everyone--including the event organizers--the best of luck!

Congratulations to All DC-Area 2017 Boston Marathon Finishers

RunWashington has published an excellent list of the DC-area finishers of the 2017 Boston Marathon.

More than 600 D.C. area runners finished the @bostonmarathon #rundc https://t.co/yJWPJaX4QY #bostonmarathon2017 pic.twitter.com/Bo90JiNaWf

— RunWashington (@RunWashington) April 18, 2017

Full disclosure: I have the good fortune of knowing Raj Bhanot (pictured above), so that tweet represents the closest I have ever been to celebrity.

Coach Kiprunning congratulates every Boston Marathon finisher--but we also wish an emphatic, hometown word of congratulations to the many DMV finishers.  Great work on a hot day, everyone. Enjoy the accomplishment.  You've earned it.

Race Recap: St. Pat's Run 5K 2017

The past year or so has found me doing a lot of work to build Coach Kiprunning and to set up our Sports Club.  As a result, I haven't been competing in many races in recent years.  With 2017 well underway, I am hoping to change that trend as I return to competitive running.

As our own Joseph P. Fisher pointed out a few months ago, we aren't getting any younger around here.  Therefore, I am currently setting my sights on training to compete in the Masters division of a future Boston Marathon (I'm not quite that old yet).  My more immediate test race is going to be this year's Cherry Blossom Ten Miler.

As a warm up race, I competed in last week's Race for Equal Justice.  This past weekend found me in the St. Pat's Run 5K.

The field in this race, as well as in the 10K, is very competitive.  The course, however, is flat and fast, which probably contributes to the intense competition, but in doing so also allows runners a great chance for PR-setting times.  I was pleased with how I ran, and I am anticipating some good racing and training in the future--just as the weather warms up, I hope!

In the meantime, I want to emphasize how much fun these races are just for pure camaraderie. Fittingly, they began with the sound of bagpipes and a healthy dose of good cheer.

The runners--both competitive and recreational alike--were in good spirits, even though the weather dipped dramatically into the cold temperatures.  The sunshine, however, couldn't have been better, and it made for a festive day all around.

Again, I was just thrilled to compete and to be able to spend my weekend around other runners.  The day before the race, I jogged with a small group of runners from the Kiprunning Sports Club and finished just in time to chat with some members of DC Road Runners.

It was a great weekend, and I am looking forward to many similar ones in the near future.  I'll see all of you out there.

Run Steady,

Coach Wilson

Race Review: 2017 Race for Equal Justice 5 and 10K

Small but sweet--those are the appropriate ways to describe the Race for Equal Justice.  Sponsored by George Washington Law's Equal Justice Foundation, and organized by DC Road Runners, the 2017 event ran out and back (and out and back again, if you ran the 10K) on Hains Point.  East Potomac Park (aka The Home of Joe Fisher's tempo runs) is a pancake flat, beautiful stretch of land that affords runners panoramic views of large chunks of southern DC and Arlington, VA.  It's the perfect location for a PR.

Last Saturday's weather was unseasonably warm, giving the race a beautiful springtime feel, including what were, at times, some strong headwinds.  The race itself is still tiny enough that runners have the opportunity to stretch out and to settle into their respective rhythms without overcrowding. Likewise, if you're having a good day, you stand a solid shot of placing high in the field.

Coach Kiprunning was represented at the race, and we ran well (check out the photos on our Facebook page).  The crowd support was excellent, as was the hydration support on the course. We wish heartfelt thanks to all of the organizers and participants.

Coach Kiprunning at Legal Deboccery with The Capital Area Food Bank

Coach Kiprunning was honored to be a part of the 2016 Legal Deboccery event, organized by the Women's Bar Association.  This event was held at Pinstripes in Georgetown.

For the third consecutive year, Legal Deboccery has served as the kickoff event for the Capital Area Food Bank's Food from the Bar Campaign. This campaign is a partnership between the Capital Area Food Bank and DC's legal community. In 2015 alone, the Food from the Bar Campaign raised $261,000 for hunger relief efforts in Washington, DC; Maryland; and Virginia.  Since 2008, the DC legal community has provided funding for over 2,000,000 meals.

Legal Deboccery was sponsored by Koonz, McKenney, Johnson, DePaolis & Lightfoot; Alderson Court Reporting; and Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA.  Raffle prizes were provided by Coach Kiprunning, Running Specialty Group (care of Georgetown Running Company), DC Road Runners, Mayor Muriel Bowser, LexisNexis, Pinstripes, and Blue Star Case Solutions.

Once again, we are grateful that we were asked to participate in this event, and we look forward to being a part of similar events in the future.

Event photos below: