Category Archives:

Cap Crescent

0, 06mi

Start time: 4/10/10, 7:30am
Location: Cap Crescent Trail
Distance: 6 miles
Average pace: 9:32min/mile
Total Miles For April: 25 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 206 miles

For a change of scenery, on Saturday the group ran on the Cap Crescent, and it was a perfect day to do so. Nice cool temperature, gentle breeze, sunny but not blistering… good times. Towards the end Jim and I pulled ahead a bit and chatted about various things for the last two miles. All in all, a good time. (Then on Sunday I knocked out 26 miles on the bike. Unfortunately, I also forgot to put on sunscreen. Ouch. Not very smart.)

(10:31, 9:11, 9:40, 9:48, 8:56, 9:06)

Sleepy

0, 05mi

Start time: 4/8/10, 6:30am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 9:00min/mile
Total Miles For April: 19 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 200 miles

Got up early today to knock out my run before work, and I was still yawning when I headed out the door. Not a bad run, but I was definitely feeling tiiiiiiiiired in the fourth and fifth miles. Go to bed even earlier next time, I guess. On the bright side, the Garmin clocked exactly 5 miles for the loop that I’d mapped out, and the old one was never even remotely that accurate, so yay!

(8:45, 8:35, 8:58, 9:26, 9:16)

Wednesday = Brickday

0, 02mi, brick, indoor track

Start time: 4/7/10, 7:20pm
Location: TJ Community Center
Distance: 2 miles
Average pace: 8:04min/mile
Total Miles For April: 14 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 195 miles

Another Wednesday, another brick. No complaints here, well, except that TJ’s air conditioning was not up to the 90 degree weather outside. Oof. Good tough spinning class, though.

(8:00, 8:07)

More Than Expected

0, 07mi

Start time: 4/3/10, 7:00am
Location: North Arlington, Tidal Basin
Distance: 7.4 miles
Average pace: 10:28min/mile
Total Miles For April: 12 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 193 miles

A nice easy-going run with the group this morning—we were going to run down to the cherry blossoms and back—and Michael brought his camera for a few photos. The plan was for six miles, but oops… a bit more. We stopped a lot for photos, plus crowds around the Tidal Basin slowed us down a great deal. But it was fun!

(And then, an hour and a half later, I went biking with Ryan. I figured we’d do a dozen or so miles, instead we did 22. Oof. This has been a “more mileage than I was expecting” kind of day.)

The Running Gang! (Well, most of us.)

No Foolin’

0, 05mi

Start time: 4/1/10, 6:30pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 8:35min/mile
Total Miles For April: 5 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 186 miles

That was a nice run. Spring has definitely sprung, and after work I did a run up the W&OD Trail from marker 3.5 to 6 and then back. I ran into Pam Riker while doing my pre-run stretch, which was definitely the high point of the evening, though! But yeah, definitely a keeper.

(8:30, 8:58, 8:26, 8:38, 8:21)

Break’s over

0, 02mi, brick, indoor track

Start time: 3/31/10, 7:20pm
Location: TJ Community Center
Distance: 2 miles
Average pace: 8:11min/mile
Total Miles For March: 62 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 181 miles

Ten days after the half marathon, it’s back to running! I have been exercising since then, mind you; last week ended up being ultra-busy but I did get some swimming in, and this week has already had cycling, swimming, and now a spinning/running brick. I need to try and figure out if the better move might be to break down the bike quickly and run outside next time; there’s something nice about just going 15 steps to be on the track and dash out two miles with no interruptions, but it was also a pretty gorgeous night outside. Hmmmm. Will think this one through. Anyway, it was a short run, but after coming off a tough-but-good spinning class (and ten days off of running) I’m really quite pleased.

(8:20, 8:02)

Return to Virginia Beach

0, 13mi, half marathon, race, travel

Shamrock Half Marathon
Start time: 3/21/10, 7:00am
Location: Virginia Beach
Distance: 13.1 miles
Average pace: 9:18min/mile
Finishing time: 2:01:51
Total Miles For March: 60 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 179 miles

The last time I was in Virginia Beach for a race, it was 2003, the race was the Rock ‘N Roll Half Marathon, and I was much heavier than I am now. So if nothing else, I knew I would do better than a 3:14 finishing time.

That said, it was an odd feeling going into the race. With multiple blizzards this winter (and then my community center/gym being closed for weeks at a time because of said snow), I knew I was not as well-prepared as I could have been. I had a feeling that a PR was not happening, even as I kept hoping it would. After yet another pre-race night’s sleep being not very good (when will I learn to pack benadryl?) coupled with my body deciding to try and remove all moisture from itself beforehand, though, and I should’ve seen the writing on the wall.

I actually had an ok time for the first 8.5 miles, but after that I started dragging a bit, and just feeling out of energy and enormously thirsty. During mile 10 I ended up walking while drinking a cup of Gatorade, and while I rallied a bit for the next mile, miles 12-13.1 were the pits. A pity, too, because that’s when you finally get to the concrete boardwalk and it’s a pretty finish area. So, no PR, and not even under 2 hours (also disappointing) but at least the 2:01:51 was nowhere near my first race in Virginia Beach so no complaints. I’d told myself last month this would probably happen, so at least it wasn’t a surprise. You just move on and try and do better the next time.

(9:14, 17:45 (miles 2-3), 8:47, 8:49, 9:03, 9:05, 9:06, 9:24, 9:57, 9:38, 9:54, 10:03, 1:01 (.1))

Beautiful Day

0, 04mi

Start time: 3/18/10, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:42min/mile
Total Miles For March: 47 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 166 miles

One last 4-miler before Sunday’s race; it was an awfully gorgeous day this afternoon.

(8:35, 8:54, 8:55, 8:25)

Stupid Daylight Saving Time

0, 05mi

Start time: 3/16/10, 8:00am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 8:34min/mile
Total Miles For March: 43 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 162 miles

I ended up not running over the weekend due to weather, and I paid for it this morning. Or at least I’m assuming that was part of it; the other part was still being slightly off kilter due to the time shift over the weekend. I actually set my alarm for a little before 6am, thinking I’d be out there by 7am. I hadn’t counted on it now being dark at 7am, which made it verrrrry difficult to get out of bed.

Anyway, not a bad pace at all, but I felt nothing short of wiped out.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3548545

ALLEGEDLY.

0, 08mi

Start time: 3/11/10, 7:15am
Location: Wilson Boulevard, Bluemont Junction Trail, W&OD Trail, Washington Boulevard
Distance: 8 miles
Average pace: 8:58min/mile
Total Miles For March: 38 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 157 miles

It’s supposed to rain a lot on Saturday, so I decided discretion was the better part of valor and ran the 8-mile loop I came up with back in December. It’s funny, I ran it twice in December and then on New Year’s Day, but since then this route has been neglected. (Partially due to the route being clogged with snow for quite a while, partially for not running 8 miles on my own.) It meant I’d forgotten where the hills were, if nothing else.

Now, my watch says I ran this in 1:11:48. But here’s the thing. If it looks like I’m going to be stuck at an intersection waiting to cross for more than two or three seconds, I usually stop the watch, then start it again once I’m good. I am slightly not-convinced that I started it back up once. I probably did do it at this speed, which actually is just a fraction different than two of the three other times I ran it. But I also was seriously huffing and puffing around the midpoint when the hills began to show up in full strength, and twice I walked for about 10 seconds to catch my breath and rally for the rest of the hill. So… that was my time. Allegedly.

(On the bright side, I did look at my watch with about a mile and a half to go and remembered that time stamp, so I measured out that part of the course and checked the pace for that final portion and it was a 9:06. I know I was going much faster early on (since I do know the first two mile markers on this course) so signs actually do point to me having gotten this right.)

I also learned a very important lesson, if you think you need to use the bathroom one final time as you’re walking across the parking lot to get started, just go back inside. At least there’s a gas station not too far down the route that came to the rescue.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3370757