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Hey, this is pretty exciting.

0, statistics

I just went and looked a little more closely at the St. Patrick’s Day 8K standings and decided to compare them to the previous three years I ran the race. Specifically, how I finished in comparison to those in my age group; the first year was a 25-29 age group, but it’s been 30-34 since then.

2003: 379/379 (oh good lord)
2004: 512/513 (hey, I beat someone in my age group this time…)
2005: 305/368 (82nd percentile)
2006: 294/469 (62nd percentile)

If that isn’t an eye opener, I don’t know what is. I certainly feel a lot better about Sunday. (Not that I felt bad, you know… but certainly less than jazzed.) If I could finish one above the halfway point in my age group I’d be stoked. Sadly that may very well not happen until I shift into a slightly less competitive age bracket, but you never know. I mean, hell, I was last in my bracket in 2003. So I’m stoked about this.

(Here’s the funny thing—for a bit I was thinking, “Well, maybe it was just that there were more people.” So I took my pace from last year’s 10K and figured out my finishing time for an 8K. That would’ve been a 48:52, which would have made me 386/469 instead… or 82nd percentile, the exact same as last year. Ha!)

The trails are alive with the sound of runners

0, 04mi

Start time: 03/13/06, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 10:53min/mile

“Sorry I’m poking along today,” Julie said around the end of mile 3, “but between diminished lung capacity* and just being lazy, this is about all I can do.”

Personally, I was content to be “poking along” today; the weather in the DC area this past weekend was fairly fantastic, and while I’d have normally waited until Tuesday after a Sunday race, knowing the temperature’s going to drop about 30 or 40 degrees tonight meant that one last “gorgeous running weather” day was in order. We clearly weren’t the only ones who felt that way; after a winter of mostly desolation and some die-hard runners, the trail was full today with both cyclists and runners. Quite a few attractive ones, too—an added bonus!

So, not terribly fast but I was perfectly content to enjoy the beautiful afternoon/evening and just take it easy.

* — Someone forgot their allergy medicine today.

Groove 1, Greg 0

0, 05mi, 08k, pr, race, rightfoot

Start time: 03/12/06, 9:00am
Location: Washington DC
Distance: 8 kilometers (4.97 miles)
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 8:58min/mile

Today was one of those “glad it’s over” sort of races, but for no real definable reason other than “I never found my groove.” (Paging Stella.) It didn’t go badly, don’t get me wrong… but I just never really felt into it. I was a little tired before we even began (and darn it, I was in bed last night at a reasonable hour), and that’s never a good sign.

The course was crowded but full of eager runners, but it was crowded enough that I never saw the first two mile markers. (Julie said she never saw them either, but could hear other people seeing them.) I really wasn’t sure at what pace I was really moving, and good ol’ self-doubt showed up several times in those first three miles. This was also only the second race I’ve ever run entirely by myself (the other being the Worst Organized Race Ever), which was a strange feeling. I know, most people have the reverse, but it’s what you’re used to.

Anyway, I hit mile marker 3 at 27:05, which meant that I’d been averaging 9min/miles for the first three. That’s good. Unfortunately, I was also starting to lose some steam when that’s when I wanted to begin to pick it up a bit. That groove was nowhere to be seen as I hit marker 4 in 9:32. Hmph. I buckled down at that point, threw out the last scheduled walk break, and tried to just keep moving forward. The final two-block stretch of the race was me playing my “I’m going to beat… you!” game where I picked a runner up ahead (in this case a tall leggy guy with a bright orange shirt) and made it my mission to pass the object of my determination. It worked well, and I finished the last mile (well really the last 0.97 miles… stupid 8Ks…) in 7:57, for a finishing time of 44:35. I’d say “and I got a PR!” but really, since it was my first 8K just finishing is a PR. But it was an 8:58min/mile pace, which was faster than my last 10K pace and that was the important thing.

Julie did well too; she lost a couple of minutes when someone in front of her wiped out hard and she helped him up and over to the sidewalk and then gave him some Advil before police finally came over to assist. She’s far nicer than I. Even with that delay her finishing time was a 55:12, which is very respectable indeed.

Oh yeah; once again, right foot going slightly numb around mile 3. I’m thinking more and more that my shoes shrunk slightly after getting washed from the Mud Extravaganza last month and that getting new shoes will nip this in the bud. Sometime this week, Metro Run & Walk will be very happy to see me.

And now that I’ve gotten home, scrubbed out the fish tank, put in some new water, and emptied the trash… time for a shower. The best part, by far, about a race is the post-run shower. Ahhhhhhhh.

Pre-Race

0, 06mi, rightfoot

Start time: 03/08/06, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 6 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:15min/mile

Back home once more, I was on my lonesome for my run on Wednesday. This was going to be an interesting run, since the next one I have will be the St. Patrick’s Day 8K and my last race was back at Thanksgiving. Trying to figure out a strategy for Sunday, I figured a good starting point would be this run.

Since I did better down in Yulee running with my splits, I kept them around and hit the first two miles with really pleasing results: 9:04 and 9:07. This is also where I knew it would get interesting, since starting with mile 3 I’d have the strange game of having some miles with two walk breaks and others with just one. (Something that was never really much of an issue when at a slower pace, but with longer run cycles and shorter mile times, it’s something that’s going to yo-yo back and forth.) It’s not a bad thing, per se, just something that I’m going to have to learn how to anticipate. Adding to the bizarre nature of it all, miles 3 & 4 ended up each having 1 1/2 walk breaks thanks to hitting the third marker around halfway through a walkbreak. Ha! 9:20 and 9:35 were the times for those miles, which I was ok with, although less than thrilled about a 9:35. Mile 5 pushed it back up to a 9:16, and a 9:09 closed it out.

That’s a 9:15 average pace for just a maintenance run, which gives me high hopes. My PR for a 10K was a 9:22, while my PR for a 5K was an 8:31. With some good pushing of myself I think this 8K will work pretty well; under a 9min/mile pace would be ideal, but really so long as it’s a faster pace than the 10K PR that’s good.

Oh, and same right foot vaguely asleep problems. I really need to get new shoes and see if that will fix it all.

And how have I already scratched one of the buttons on my new running watch? Good lord, I’m a clumsy oaf.

One more run around the development.

0, 04mi, rightfoot, travel

Start time: 03/06/06, 9:30am
Location: Yulee, FL
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:20min/mile

Unlike Saturday’s run, I stuck with just a single loop around the neighborhood, and likewise instead of just running it went back to the old 6:1 run:walk. When I completed the loop it was a bit faster than my “just plain running it” loops from Saturday, and afterwards I used the car’s odometer to measure it out. The end result was pleasing—a 9:20min/mile pace that was extremely consistent.

My right foot felt like it was on the verge of falling asleep the last mile or so. Hmph. Did my right foot get jealous of the problems I’d had with the left one? I’m hoping that this can be fixed with a new pair of shoes; it could be that washing them made them shrink a bit. It’s either that or seeing if instead of a 2E wideness I have to shift to a 4E. Yikes! We’ll see what the foot measuring device at Metro Run & Walk has to say, first.

I’m ready to go home.

Running away from home

0, 05mi, travel

Start time: 03/04/06, 9:00am
Location: Yulee, FL
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 9:45min/mile

I managed to leave one or two things at home before coming down to Yulee, Florida–and naturally, one of them was the GPS unit so I could track my running, and my parents’s home is new enough that it’s not on Google Maps. Oh well. I’m putting in my best estimate until I can determine otherwise; it may’ve been a little faster but I think that a 5-mile, 9:45min/mile pace is a safe bet. It was nice to just get outside and run by myself or a while.

(Three people waved hello, one confederate-flag sticker on a car, two people who gawked, one other runner.)

Welcome to March

0, 02mi, 04mi

Start time: 03/01/06, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles & 2 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1 & running
Average pace: 10:24min/mile & 8:43min/mile

It’d been a while since I’d done a “4 & 2” but this was the first time in a while that I really felt up for it as well. Julie had really good energy for the first two miles; a 10:00 opener and then a 10:14 for the second mile when we passed some other runners. I think she was definitely feeling it on mile three (10:49), though, although the end in sight made her rally a bit (10:31).

The 2-miler by myself went well; the half-mile splits were 4:16, 4:21, 4:26, 4:22. So, pretty consistant once that initial burst of energy went in the opening half-mile.

Best of all, there was definitely still daylight when we began. Now that was a pleasant change of pace.

Whoops!

0

Well, I’ve never run an 8K race before…

Dear St. Patrick’s Day 10K Registrant:

We want to take this opportunity to let you know about a couple of changes to the St. Patrick’s Day race in Washington, DC.

After almost a year of effort and the development of numerous courses, we were unable to get a 10K course approved by the District of Columbia government for the 2006 race. Fortunately, a new certified 8K course was developed this year for another race from Freedom Plaza, and we have received approval to use that course instead.

Continue reading Whoops! →

Two updates, 9 days apart

0, 03mi, 04mi, travel, treadmill

Start time: 02/18/06, 2:00pm
Location: Hotel Treadmill
Distance: 3.5 miles
Average pace: 9:31min/mile

Start time: 02/27/06, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 10:35min/mile

I totally forgot to post the one update from my vacation. In short, the area around the hotel stunk when it came to safely running so I stuck with a treadmill. I also should’ve stuck with not eating fast food an hour beforehand, which sat in my stomach like a ball of lead. My originally-planned 5-miler got cut a bit short, but better something than nothing.

Finally got back out and running today. Julie was sans allergy medicine (oops) and I could hear her huffing and puffing next to me. The week and a half off probably didn’t help either. I was originally going to knock out two extra miles afterwards, but my hamstrings were feeling tight, so another run cut short. Better safe than sorry, right?

This closes the month out with 45 miles; three less than January, but still more than February 2005. Not too bad.

Making sure we don’t break our necks.

0, 04mi

Start time: 02/15/06, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 10:57min/mile

Snow, snow, and more snow was still on the trail. Julie and I took it easy, trying to keep from wiping out on the snow-covered trail. Not a bad time, all things considered.

Hopefully the next I’m running will be out in LA, but considering where our hotel is, that run might be on a treadmill! Ugh.