Start time: 6/5/07, 7:00pm
Location: McLean High School
Distance: ~2 miles
Average pace: 9:30min/mile & 7:00min/mile
The idea on Tuesday was to get back into the LTRs. My schedule said 8 reps, but I ended up doing 4 strong ones and started but didn’t finish a 5th. Considering how long it had been, I was pretty pleased. Ended up walking my cooldown instead of running it, but it was still all good.
Start time: 5/10/07, 7:30pm
Location: Arlington Boulevard Trail
Distance: 2.50 miles
Average pace: 8:12min/mile
Thursday’s scheduled run was a Tempo run, which for me is supposed to be at an 8:30min/mile pace. I plotted out a route where I knew every half-mile marker, and set out to see how I would do. Unfortunately, for the second time in the past week or so, I’d neglected allergy medicine. I at least had taken a morning dose but I’m so not used to needing a late-afternoon/early-evening dose that it keeps slipping off my radar until it’s too late. My head felt like it was packed in cotton and it was extremely uncomfortable at best to run. I finally gave up with half a mile to go, because I just felt horrible; it was hard to breathe and really unpleasant. On the bright side, while I started off a little too fast (oops) I’d done a pretty good job of hitting each half mile around the 4:15 mark; the exact times were 3:46, 4:01, 4:14, 4:08, 4:18. Next time, hopefully, I’ll be a little wiser when it comes to the Allegra.
Start time: 5/1/07, 6:30pm
Location: Arlington Boulevard Trail
Distance: 2 miles
Average pace: 9:06min/mile
The plan was to actually run 4 miles, not 2, but my calf was feeling a little stiff and I quickly decided that discretion really is the better part of valor. That, and there was a breeze kicking up a nasty amount of dust and dirt from the road and I was actually starting to choke. Fun!
Start time: 4/21/07, 2:00pm
Location: Arlington
Distance: 2 miles & 2 miles
Average pace: 8:40min/mile & 9:06min/mile
The idea was a pretty simple one; run to the gym, use the weight machines, run back home. I’d mapped out a route that would be exactly 2 miles each way (I had to add on an extra quarter mile spur to do so but what can I say, there’s something slightly more comforting about whole numbers when tracking progress) and headed on out. Two things I didn’t count on, though:
1) It’s been so long since we had a real warm day that I should’ve brought my water bottle with me. Oof, I must have hit the water fountain ten times at the gym itself.
2) It’s more uphill on the way back than on the way there, which wouldn’t have been that big a deal except I had, of course, just worked out at the gym. Heh. Definitely felt those hills on the way home.
Still, very happy with my progress, especially since on the way back I was really trying to take it easy. A nice run! After not getting much running in for April (a combination of visitors, work, and just wanting a bit of a breather before marathon season returned) it was a good way to get back into the swing of things.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=880854
Start time: 09/20/06, 8:00am
Location: Arlington Boulevard Trail
Distance: 2.5 miles
Average pace: 8:31min/mile
The original plan was to go running with Pacers yesterday, but I wasn’t feeling up for the run (or really anything) by the time I got home from work yesterday. When I found myself falling asleep in my easy chair while waiting for “Boston Legal” to start I decided this was a hint to just go to bed and run in the morning. It was a short—really short—dash around the neighborhood because I didn’t get the early start I was hoping for, but it’s better than not running at all in my book.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=447289
Start time: 05/28/06, 7:50am
Location: Clarendon neighborhood
Distance: 2.66 miles
Average pace: 9:56min/mile
Well, the plan was to knock out a 5 miler this morning. It went well at first, running through Clarendon and all the way down to the far end of Rosslyn before starting to come back up on the huge hill that is Wilson Boulevard leading away from the Potomac River.
It all got cut short, though, when my left calf started to feel sore. I slowed down to stretch it, and that just made matters worse; it completely tightened up and running no longer became an option. So, that was the end of this morning’s run. I don’t know if it was the extra-hillwork (that is one steep hill), a potential lack of potassium, or perhaps that I’d done extra stretching this morning before running. Ah well, win some lose some. Fortunately it was the left leg, since I’m now off to drive up to Pennsylvania. Wheeee!
Start time: 04/17/06, 8:00pm
Location: Arlington Boulevard Trail
Distance: 2 miles
Average pace: 8:43min/mile
So the original plan was that I’d go running this morning when I got home from Pennsylvania, then head into work after lunch. What actually happened, though, was that I got home later than anticipated due to a number of reasons, and the temperature had dropped to 45 degrees and raining. Brrrr. So, very tired from getting up early (in fact, earlier than necessary based on the other people I was driving home and their general poking around) and then driving all the way back, I figured I wouldn’t run at all. Then two things changed my mind.
The first was that it not only stopped raining in the afternoon, but the temperature began to rise. I was walking over to pick up dinner (having no energy to cook, I’d decided) and was marvelling over how it was now 60 degrees at 7:30pm and what a great evening it was turning out to be… and then I saw him. The Perfect Runner. Seriously, folks, there’s no other way to describe him. It was a guy out for an evening run in a sleeveless white running shirt and black shorts, and an absolutely perfect body. And as he effortlessly glided by (and I tried not to trip over my own feet as I stared in awe), I suddenly felt fat and lazy and lame.
So I went home, put my dinner aside on the counter, and got dressed to go running.
Except, of course, I was still tired. So while I had 2-, 3-, and 4-mile routes mapped out, as I finished up the first mile I was already starting to feel seriously pooped. And by the time I got back to my starting point (at which point I could’ve gone out for a third or fourth mile) I was ready to drop. Good intentions and inspiration can only take you so far when you’re just plain wiped out. So I decided two miles was better than nothing and stopped. (8:15, 9:10) Now at first I was feeling a little less than thrilled, both in terms of pooping out after just two miles, as well as having a less than spectacular second mile. Then I remembered that I used to run 2-milers for my weekday runs back in 2001, only I would finish each mile in (yikes) 16:30. And I’d just run two in 17:25, and without needing to stop and walk. So while it wasn’t my best day, it was still good. And now I’m really quite happy with that indeed.
I have really got to remember to get a new battery for the watch half of the GPS unit tomorrow, though.
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.
Start time: 01/12/06, 6:30pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles & 2 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1 & all running
Average pace: 10:24min/mile and 8:51min/mile
Julie and I had another four miler together on Thursday; she’s been concentrated on getting her speed up and was aiming her sites at the 10:30 speed. Well, she hit it and did a great job, especially when you look at our mile splits: 10:35, 10:28, 10:14, and 10:20. When we finished, Julie said, “I feel like a badass,” and my response was, “That’s because you are.” After two months off because of injury, she’s doing fantastic at hitting her new goals. Yay!
I was definitely a bit tired after that and my additional 2 miles were slower than on Tuesday; I told Julie later that it was because she wore me out, and it’s so true. My half mile splits? Well, I’m certainly consistent. 4:22, 4:29, 4:22, and 4:29. What’s with those seven extra seconds on the back half of each mile? (Ironically, not even the same parts of the trail.)
Start time: 01/10/06, 6:30pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles & 2 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1 & all running
Average pace: 10:50min/mile and 8:35min/mile
First, a funny side-story. After planning on doing so for a while now, I started doing stomach crunches on Sunday. The idea was to start with with a reasonable amount, then add a few more on every day for a nice slow-and-steady build up. So I did the crunches on Sunday, added a few more on Monday morning, then got up this morning and… ow. My abs were not happy. So, new rule: on days when I’m going running, I don’t have to do stomach crunches. Phew! (I could still feel the soreness when I ran today, though.)
Anyway, Julie and I ran four miles together at a 6:1. Julie seemed to handle them pretty well, and I let her set the pace. I know she wants to build her speed back up, so once she’s used to these I’m going suggest picking the pace itself up a bit. The splits were actually back and forth, back and forth: 10:37, 10:59, 10:37, 11:05. Afterwards Julie headed out and I was going to do the same, but at the last second I decided to take two more miles and do them a bit faster; preparing, as you will, for possibly running with the speedies again.
For these other two miles I took splits for each half mile: 4:13, 4:13, 4:24, and 4:18. Very consistent early on, then slowing down a tiny bit later. It felt great to speed up, though. I’d love to be able to sustain that speed for longer distances—a goal to work towards.