Start time: 6/27/09, 7:00am
Location: SW Waterfront, National Mall, Rock Creek Parkway
Distance: 12 miles
Average pace: 9:05min/mile
Total Miles For June: 67 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 379 miles

Yay for proper hydration! I was much more careful to get the proper amount of hydration before my long run today, and that happily did the trick. No nausea like the previous two weekends, and I felt good and strong the whole way. I ran 9 miles with Aaron, Dave, Paul, and Dave’s friend Eddie. We started off a little slow, but at the turn around Aaron and Dave really started picking up the pace, which was nice. (Paul actually turned around half a mile earlier and then let us catch him on the way back, because he wasn’t quite feeling it.) Once we got back to the start, I turned around and picked up another 3 miles by myself at the same faster pace. It was a good, good run.

Start time: 6/26/09, 7:15am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 9:03min/mile
Total Miles For June: 55 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 367 miles

Originally I was going to run on Thursday morning, but I was not feeling at all well. With book club in the evening, after work wasn’t an option, so I regretfully postponed until Friday. But on the bright side, Charlie offered to run with me, so we did the 4-mile loop at an easy pace. Not bad, and nice company.

Start time: 6/23/09, 7:15am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:32min/mile
Total Miles For June: 51 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 363 miles

Less humidity! Hurrah! Wow, what a difference that makes. I won’t go so far as to say that I was zipping, but I dropped about 15-20 seconds per mile on this route versus when I hit it last week, so I’m really quite pleased. I did bomb out a bit on the last mile but even then, a good overall average.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2921894

Start time: 6/20/09, 7:00am
Location: SW Waterfront, Capitol Hill, National Mall
Distance: ~10 miles
Average pace: 9:59min/mile
Total Miles For June: 47 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 359 miles

This Saturday, I went running with a new group. As I’d mentioned last Saturday, we’d run into some of the folks we used to run with, and this week we sort of merged groups. I say sort of because Aaron and Dave are still building up their distance, so they went running with Ben for just 7 miles. Meanwhile, I headed out with Stephen, John, and two new guys I hadn’t met before, Jim and Michael. It was a nice group, they’re all chatty but in a good way. The one downside was that once again, after a few miles I started feeling sick to my stomach. *sigh* Maybe I’m not hydrating well enough? Or need to take something like pepto before a run?

I did finish out the full 10, though, although Stephen and I started lagging behind a bit the later the run went. The humidity certainly wasn’t helping matters, it was just dreadful out this morning. I certainly welcomed that the guys took a short walk break at each mile; with a day like today, I definitely needed it and then some. Disgusting out, pure and simple. As it was, literally seconds before Stephen and I finished running, a drop of rain hit me. About a minute after we were done, it had started to pour. So at least we dodged that bullet!

Start time: 6/18/09, 6:20pm
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:48min/mile
Total Miles For June: 37 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 349 miles

I forgot to write down what my actual pace was for this run, and the information’s at home; I’ll edit it in later. It was a humid, humid, humid run; it’s been raining almost every day for about two weeks now, and the air just gets thicker by the day. It was a tough run but I’m glad I pushed through it. I had tickets for King Lear at 8pm, so I had to really hustle to get this run in. (It was raining in the morning, and my community center’s gym was closed yesterday and today because of an antique show there this weekend.) I actually saw an old doctor of mine towards the end, but he didn’t recognize me. I think that’s a good thing because I looked rather putrid.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2921894

Start time: 6/16/09, 7:30am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:50min/mile
Total Miles For June: 33 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 345 miles

Ok, I saw not one but two different people reading off of a Kindle while in my first mile this morning. At least one person was sitting at a bus stop; the other was walking while reading. I sense disaster. (Not to be confused with having a slightly queasy feeling in my stomach for a while. What is up with this anyway? I don’t remember being this sensitive to humidity in the past.)

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2921894

Start time: 6/13/09, 8:00am
Location: SW Waterfront, National Mall
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 9:25min/mile
Total Miles For June: 29 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 341 miles

Went running with Aaron and Dave, and that was the non-bleah part of today’s run; it’s been a year and a half since I’ve done so. We also ran into Stephanie, JP, and Ben who were just finishing up their own run and next week we might well join them. I was originally going to run two extra miles, but I just felt sick to my stomach the entire time. I made sure to eat a full hour beforehand, but no such luck. The last time I ate oatmeal and then ran in the same morning had the same reaction, though. Is it time to find a different pre-run breakfast? Maybe some toast with peanut butter? Oh well. Aaron wanted two little walk breaks in the run; it felt a little odd doing so after having thrown them out a few years ago…

Start time: 6/11/09, 7:30am
Location: Arlington Boulevard Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:42min/mile
Total Miles For June: 24 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 336 miles

I didn’t think I’d get an outdoor run for Thursday; it’s been a storm-filled week and originally there were supposed to be big raging thunderstorms all morning. When I woke up and it wasn’t raining, though… well, it sure beats running around and around in a circle on the indoor track. Although I am fairly convinced that the Gmap Pedometer is wrong on this route because the second half was… awfully fast. Then again, it’s dead-on accurate for the first half. (This was two out-and-back routes of a mile each.) Oh well, close enough.

Start time: 6/8/09, 8:30pm
Location: Clarendon & Ballston
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 9:10min/mile
Total Miles For June: 20 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 332 miles

I wasn’t planning on running today—I was going to hit it in the morning—but Charlie wanted to go this evening and suggested coming over and we could run together. Sounded good to me! (Plus tomorrow morning is the Virginia primaries for both Governor and my local rep in the VA legislature.) Charlie was a little stiff from playing in a tennis doubles tournament all weekend (he came in third!) but you’d never know it. Nice run through the neighborhood.

Start time: 6/6/09, 8:45am
Location: North Arlington, W&OD Trail
Distance: 8 miles
Average pace: 9:07min/mile
Total Miles For June: 16 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 328 miles

Today’s run felt a little heavy in the air, and with the dark clouds it kept looking like it was about to rain. Never did, though, which was a relief. Added bonus: ran into Susan Keenan walking her dog on my way back, whom I trained with back in 2005. Yay! I stuck with an old standby route; down 10th Street and then Wilson Boulevard all the way to George Mason Drive, then along the Bluemont Trail until it hits the W&OD, and up the W&OD to marker 4.5 before turning around and heading home.

(No splits, the GPS glitched on the way out.)