Monthly Archives: June 2010

Less Humidity!

Start time: 6/30/10, 6:40pm
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 8:38min/mile
Total Miles For June: 48 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 328 miles

I really wanted to go running this morning, when it was ridiculously cool outside. I got to bed too late though, and this morning just couldn’t get up. Still, the weather after work was a thousand times better than anything we’ve had the past few weeks. Went for a five-miler though, and despite being a huge sweatball by the end (it was awfully sunny even though it wasn’t thick air) I feel happy with my pace. This is back where I was in the spring. Yay!

(8:35, 8:45, 8:26, 8:43, 8:42)

Still Hot But Not As Bad

Start time: 6/26/10, 6:05am
Location: North Arlington, Mt Vernon Trail
Distance: 8 miles
Average pace: 10:14min/mile
Total Miles For June: 43 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 323 miles

Ran 8 with the group this morning — now dashing out the door so will update this later but if I didn’t write it down now I’d forget. 🙂

Too Damn Hot

Start time: 6/24/10, 7:15am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 9:34min/mile
Total Miles For June: 35 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 315 miles

Aaaaaiiiieeee it’s so damn hot.

Ok, hot and humid and bad air quality. (I believe it’s another Code Orange day here.) After pushing through the first half, I took it easier on myself for the second half and walked a bit. No regrets whatsoever. It’s wretched out.

(8:54, 8:57, 9:43, 10:43)

Slow ‘n steady

Start time: 6/19/10, 6:00am
Location: National Mall
Distance: 6 miles
Average pace: 10:48min/mile
Total Miles For June: 31 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 311 miles

Was it the humidity? The earlier start time? Several members of the group not feeling well? Whatever the reason(s), we were definitely a little off our normal pace today. Can’t say I really minded, though.

Back to normal?

Start time: 6/17/10, 7:30pm
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 8:45min/mile
Total Miles For June: 25 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 305 miles

Took a few days off due to a strange cramp/ache in one of my quads, coupled with trying several times to make it over to the pool and the rest of the world getting in my way. Finally got my run in today, though, after work. Humidity was low and I didn’t feel sick, or unusually tired, or anything. A nice relief.

I did, however, decide not to run the DC Tri on Sunday. I feel ill-prepared at best, and as the temperature is being forecast anywhere from 94-98, well… I’m just not going to enjoy it on any level. Part of me sad to decide not to do it, part of me is relieved. But I just felt disaster on the horizon and sometimes you need to know when to sidestep it. My friend Beth and her boyfriend Chris might be doing the mini-tri that I did last July, and if so I’ll sign up for that. Since my killer-course Olympic tri this year was a 3:36 finishing time, and last year’s not-very-well-trained mini-tri was a 1:16, well, I think I can still handle that one just fine. It’d be fun to try and beat last year’s time.

(8:42, 8:35, 8:54, 8:39, 8:52)

Ah, humidity

Start time: 6/13/10, 7:00am
Location: Cap Crescent Trail (Georgetown to Maryland state line and back)
Distance: 8 miles
Average pace: 9:52min/mile
Total Miles For June: 20 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 300 miles

Finally, a run in which I don’t feel 100% dead by the mile three point. And of course, on one of the most humid and hot days of the year so far. Fortunately there’s a lot of shade on the Cap Crescent, and I’m sure an extra walk break in mile 6 while two of the four members of our group took a bathroom detour might not have hurt matters. But still, I didn’t feel like I’d been run over by a truck at any point, and that was a huge relief. Things are finally starting to feel like they’re getting back to normal. And oh, the siren call of getting an Arnold Palmer afterwards (green tea and lemonade, please) made it all worth it.

(10:12, 9:34, 9:53, 10:16, 9:34, 11:06, 9:36, 8:41)

Still Sucked

Start time: 6/10/10, 7:30am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 9:14min/mile
Total Miles For June: 12 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 292 miles

Another crappy, tired run. Went to bed early last night to try and get some sleep. We’ll see. I know there’s no immediate fix but still, it’s hard to not wish there was immediate results. Also having serious doubts about the Washington DC Triathlon in 10 days. I’m starting to think it will be a really bad idea if this doesn’t right itself soon. As it is I haven’t swam since the Columbia Tri on May 23rd, and I’m trying to think if I’ve made it to one or two spin classes since then. I think just one. Not good.

Need to call Pacers today and find out wheremy new shoes are. It’s been 11 days now, that’s more than enough time…

Fireflies

Start time: 6/7/10, 8:00pm
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:56min/mile
Total Miles For June: 7 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 287 miles

Whole bunch of things.

  1. After Friday’s crappy run, I owe Cristina a huge thanks for making me feel not quite as bad about what was a bad, bad morning. It let me regroup a little bit later in the day and start moving forward again.
  2. I ended up taking the weekend off of exercise. I have been really tired for the past two weeks and I decided it was more important to just try and recharge as best I could, even if that meant having some shakier exercise in the next week or so. Trying to think long term here. I’d signed up for a practice tri on Saturday morning, and I’d really hoped on working on the swim, T1 transition, and then bike progression. As it turned out, they had some sort of problem with the pool so instead it was a duathlon (run-bike-run) instead of a triathlon (swim-bike-run). It’s nice to feel sometimes like you made the right choice by skipping an event; I’d have been mad if I’d talked myself into going only to have what I really wanted unavailable.
  3. Signed up for a July and August lap swimming class, today, which will get me through the months where the children have taken over Spring Hill Rec Center’s pool during the afternoon.
  4. Went running tonight and it was… ok. A lot of huffing and puffing, but nothing bad like last Friday. My pace is still off where it was a few weeks ago, but I’ve also been running much less. Slowly getting back there I guess. Glad to have gone out and done it and I’m not displeased. I’m glad it was cool out though because I was still overheating by the end.
  5. I hope my new running shoes arrive at Pacers soon because these ones have had it. Ouch.
  6. There were fireflies coming out as I was finishing my run, and that made me more happy than you can possibly imagine.

(8:52, 8:45, 8:56, 9:09)

Uh oh

Start time: 6/4/10, 7:00am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 3 miles
Average pace: 9:17min/mile
Total Miles For June: 3 miles
Total Miles For 2010: 283 miles

Started running this morning and within under a mile started feeling light-headed. Ended up turning around much earlier than normal, and even then had to take a short walk break around the 2.5 mile point. Not good.

(9:00, 9:10, 9:41)