Start time: 4/19/03, 9:45am
Location: W&OD Trail
Activity: Running
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 3:2

It ended up being just Julie and myself (everyone else was injured, alas) but we had a nice run through some brisk weather. The sun never came out, but the breeze sure felt good by the end. That long-sleeve shirt was perhaps not the smartest of things to do! We didn’t move that fast, but it was good to just move again.

Start time: 4/16/03, 6:15pm
Location: Local neighborhood
Activity: Running
Distance: 2.5 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 3:2
Average pace: 14:30min/mile

“Holy crap!” That’s all that was going through my head by the time I finished today’s little run. It’s been, um, a while since I’ve pounded the pavement. I have no real good excuses for the vast majority of my avoidance of doing so. So this was gonna hurt, that much was certain.

Let’s just put it this way. I don’t remember being this wiped out from a mid-week run in a looooong time. Ugh. Looking down at the gut, I can see why. Time to stop being such a lardass. Ah well, better get the pain in now instead of Saturday, which would be far worse if I didn’t start moving today!

Start time: 3/22/03, 9:30am
Location: W&OD Trail
Activity: Running
Distance: 5 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 3:2
Average pace: 14:30min/mile (sorta)

I met up with the girls (Julie, Kimberly, Lisa, Martha) this morning for a 5-mile spin, which worked out pretty well for some, not so well for others. Lisa’s foot kept cramping up, and Martha might be coming down with a cold—I felt really bad for them! We ended up walking a lot of mile 4 to see if that would help, but finally they told us to go on ahead and they were going to just walk the rest in, so Kimberly and Julie and I cruised through the last mile at a nice clip. There was a guy out by a bloodbank who whenever we ran by would encourage people to donate blood. “It’s just a pint!” he’d cry out. I’m still peeved at the American Red Cross’s blood donation policies (I’m not allowed to unless I lie) but I liked him a great deal. If it wasn’t for the fact that by the time I’d have gotten home and showered they would be closed, I might have gone back over and donated. Ah well.

Start time: 3/8/03, 10:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Activity: Running
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 3:2
Average pace: 14:30min/mile

We had an AIDS Marathon Reunion Run this morning—a chance for everyone to get back together. Almost no one from my pace group showed up, unfortunately; Madelyn wasn’t feeling well, Debbie had anniversary plans, and the others were simply MIA. Fortunately, Martha, Kimberly, and Lisa were there and we ran with them (and a few others) and afterwards went out for breakfast. It was a great run, between warm weather and a generally good pace. Even better, it turns out that Martha and Kimberly are signed up for the Rock ‘n Roll 1/2 Marathon (hurrah!) and Lisa’s contemplating it (hurrah!), so we’re going to train together.

Oh, and it turns out there’s a 10K downtown next week that we will probably all do. Should be fun!

Start time: 3/2/03, 7:30pm
Location: Treadmill
Activity: Running
Distance: 1.5 miles?
Run:Walk ratio: 3:2
Average pace: 14:30min/mile

Well, February was a disaster. Snow, snow, more snow, and still more snow helped a laziness that extended through an entire month. Yeesh. So today I promised myself that I’d start up again. By the time I’d gotten everything done that I needed to during the day, though, it was already getting cooler, so I figured I’d use my parents’s treadmill.

Ugh.

I hate the treadmill under the best of circumstances, but this was an absolute nightmare. A mile into the run (I’d planned on doing three), my lower back started hurting. And hurting. And hurting. Half a mile of that was all I could take; it wasn’t going away and all enjoyment had gone out of the proverbial window. I’m not proud of calling it quits, but I think it was the right thing to do.

It’s going to be an uphill battle to get back to where I was, though, that’s for certain.

Start time: 2/1/03, 9:30am

Location: W&OD Trail

Activity: Running

Distance: 6 miles

Run:Walk ratio: 3:2

Average pace: 15min/mile

This was easily the best weather I’ve had running since the marathon, and it was cold and foggy, but at least it’s above freezing. It looked like a friend of Silas’s (who also did the AIDS Marathon program last year) was going to join us, but we waited and waited and waited and there was no sign, so we finally decided she must have bagged on us.

Another sluggish running day, all in all. It was tough to get moving (and two miles in I suddenly remembered I didn’t eat breakfast, oops) but I’m really happy we got out there. Once it warms up a bit more we’ll start worrying about speed, right now it’s just about momentum and distance.

Start time: 1/30/03, 9:15pm

Location: My parents’s treadmill

Activity: Running

Distance: 3 miles

Run:Walk ratio: 3:2

Average pace: 14:30min/mile

I pulled a muscle or something in my left leg on Sunday—it’s been very sore for a couple of days. Yesterday was the first “back to normal” day, so I figured I’d give it a quick spin on the treadmill to see if things were back to normal. They seem to be, but I really hate running on my parents’s treadmill. I’m fairly convinced the milage counter is slow, based on how fast I feel I’m running and how much distance it normally is. Oh well, at least I got to watch “CSI” while gasping, and my parents’s dog (who I’m watching while they’re in Phoenix) seemed bemused by the whole experience.

Start time: 1/25/03, 9:30am

Location: W&OD Trail

Activity: Running

Distance: 5 miles

Run:Walk ratio: 3:2

Average pace: 15min/mile

Brrrrr. Today was awfully cold, but after skipping last week Julie and I dragged ourselves to the East Falls Church metro station for a 5-mile jaunt. One nice surprise was to discover the AIDS Marathon winter program was there today doing their final long run (26 miles) in preparation for the Mardi Gras Marathon down in New Orleans next month. We cheered on the various pace groups as we went by them in the opposite direction, which was fun.

The run itself started off really slowly; our pace last year was a 14:30/mile, but being sloth-like for two months had whittled that down. Both Julie and I always have a sluggish first two miles, but it felt much longer this time, almost until the 2.5 mile turn-around. Heading back, though, we found ourself subconsciously picking up the pace; by mile 4 we were right on pace, and we did the final mile in a 14-minute pace. This was reassuring, since one of our goals is by spring to shave off a full minute-per-mile off our pace while still having endurance for longer runs.

The only really bad thing was that the water fountains along the W&OD trail had all frozen; fortunately, since AIDS Marathon was out and about, we could bum some water off of them when we finished. Next week if it’s this cold I’ll have to remember to bring some extra water with me to the trail!