18 and Done

0, 18mi

Start time: 8/5/07, 6:30am
Location: National Mall & Cap Crescent Trail
Distance: 18 miles
Average pace: 9:22min/mile

Phew! Today was a hot day; not quite as bad as yesterday was (where it went over 100, I believe) but still very hot. We caught a break by it not being putrid out, though, and that was a good thing indeed. We headed out and did the first seven miles down near the National Mall; because of the distance and the heat we were supposed to slow down to somewhere around a 9:30. We had a little trouble gaging our speed at first, but felt good. (9:19, 8:52, 9:04, 9:16, 9:29, 8:43, 9:00) Well, aside from some stomach issues I was having, but a trip to the world’s most repulsive portajohn helped a great deal.

From there it was onto the Cap Crescent Trail; Laura dropped back a bit because of stomach cramps, but the remaining four of us pushed on together until 11 miles into the course. (10:00, 9:33, 9:13, 9:37) It was at that point that Dvora and Paul decided to turn around early (Dvora only had a 14 scheduled, Paul wasn’t feeling well) and a couple of seconds later, Dave zoomed off into the distance. At which point it was just me, with seven miles to go. Oh well, good practice for the marathon, right?

At first, I was feeling a little sluggish and tired, and my stomach briefly decided to give me some problems. It was two miles to the turn-around, and a full mile back I was still feeling less than stellar. (9:34, 9:40, 9:53) Then, finally, my second wind kicked in and from there it was smooth sailing all the way back, a great way to end a run feeling energized and strong. (9:35, 9:10, 9:26, 9:14)

Return to the Max

0, 04mi, vo2 max

Start time: 8/3/07, 7:30am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: ~4.5 miles
Average pace: 9:30min/mile & ~6:20min/mile

Well, I finally hit the VO2 Max runs again. The plan was to run them with Laura at Madison High School (I had checked on my parents’s house the night before, done some weeding, and then spent the night; Madison is just around the corner) but instead we had to scrub that plan because the track is being rebuilt. Oops! So, off to the W&OD Trail, where we did 8 reps of the VO2 Max runs. Not the full prescribed 10, but considering the most I’d done before was 4, that’s a big victory for me. Just guessing on times here. All I knew for certain is we worked.

Two Updates for the Price of One

0, 04mi, 08mi, lactate threshold run, tempo

Start time: 7/31/07, 7:30am
Location: Thomas Jefferson Community Center
Distance: ~4.75 miles
Average pace: 9:20min/mile & 7:00min/mile

Nothing to really report about the LTRs; the 10 reps went great, the “cool down” lap was above pace again, and about the only thing new was for a chance I did my LTRs on the indoor track on a “counter-clockwise” day. (I seem to always hit “clockwise” day.)

Start time: 8/1/07, 7:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 8 miles
Average pace: 8:55min/mile

Well, there was nothing “tempo” about the run at all based on that pace, but after spending 40 minutes of yawning and trying to talk myself out of running at all (tired tired tired), I got the distance under my belt for what turned out to be a very, very long Wednesday indeed. Oof.

Melting in the City

0, 07mi, tempo

Start time: 7/29/07, 8:00am
Location: National Mall
Distance: 7 miles
Average pace: 8:45min/mile

Well, the good news about Sunday’s run is that despite some pretty warm temperatures we stayed slightly above pace for our tempo run. The bad news is that it was supposed to be 8 miles. Erica and Cassie zoomed off (per usual) and did all eight. But of the rest of us…

Aaron: Stopped after two miles, turned around and walked back
Dave: Walked one mile and skipped one in the middle while we headed out and back.
Paul & Devora & Me: Toughed it through seven miles and called it quits.
Laura: Toughed it through seven miles a tiny bit behind us, then after walking for about two minutes or so decided she was good and ran the rest of the eighth mile.

A tough day! It was hot, it was super humid (the bigger problem), and we all decided we had nothing to prove.

Upstairs, Downstairs

0, 08mi, tempo

Start time: 7/26/07, 7:15am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 8 miles
Average pace: 8:51min/mile

Uphill: 9:09, 8:53
Downhill: 8:38, 8:41
Uphill: 8:57
Downhill: 8:49, 8:51
Uphill: 8:52

Dear W&OD Trail,
Is it really too much to ask for a nice flat 2-to-4 mile stretch of trail near my home? If it could also not cross any major roads that would be an added bonus. Thanks a zillion.
Love,
Greg

P.S. As a tempo run, a bit of a wash, unfortunately.

New LTR Distance

0, 04mi, lactate threshold run

Start time: 7/24/07, 5:30pm
Location: McLean High School
Distance: ~4.75 miles
Average pace: 9:20min/mile & 7:00min/mile

Tuesday’s LTRs extended the number up from 8 reps to 10. I was of the, “We’ll see how this goes” mindset, but happily reps 9 and 10 were right on pace at the 7min/mile time. Hurrah! The funniest part, though, is that at the start and end is a mile warmup/cooldown at a nice slow pace. Lately when I’ve been doing them with Laura, we end up somewhere around a 9:40min/mile pace for those. (Which is exciting when I think that last year my regular pace was a 9:30.) So I’ve finished up all ten LTRs, I’ve started my cooldown, I feel like I’m going slow, but the quarter mile loops on the track seem a bit fast according to my watch. Sure enough? 8:55. Heh. Proof that those LTRs really do work!

Ka-boom Ka-boom

0, 16mi

Start time: 7/22/07, 7:00am
Location: National Mall & Cap Crescent Trail
Distance: 16 miles
Average pace: 8:59min/mile

That was pretty nice; a pretty strong 16-miler with Dave, Laura, and Paul. We all stuck together through the first 8 miles, and then Laura began to slow down a bit. (Considering she’d been in a car accident on Friday and I don’t think she should’ve even been running (although I understand why she did), she was doing a rockstar performance.) The three of us stuck together all the way up until right before hitting the end of mile 12, at which point I slowed down a tiny bit to eat a gel and the guys zoomed off. I caught them at mile 14 (having been trailing them by about 20 seconds all the while), but Paul was feeling great and he and Dave zoomed off at that point at an 8min mile pace. Conversely, I was feeling a little crampy in my left quad, so I took a 40-second walk break at the start of both mile 15 and 16, which did wonders for feeling better. A strong, strong run for the most part.

(8:57, 8:03 (oops), 8:53, 8:43, 9:03, 8:20 (oops x2), 8:52, 9:10, 8:55, 9:04, 9:10, 9:13, 9:01, 8:59, 9:43, 9:41.)

Starting Over

0, 03mi, vo2 max

Start time: 7/20/07, 6:00pm
Location: McLean High School
Distance: 3.25 miles
Average pace: 9:30min/mile & 6:15min/mile

I seem to be doing just dandy at only attempting every other VO2 Max run. Problem is, I’ve been feeling like I’ve been starting over each time. At least this time I got all four reps initial in, and only the fourth was slipping off of the prescribed 6min/mile pace. But, four is better than none, right? I’d have liked to get the prescribed distance in (eight!) but next time I will push up to six and we’ll just go from there. Or at least, that’s the idea. I don’t mind starting over on the VO2 Max runs if I actually stay on track from now on.

Highs and Lows

0, 04mi, 05mi, lactate threshold run, tempo

Start time: 7/17/07, 6:15pm
Location: McLean High School
Distance: ~4.25 miles
Average pace: 9:40min/mile & 7:00min/mile

It was sickeningly hot on Tuesday, yet somehow Laura and I had a really good set of LTRs. We kicked some serious butt, and I was delighted with how on-the-dot we were. This was a good prelude, then, to…

Start time: 7/19/07, 7:30am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 8:39min/mile

…my crappy tempo run, which doesn’t look bad until you realize it was supposed to actually be a 7-miler. I just felt run down and a tiny bit sick as it progressed, until I finally just decided that enough was enough. I’d been smart enough to weigh myself right before leaving. Upon returning? 2.5 pounds of water sweated out. Ouch. Too hot, and bad hydration equals a crappy run. I must try and keep that in mind. (How long have I been doing this?)