Start time: 9/23/07, 8:00am
Location: National Mall
Distance: 8 miles
Average pace: ???

For today’s run, Fred told everyone that watches and GPS units were a strict no-no; the idea was to listen to your body instead of depending on your watch and to pick your pace accordingly. It was a really nice run; Erika, Laura, Paul, a new woman (Diane?), and I headed out for an easy 8-miler around the Mall. Erika soon took off (being much faster than us) and Diane decided to head off with her. Around the same time we also picked up an extra runner (Audrey) and the four of us stuck together up until around mile 5; Paul dropped back then, and while Audrey went ahead a bit, I soon ended up with her and Laura just a stone’s throw behind us. (It was surprisingly hot today for the end of September. Bleah.)

If I had to guess how fast we were going I’d hazard somewhere around an 8:45min/mile pace. It felt good, and that was the important thing.

Start time: 9/16/07, 7:00am
Location: National Mall, Hains Point, and Rock Creek Park
Distance: 21 miles
Average pace: 10:00min/mile

This Sunday was my second-to-last long run of the season before the Outer Banks Marathon. Since my last one stopped short, I was pretty determined to get all 21 miles in. We had a radically different course planned for us; lots of East Potomac Park/Hains Point, more portions of the National Mall, and a jaunt up and back through Rock Creek Park.

Since I’m not running Marine Corps this year, it was great to head through Hains Point again; it was as beautiful and peaceful as I remembered it. The Mall was likewise as good as always, and it was fun to head back along Jefferson instead of Madison for a change and see the other museums. Then it was into Rock Creek Park, heading much further into it than I’d ever done in the past. It was here that our group finally splintered; Erika took off, and for a bit I had Dave & Paul running a bit in front of me and Laura a bit behind me. Before long I caught the guys, though, and soon after Laura got back up to us as well (at which point Dave took off).

As we continued along uphill, Paul began to drop back just a tiny bit, but even then it was never a great distance. It was right around the point that we turned around, though, that I started having the return of my problem from the previous long run; some internal distress and a need for a bathroom… of which, of course, there are none along Rock Creek Park. (I briefly considered nipping into the Zoo and in retrospect that might have been a smart plan, but oh well.) As Laura took off, Paul and I headed back as best we could. First I let him zoom off because I was having bad cramps, then after about five minutes of walking I started running again and eventually managed to pass him on the way back in. (By that point Paul had decided to walk for a bit.)

The one funny thing about my pace is that when we hit the 18 mile point I did look at my watch and got our split time for that point: 2:52:30, which is a 9:35min/mile average. If you look at my overall average pace, it says a lot about how horrible I was feeling those last three miles. (Actual finishing time for all 21 miles was 3:30, which means a crawlingly slow 12:30min/mile pace for those final three.) At least if I have this sort of problem on marathon day, there are regular bathroom stops along the course. Once that’s taken care of, life is much better.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/dc/georgetown-/-washington-dc/200021419

Start time: 9/13/07, 8:00pm
Location: Arlington Boulevard Trail
Distance: 3 miles
Average pace: 9:12min/mile

So, after Sunday’s run I just didn’t feel like running for a couple of days. Lifted weights and used the rowing machine on Monday, did the elliptical on Tuesday, nothing on Wednesday… but I just needed a break. But, break’s over, so last night I went for a gentle 3-mile run in the pleasant evening air. Nothing big, just a little “don’t forget you’re doing 21 of these on Sundays” sort of thing.

Start time: 9/9/07, 8:00am
Location: National Mall & Capital Crescent Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Average pace: 8:47min/mile

Another 10-miler this morning, but one in which I learned something very important—I need someone in a race that I can pace off, get discouraged by, and ultimately beat. Because if I have all three things, I’m golden. Laura and I ended up losing Dave and Paul around mile 4.5 today; they were about 10 seconds ahead of us, hit a light that we missed, and were gone. But as Laura and I pushed on (and I was still feeling a little beat from this week’s exhaustion, although a lot of rest on Saturday helped a great deal), we were still doing good. I’d told Laura that if she wanted to talk off at any point she was free to do so, and around mile 8.5 she began to pull ahead. Then, as we got closer to the second turn-around (at mile 9), Dave came through—and then we saw Paul hit the turn-around, not that far ahead of us.

Really, all it ultimately took was for Laura to pass Paul for me to end up picking up the pace. I didn’t catch Laura by the finish (she was about 10 seconds of me) but that combination of having a target to focus on and also knowing the end was in sight? Perfect.

Fingers crossed that next Sunday’s long run goes well. After the last one’s disaster (courtesy stomach problems), I need a strong long run.

On a random note, my right foot is a little sore. Hmph.

Start time: 8/30/07, 6:45pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Average pace: 8:56min/mile

The original plan was that I would split this run up like I did two weeks ago; 5 miles in the morning, then 5 more after work. Unfortunately, stomach problems kept me up until around 4am on Tuesday night, meaning I was so tired on Wednesday that I skipped my spinning class and went to bed early… and then couldn’t fall asleep for less problematic reasons, but still resulting in not much rest. I ended up scratching the morning portion of the run, and decided that I’d just do 5 or 6 after work and call it a day. Well… except… I figured, why not try and pick up the full 10 miles in the evening?

As it turned out, it worked pretty well. I decided to not make it a Tempo run, instead just shooting for a regular 9min/mile pace. Based on the splits, I’d say I had some really good consistency! (9:02, 8:53, 8:43, 9:02, 9:03, 8:55, 8:49, 9:01, 8:54, 9:00.) A nice evening to go running, and it was fun to make the turnaround marker 8.0 on the W&OD; I haven’t seen the stretch between 5.5 and 8.0 for a long time, and it was like being reunited with an old friend.