Category Archives:

Sir Sweat-a-Lot

0, 04mi, tempo

Start time: 7/6/07, 7:30am
Location: Clarendon
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:40min/mile

Went for a quick run this morning; not the full prescribed distance, but a lack of proper hydration coupled with early morning temperatures meant that it was a tad uncomfortable; according to the scale approximately 1.5 pounds of water were sweated out this morning. Oof. (Also, a sudden surprise while running: the Arlington Boulevard Trail doesn’t go past Glebe. Oops. I quickly changed direction and veered north on Glebe and continued there in a big loop, rather than my planned out-and-back route. Oh well.)

Round and Round and Round

0, 04mi, lactate threshold run

Start time: 7/3/07, 6:00pm
Location: McLean High School
Distance: ~4.25 miles
Average pace: 10:00min/mile & 7:00min/mile

Ah, a return to the LTRs! I ran these with Laura and Julie and it was a lot of fun; it’d been a while since I’d been able to do so, and we had a real blast. We hit all the splits at just the right time, and afterwards had a nice good cool down and stretch that made me feel really good about the entire experience. Great, great way to spend an hour or so after work.

Old Familiar Territory

0, 06mi, tempo

Start time: 7/1/07, 8:00am
Location: National Mall
Distance: 6 miles
Average pace: 8:34min/mile

It’s been ages since I ran across the National Mall to the National Gallery and then back up to Georgetown, so that was a nice surprise this Sunday. We were supposed to run a tempo run for this 6-miler, so an 8:30pace was my approximate time I was shooting for. The group in front of us shot out of the gate really fast, and Zack and I made the mistake of trying to get around them. Oof. We hit our first mile way too fast and spent the rest of the run paying for it. The other four caught up to us around mile 2, and we were just a couple feet behind them until mile 4, at which point they made it across the light at 17th Street and Zack and I narrowly missed it. A solid minute later and then some… yeah, there’s no catching them at that point.

But a very, very nice run even though we were both more than a little wiped out at the end… but in a good way. I think.

Back on (the) Track

0, 04mi

Start time: 6/29/07, 8:00am
Location: Thomas Jefferson Community Center
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:50min/mile

Well, I ended up taking several days off—lots of stretching, though, and just taking it easy. My knee was actually feeling better on Wednesday, but I decided not to chance it and took it and Thursday off as well. (I actually got up Thursday morning, decided the weather was putrid, and climbed back into bed.) Today was supposed to just be a 4-mile “EZ” run, so I headed over to the gym a little later than normal and knocked it out on the indoor track, since it was supposed to rain this morning. The run went great (a tiny bit fast actually); only problem I really had was starting half an hour late meant a new wave of senior citizens arrived before I’d finished up, and using the equipment afterwards was no longer an option. Oh well!

Finally With the Group

0, 12mi, knee

Start time: 6/24/07, 8:00am
Location: C&O Canal Towpath & Cap Crescent Trail
Distance: 12 miles
Average pace: 9:10min/mile

Finally! I got to actually run one of the weekend runs with my new group; between travel and the achilles mechanism strain, it was a while coming. Fortunately it went really well; we took the first couple miles at a 9:30 pace, and then shifted up to our 9:00min/mile pace for the rest of the run. The six of us stuck together on the way out; on the way back, Dave and Cassie zoomed off ahead, Aaron and I took the middle ground, Laura was right behind the two of us, and Paul decided to take some walk breaks and wasn’t that far behind the rest of us. No problems during the run at all, which was nice.

Frustratingly, my left knee has been sore on Monday and now today as well. I’m trying to stretch it out and hopefully that’s all it needs. But bother, bother, bother. We’ll see if I’m up for some LTRs tonight or not.

Tempohell and VO2 Splat

0, 03mi, 04mi, tempo, vo2 max

Start time: 6/21/07, 7:30am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:31min/mile

Thursday’s tempo run (an 8:30min/mile pace) started out well enough; a bit fast, even, with the first three miles being 8:09, 8:28, and 8:33. Then somewhere around mile 4 I started slowing down bigtime, finally hitting the marker at (oof) 8:51. It was at that point I ended up declaring it quits. I was just tired and worn out; frustratingly because last week’s 5-mile tempo run had gone so well. I ended up walking about a quarter mile back, then jogged the rest in at a 10min/mile pace. Ah well, some runs are good, some… not so much.

Start time: 6/22/07, 7:45am
Location: Washington & Lee High School
Distance: 3 miles
Average pace: 10:00min/mile & 6:00min/mile

Today’s schedule was a VO2 Max run. Now, I’d only ever done one of these before, six weeks ago before the injury. So I knew eight reps was going to be right out. I’d figured if I could do six, though, I’d be delighted. Actual total? Three. It was through the third that I suddenly realized what I’d done horribly wrong, though. I hadn’t taken my allergy medicine (or my multivitamin but that’s not as much of an issue). Which would explain my breathing difficulties. Argh. Oh well, under the circumstances, getting three reps (exactly one mile at that speed) was a victory. Next time I’ll plan this out a little better.

After two great runs in Wilmington, though, two crappy runs? Pretty discouraging. I hope this does not bode badly for Sunday.

Running in the Carolinas

0, 04mi, 10mi, travel

Start time: 6/17/07, 8:45am
Location: Greenfield Lake, Wilmington, North Carolina
Distance: 10 miles
Average pace: 8:58min/mile

10-Miler ViewI was vistiing friends in Wilmington, North Carolina this past weekend, so I tackled my two scheduled runs at a nearby park that had a 4.25-mile trail running around a lake. Well, a lake full of alligators, apparently. That’s an incentive to not stop, huh? The run went well, though. I did have to stop twice, though. It started to rain on me halfway around the first loop, so when I completed the loop I stopped at the car and put my glasses inside because there’s nothing worse than water hanging on the lenses. I also took a quick bathroom break at mile 8, because when you’re by yourself and there’s no one to disract you, it’s two ugly miles othewrise. But a good run, and right on pace. Yay!

Start time: 6/18/07, 8:00am
Location: Greenfield Lake, Wilmington, North Carolina
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:52min/mile

A pretty unremarkable “EZ” run for Monday. I had no idea if I was actually on pace at first, but thankfully that was the case. It’s hard to tell the day after a long run what’s really going on!

Tempolicious

0, 05mi, tempo

Start time: 6/14/07, 7:30pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 8:28min/mile

I was a tiny bit worried about this tempo run–would I be able to hit my 8:30s ok? It had been a while, after all. Thankfully… no problems whatsoever. Yay! I’m starting to get the hang of this crazy running thing.

That’s More Like It

0, 04mi, lactate threshold run

Start time: 6/12/07, 7:30pm
Location: Thomas Jefferson Community Center
Distance: ~4.25 miles
Average pace: 10:00min/mile & 7:00min/mile

Ok, back to the LTRs. Last week I was supposed to do 8 bursts of 2 minutes at the faster pace; I’d managed four and a half before I gave up. Today was supposed to be 8 again, and I figured if I got 6-7 then I would declare it a victory. There was a huge storm threatening to hit, so I headed to TJ once more to use their 1/8th mile track. I did a warm-up 10min/mile, then went to town. After 6 LTRs, it suddenly hit me that I’d actually be able to do all 8 of them. It’s such a nice feeling to not feel like you’re never going to get back up to speed.

So yeah, a very good time, and on pace for all of them. There was one other guy on the track that was being a bit of a jerk (when I was running my warm-up mile, he shot around and in front of me so close I almost tripped on his heels), but he couldn’t rain on my parade. A very nice time.

That said, after three days of running in a row, it’s nice that Wednesday only had weights and a spinning class planned. Bliss.

Good start to the day

0, 04mi, gym

Start time: 6/11/07, 7:30am
Location: Thomas Jefferson Community Center
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:53min/mile

I got up this morning and headed over to the gym for a combination run/weights day. The run went well; I actually ended up with the exact same finishing time (35:35) as I did the last time I used the track here on Friday. (8:46, 8:55, 9:00, 8:53) I quickly changed and then used the weights for a bit before heading home to get ready for work. I’m quite enjoying the one-two punch of a 4-miler and then weights, I must say.