Start time: 11/21/09, 7:20am
Location: Arlington + DC
Distance: 9 miles (0.71 + 6.99 + 1.30)
Average pace: 9:43min/mile
Total Miles For November: 57 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 763 miles

Today’s run was actually in three parts; just under three quarters of a mile jog over to Jim & Michael’s where the group was meeting, then seven miles with them (Arlington to Georgetown to Rock Creek to Reflecting Pool to Memorial Bridge to Iwo Jima to Arlington), then a mile and a bit more to round it up to an even nine miles. I hadn’t run with the large group in a while, and it was nice to see and chat with them. I know it’s a different pace when I run with them, but it’s nice to get out there in a social setting and hang for a while.

Start time: 11/17/09, 8:00am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:10min/mile
Total Miles For November: 48 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 754 miles

Just another whirl around the four-mile loop. I did come up with a new five-mile loop course that I’m tentatively going to start running next week and make that the new regular morning run. We shall see.

(8:16, 8:06, 8:15, 8:00)

Start time: 11/15/09, 8:15am
Location: 10th St, Wilson Boulevard, Bluemont Junction Trail, W&OD Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Average pace: 9:01min/mile
Total Miles For November: 44 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 750 miles

I don’t get this 70+ degree weather this time of year. I mean, it’s lovely and all, and I’m really excited about wearing my short sleeved shirt today. But it just feels… wrong. Also, it meant a rather sweaty and red-faced run this morning. I ended up inadvertently taking two walk breaks; one during mile 5 when I almost choked on the granola bar I’d brought with me on the run (never doing that again), and then during mile 8 when I almost fell over on a patch of wet leaves and walked for about 30 seconds to get out of the rest of them. So, not bad. Especially since it was better than the last two times I ran this route.

One nice surprise was running into Pam Riker who was doing some mile repeats on the trail, since we were meeting with other fellow AIDS Marathon staffers for brunch a few hours later. Clearly we had the same idea…

(8:32, 8:24, 9:02, 9:02, 9:24, 8:58, 9:23, 9:39, 8:44, 8:56)

Start time: 11/8/09, 11:00am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:23min/mile
Total Miles For November: 30 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 736 miles

After a week off, I finally went running again the Sunday after the marathon. It was an unseasonably warm day, which was lovely, if suddenly a slight shock to my body which kept saying, “Wait, what, I need to start cooling you down?” It felt good to get out and moving again, though.

(8:15, 8:14, 8:35, 8:30)

Start time: 10/29/09, 8:15am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:14min/mile
Total Miles For October: 89 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 706 miles

Boy, it sure is getting dark out in the morning. It’ll be nice to have the clocks change an hour on Sunday. Last pre-marathon run this morning and I ended up just doing the regular loop. Today, fueled by something I haven’t eaten in years: a pop-tart. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

(8:20, 8:04, 8:24, 8:08)

Start time: 10/24/09, 9:30am
Location: 10th St, Wilson Boulevard, Bluemont Junction Trail, W&OD Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Average pace: 9:28min/mile
Total Miles For October: 82 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 699 miles

20 seconds per mile slower on the exact same route. The difference? About 30 degrees hotter outside, plus a thick humidity that on and off turned into light showers of rain. Plus, allergies acting up horribly, to the point that on miles 4-6 and 10, I ended up taking a walk break because I was having problems breathing out of my nose. Really wretched run in terms of how I was feeling and then some. Yuck.

(8:27, 8:39, 9:19, 9:52, 9:49, 10:29, 9:22, 8:59, 9:24, 10:14)

Start time: 10/22/09, 5:45pm
Location: Arlington Boulevard, Iwo Jima Memorial
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:29min/mile
Total Miles For October: 72 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 689 miles

Another night of poor sleep equalled no running in the morning. On the way to work, though, I saw that a lot of the set-up for the finish line area of the Marine Corps Marathon is already put together. So after work, I ran a mile down the Arlington Boulevard trail, and then ran through the Iwo Jima Memorial area and down to Memorial Bridge so I could see the stuff. Doing so was fun and brought back a lot of memories of running MCM (four times, 2002-2005) and I was definitely speeding up. Doubly so because it meant that I spent two miles running straight downhill. And then I turned around… and kind of ran out of gas. Oops. Doubly so since I was then going straight uphill the whole way back. Ah well. It was still a nice run.

(8:14, 7:44, 8:43, 9:16)

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3276789