Category Archives: 10mi

And that’s that.

0, 10mi

Start time: 12/31/05, 8:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 5:1
Average pace: 10:45min/mile

Another Saturday morning run… the last one of the year. It was a bit rough; Mark took the lead and was hitting 10:30s and 10:15s for the first four miles, which was clearly killing some people in the group. I offered up several times, “Uh, Mark, you’re losing the group” and he would slow down briefly and then rev back up. Julie finally quit after four miles, and after mile five, Chanty and I moved to the front of the group and reset the pace. Chanty and John were both having problems with the faster pace, and even Craig did not look terribly happy. Once we were in the front (and credit where it’s due, Chanty was doing the best job of setting an 11min pace) it seemed to work better for everyone. Chanty and I stopped after ten miles, and the remaining three guys looked like death warmed over. Mark wanted to run 14 for his marathon training, but I’ve got nothing to prove so we waved goodbye and sent them on their way. If I hear about corpses on the side of the W&OD I’ll know what happened next.

This is the first year that I’ve tracked my milage for all 12 months instead of just the “marathon training” ones, so I don’t have complete data to compare against past years. Here, however, is a ranking of mileage for the year. (Some of the strange mileage is from running 1.25 mile loops, plus some 5K and 10K races thrown in for good measure.)

November: 25.3
March: 37.45
February: 38.5
January: 42.45
April: 52.2
July: 65.5
December: 66
May: 68.3
June: 76
September: 76
August: 88
October: 103.2
TOTAL: 732.9

That October figure is still blowing my mind; my previous high was October 2004 with 91.95. Crazy!

Aaaaand, that’s a wrap. Onto 2006!

Through ice and snow

0, 10mi

Start time: 12/10/05, 8:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 5:1
Average pace: 11:30min/mile

It snowed twice in the past week, and I was a little worried on how much snow would be on the trail. When we started out it looked like the trail had been plowed, and the only ice we had to worry about was where some snow had melted and then refroze in a new position. Then, a mile into the course, we discovered it wasn’t really the W&OD Trail that was plowed… it was the Custis Trail, which overlaps with the W&OD for that fragment of distance. Oops. So, a lot of running off of the trail where snow and ice was still clogging the asphalt, mostly between markers 4 and 2. Between the cold and the repeated slow-downs due to trying to avoid slipping and falling, I’m pretty happy with our pace under miserable conditions.

Recovery run? Oh yeah, that thing.

0, 10mi, aidsmarathon

Start time: 09/03/05, 7:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 5:1
Average pace: 11:00min/mile

My first “recovery run” of the season! Normally I’d have had quite a few by now but speed work has meant that instead I’ve been zipping around doing mile repeats those weekends. It felt pretty odd to have this finally happen again, one of only three I’ve got scheduled for the year.

We had a small group, enough to run without having to split up, and to be honest I was less than pleased. Some real problems in terms of direction and leadership, and I don’t think I was the only one who felt it. People kept vanishing without others noticing, there were minor arguements about style… it could have been a thoroughly unpleasant run but I just tried to ignore it and concentrated on chatting with Julie, Ali, Katie, and a few others around me.

It’s rare to have an entire group get along wonderfully like we did last year. This year reminds me much more of 2001, where there were little subsections of the pace group that got along fantastically, but we weren’t all chummy and one huge unit. It’s not a bad thing, so long as you recognize it and move forward with that knowledge. As I was told as a child, “You can’t be best friends with everyone.” Having just good acquaintances with the rest is fine by me.

The actual running part went well, though!

Need for Speed, part 4

0, 10mi, aidsmarathon, speedwork

Start time: 08/28/05, 7:00am
Location: American University
Distance: 10 miles
Average pace: 9:30min/mile

Vroom! Another Sunday of speedwork, and more enjoyment ensuing. It was another small group, but it went well; Mark, Tod, and I all knocked out 10 miles, and Julie smashed her scheduled 8 miles into the dust. This was definitely the first one where I was struggling a bit towards the end, but not in an “I can’t go on” sort of way, more of a, “This really sucks, I am running out of energy, must push forward” feeling.

It helped that I knew I was stopping at ten miles, so when things started to feel like they were shifting into reverse during that last mile, I just started counting the laps of the track. “Only three and a half more to go… only three more to go… only two and seven-eighths to go…” Ok, I didn’t really get that specific, it was really just whole laps that I counted. Although on the last lap, Mark was practically breaking it down that much. I think he was just as happy to end as I was.

This was followed by a fantastic lunch at Guapo’s in Tenleytown, and then I bought my new running shoes (finally!) that I’ll break in this week, hopefully Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon. I’ve definitely put that off long enough.

Music in my head this time: Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now, Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get You Out Of My Head, Faith No More – Easy, something else that I’ve thankfully blocked out already
Mile times: 9:34, 9:24, 9:30, 9:30, 9:28, 9:28, 9:25, 9:24, 9:32, 9:18

Double digits and all is well

10mi, aidsmarathon

Start time: 06/18/05, 7:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 5:1
Average pace: 11:00min/mile

What a beautiful, beautiful day for a 10-miler. Our half of the group did fantastic, keeping on pace almost perfectly. (The other half once more came back in pieces. Hmmm.) Today was also a big turning point for me, because when I ran the Cherry Blossom 10-miler back in April my average pace was 10:54min/mile. Essentially, 10 miles is the furthest I’ve gone at this pace. Next week takes me into new territory, and based on how I felt today… bring it on, bring it on! Fantastic.

Cherry Blossom 10-Miler

10mi, pr, race

Start time: 04/03/05, 8:00am
Location: Washington DC
Distance: 10 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 4:1
Finishing Time: 1:49:02
Average pace: 10:54min/mile

Considering that I haven’t run since March 22nd, I’m awfully thrilled with this result! But OH GOOD GOD WAS IT WINDY OUT!

I’m not kidding here, we’re talking the weatherman warning people about killer gusts of wind. With pointy teeth. Well, maybe not with pointy teeth but you get the idea. What I’d underestimated this morning was the effect of the wind blowing off the water, so while a jacket and t-shirt would have been fine if I’d been running on the W&OD Trail, waiting for the race to start in West Potomac Park was nothing short of nightmarish. *shiver* At least I’d had the good sense to put on running tights instead of shorts, unlike poor Chris, who made me colder just looking at him. It was ultimately cold enough in the waiting zone that I took my number off my shirt and pinned it to my leg because I wasn’t sure the jacket was ever coming unzipped. And of course, with Daylight Savings Time, that’s one hour less sleep. Ugh. I felt like a popsicle zombie.

Once we got moving, though, things were much better. There were just five of us from my group this year (a combination of sicknesses and personal tragedies kept the others away) and we stuck together for the first two miles before one of the runners dropped behind. By the time we cleared Memorial Bridge and were heading into Rock Creek Park, a combination of protection from the wind, a little bit of sun peeking out, and being moving even meant it was safe to unzip the jacket for a while. When the wind did show up, it seemed to almost push us forward on the course throughout Rock Creek Park. I like that.

Around mile 5 it was just me and Randy, and the two of us picked the pace up a little once we hit the turnaround point at mile 6.5; up until then our times were ranging throughout the mid-11s, but we pushed it up to 10-minute miles for the last few. With about half a mile to go, Randy took off and I remembered the times when I used to be able to do the same sort of thing. I think this is a clear sign that I’m now running more to the extent of my abilities; I just don’t have so much unused energy that I can blast through the last half-mile of a race. Last year’s finishing time for me was 2:13:53, so I was pretty happy to nail a new finishing time of 1:49:02, which comes out to a 10:54min/mile average.

Then came waiting for the rest of our group (cold! so cold!) and standing around for 20 minutes as the wind started picking back up—big time—may have been a mistake. By the time the last of our group showed up and we started walking back to the Metro, my legs were beginning to cramp up (which disconcertingly made my toes curl up, something I’d never have happen before but talking to others apparently is not that uncommon). Finally it was back home to a warm shower and then a soak in the tub… the latter of which I managed to fall asleep in. Whoops. Oh well, that’s one for the books. At least the water hadn’t gotten down to freezing temperatures before I woke up; the last thing I need is to catch pneumonia from falling asleep in the bath!

Oh, and for my records (and other people’s curiousity), my mile splits, in order from mile 1 to 10: 11:52, 11:17, 11:54, 11:14, 11:13, 11:24, 11:10, 9:56, 9:54, 9:04.

Another 10-miler

10mi

Start time: 03/19/05, 9:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 4:1
Average pace: 12:00min/mile

We had a huge group on Saturday—9 people—and we started out of the gate at a pretty good clip… Well, for about half of us, anyway. The group started dragging around mile 4, so we took miles 5-8 a bit slower and then dropped them off at home base before knocking out two more miles a little faster again. If there was ever any doubt that those in the group who continue marathon training this may will be in different groups, it was certainly dispelled here. Right now I’m seeing four or five of us in one group, and the rest in a group or two lower. No shame in being in a lower group, of course; it’s all just what you’re ready for.

Gearing up for race day

10mi

Start time: 03/05/05, 9:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 4:1
Average pace: 11:45min/mile

I’ve got two short races in the next month: the St. Patrick’s Day 10K on March 12th, and the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler on April 3rd. Both promise to be a lot of fun, but I can’t help but feel like if I’m going to get really good PRs for both events (and barring disaster, I really should!) I need to get out there again. I’ve been pretty slack in February about running during the week, and I felt it on Saturday. Randy and Katie and I ran six miles together around a 12:15min/mile pace, then Randy and I kicked out four more closer to a 10:30min/mile pace. It felt really nice to pick up some speed, but I was definitely huffing and puffing at the end. Clearly, slacker time is over! Time to get moving again…

Ice Ice Baby / Need for Speed

05mi, 10mi

Start time: 02/05/05, 8:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 4:1
Average pace: 12:01min/mile

Start time: 02/08/05, 5:50pm
Location: Local Neighborhood
Distance: 5 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 4:1
Average pace: 10:00min/mile

Two, two, two updates in one. On Saturday (after a week of sloth) I met my group for a run, but they were feeling even more slothful than I. Everyone bagged out after six miles, but I decided to hoof it a little further on my own. The group hadn’t been moving terribly fast thanks to the section of the trail we were on getting clogged with ice every half mile or so. I headed out in the other direction and it was much clearer; knocking out four 11-minute miles dropped the average pace down into something a bit more acceptable, though.

Last night I took full advantage of the fantastic weather we’re having in the DC area right now. Gorgeous running weather, and I whipped through the 5-miler even faster than I’d have imagined. In the end my finish time for the distance was 49:59. Ha! Just barely scraping the 10-minute mile point but I did, something that’s a real record for me. I think I’ve been holding myself back too much so it’s time to start playing with speed a little bit and seeing what I’m really capable of. When I finished I was breathing a little hard but I hadn’t for almost the entire distance, so that’s a good thing.

A really good 10-miler

10mi

Start time: 01/15/04, 9:00am

Location: W&OD Trail

Distance: 10 miles

Run:Walk ratio: 4:1

Average pace: 12:00min/mile

It was a small group this morning, just me, Chris, and Randy. (Or as I joked, “Guys’ Morning Out!”) The weather was cold, but I have to say that we did really well. We ran an eight-miler together, but since Chris had taken some time off for an injury that was a more than respectable distance for him. Randy and I ran an additional two; when we were done I felt like I could’ve done another three or four without batting an eye, and that was a real relief; it’s nice to see that my body hadn’t forgotten how to run slightly longer distances. It was also nice to know that we really weren’t pushing or trying terribly hard and even with two long “Waiting for the light to change” pauses in the middle we still ended up with a 10-miler completed in two hours.

I talked with Randy a little bit about what pace group I’m expecting to be in, and he thought it was pretty doable and realistic. It’ll be great to run with him (and the others) for another year. We’ve got a really good group of people from this past year that look like they’ll be going through the experience again.