Start time: 09/10/06, 7:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 16 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 5:1
Average pace: 10:00min/mile

Today was our 16-miler, which means that starting at this point our “long runs” are slowed down to help prevent injury. For the 16- and 18-milers, this means that I’m supposed to run them at a 10:30 instead of a 9:30min/mile. Well… um… oops! We were just zipping along, and it was around mile 10 that I looked down at my GPS and said, “Um… Sorry about that.” (That one was a 9:17.) We had a really good set of splits though. (12:16, 9:28, 10:20, 10:35, 9:53, 10:18, 9:23, 9:51, 9:47, 9:17, 10:18, 10:38, 10:29, 10:17, 9:53, and… um… 9:01.) Ok, I can explain that last one. Chris had decided to run a little less so he cut across the mall to head directly back. As we were heading back the full route ourselves, we saw Chris about a quarter mile ahead of us. We were definitely gaining on him, but he was still about a tenth of a mile ahead of us when he crossed M Street and so… um… I decided to try and catch him. Ok, I know! Very stupid! Bad Greg! (And I didn’t even catch him. That’ll learn me.) I’m not supposed to do that sort of behavior.

Oh, the “Ow” of the subject line? Well… er… guess what I discovered on the front of my shirt 2.5 miles from the end of the course?

Ack! I put on Bodyglide and everything. (Chris took a picture of me with my cell phone camera but I was in a slight daze and didn’t realize I had to hit “save” on the picture of me with my bloody-nipple-stained shirt. Oh well.) Guess from now on, 16 miles is not only the time when the slowdown hits but when I need to switch from Bodyglide to NipGuards.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=364973

Start time: 07/23/05, 6:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 16 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 4:1
Average pace: 12:00min/mile

Phew! This was not a run that I was expecting to be tough. Starting with this run, all of the long distances are slowed down by a minute or two per mile (to prevent injury), so I figured that with the slowdown I’d be just fine, right? Right?

Ho ho ho.

It didn’t go badly, but it’s been a long while since I’ve had a long run that I genuinely had to work at towards the end. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a good thing; I definitely took it way too easy last year, after all. But with the heat racketing up and the sun beating down, I felt like I really earned those last four miles or so. (Dear W&OD Trail: Get some more shade between markers 5 and 9. Please.) I ended up being pace group leader this week since Michael was out on a trip. It went really well, and with a little help from Craig and Julie we hit almost every single mile perfectly on time. That was really gratifying, needless to say. But now… well, it’s good to be inside. Hopefully the 18 and 20 milers won’t be quite so brutal in the weather department; it really makes all the difference in the world.

(And oh look, weather.com is predicting a high of 98 degrees* for Monday. I am so not running after work. Either first thing in the morning or in the evening at the gym, I think.)

* — No, not Nick Lachey’s former group.