Category Archives: 05mi

Almost-Goofy

0, 05mi, 20mi, new shoes

Start time: 12/12/09, 7:30am
Location: 14th St., National Mall, Rock Creek Park
Distance: 20.6 miles
Average pace: 10:45min/mile
Total Miles For December: 51 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 829 miles

Start time: 12/13/09, 3:30pm
Location: Thomas Circle Gym
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 9:46min/mile
Total Miles For December: 56 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 834 miles

The original plan was to run a mini-Goofy this weekend with Charlie and Ryan; 10mi on Saturday, 20mi on Sunday. Only problem was, Sunday had a very strong prediction for lots of rain and perhaps a “wintery mix.” So, instead we ran 20 miles together on Saturday. The run wasn’t bad; lots and lots of Rock Creek Park, further than I’d ever run up it before. Ryan was definitely running out of energy on the way back (I suspect he didn’t have enough food) so we slowed down a bit so that we could finish it all up together. (No splits, my GPS went totally berserk and started losing signal while running down the center of Beach Drive in Rock Creek park. Not a tree or cloud to be blocking signal. And then it lost signal the whole way back up 14th Street at the end. It ended up losing almost an entire mile. Yeesh.)

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3364061

Unfortunately, the rest of Saturday and a lot of Sunday involved a lot of family stuff; I ended up getting no rest and not much sleep that night. With a really inadequate recovery, I ended up just running leisurely 5 miles on a treadmill at Charlie’s gym and called it good enough.

Stupid Back

0, 05mi

Start time: 11/28/09, 12:15pm
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 8:23min/mile
Total Miles For November: 62 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 768 miles

Ah, the joy of an inadvertent week off. Monday morning I felt a soreness under my left shoulderblade, but I figured just getting it moving would make it feel better. I went for a swim, and it was bothering me the whole way through; came in about 40 seconds slower than normal for my mile swim. And then, it just kept hurting more and more. Ugh. I finally got a massage on Friday night and that seems to have done the trick (fingers crossed). But through all of that, exercise just wasn’t an option—it hurt too much for it to move.

Anyway, I tried my new 5-mile loop today and it went not bad. Especially after a week off! Now I just need to learn the new mile posts…

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3325261

Run to the car

0, 05mi, custis

Start time: 9/30/09, 6:10pm
Location: M Street, C&O Canal Towpath, Key Bridge, Lee Highway
Distance: 4.8 miles
Average pace: 8:27min/mile
Total Miles For September: 48 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 617 miles

My original plan was to run on Tuesday, stopping at the W&OD Trail after work. Except my car died on the way home from work, and by the time I finally got home I was in no mood at all to go for a run. (Also, it was much darker than when I’d planned on running.) On the bright side, Charlie let me borrow his car, and while at meetings today I got a message from the dealer that the car was fixed and the faulty part of the engine was under warranty. Hurrah!

So, after I got home from work, I changed into running gear, then drove Charlie’s car to his neighborhood and dropped it off, as well as leaving the keys in his place. Then, I headed home on foot; down M Street until I got to Rock Creek, at which point I switched over to the C&O Canal (so to avoid the masses of people in Georgetown), followed by over the Key Bridge and then up Lee Highway to the dealership. With minutes still to spare, I picked up the car and all was good. I’d hoped to run a full five miles, but my old GPS spent the first three quarters of a mile unable to get a signal (grrrrr) so it wasn’t until I got home that I had any idea how far I’d actually run. Ah well, this is why I round to the nearest half mile when I record things.

And on the bright side, considering the last two miles were at a 9:24 (almost straight up on the Custis Trail/Lee Highway stretch that I loathe with a white-hot passion) and a 9:00 (more up up up), I’m pleased with my pace. Obviously I’d have liked something even zippier, but I was clearly moving at a good pace for the first 2.8 miles at least. I’ll take it.

Back to normal?

0, 05mi

Start time: 9/3/09, 7:30am
Location: Neighborhood
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 8:15min/mile
Total Miles For September: 8 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 577 miles

This has been a tough week. Originally I had planned for another day of running, plus some biking and swimming. Every time I turned around, though, something derailed me. (Mostly not feeling well.) This morning I’d gone back and forth on if I would run or swim, but I decided that for now the running is more important. I’m glad I did; I ran my 4-mile loop and then one additional mile, and I was pretty pleased with the end result. Just under a full minute faster than the last time I ran this particular route (in early August), which was a pleasant surprise. I’m sure the great 60-degree temperature this morning helped immensely.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3156533

Dragging

0, 05mi

Start time: 8/26/09, 7:30am
Location: Arlington Boulevard, Memorial Circle
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 9:06min/mile
Total Miles For August: 88 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 547 miles

Ugh. I was super-tired this morning—didn’t sleep well last night—and it showed in today’s run. I’d also decided to try out a slightly new route, which was full of uphill stretches in the second half. Not terribly smart on my part this morning. Oh well, it’s good for me.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3132008

Return to Progression

0, 05mi, progressive run

Start time: 8/25/09, 6:00pm
Location: Mt. Vernon Trail
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 8:28min/mile
Total Miles For August: 83 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 542 miles

Geez, I haven’t done a progressive run in, well, quite a while. (Running through my neighborhood isn’t condusive to doing them because of the potential for cars and red lights.) The plan was to start at a 9:00min/mile and then every mile drop 15 seconds. It went… ok. I missed the mark on the fourth mile, but at least pulled it together in mile five. I probably should have done this first thing in the morning instead of after work; definitely warmer and sunnier as a result, ah well. Oh, and my quads were sore (like they were on Saturday but I forgot to mention that); not having gone to spinning in a while is definitely showing. Got to get back on that bike!

(9:04, 8:41, 8:19, 8:23, 7:51)

Too humid for me

0, 05mi

Start time: 8/20/09, 7:45am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 8:31min/mile
Total Miles For August: 62 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 521 miles

Kind of wish I’d not decided today was the day to go back up to five miles. Or at least if I’d gotten up a little earlier. Humidity and a few more hills makes Greg an uncomfortable boy.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2961242

Drizzle

0, 05mi

Start time: 8/6/09, 7:00am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 8:26min/mile
Total Miles For August: 25 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 484 miles

When I woke up this morning, I could hear a faint sound of rain, but it seemed to fade away so I decided I’d run outside instead of suffering through the indoor track. As it turned out, there was still a faint drizzle when I ran. Not so much that it was pouring, but enough that my glasses were covered at the end of my run. I was glad that I stuck to my guns, though, and added on a fifth mile like I’d told myself I would do the previous night. I ran my regular four mile loop, then ran the other direction for half a mile and turned around and came back. With that last half-mile being a slight uphill grade, it was tougher than normal finish but I felt like I pushed through well.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3156533

Heartbeat

0, 05mi

Start time: 7/2/09, 7:00am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 8:40min/mile
Total Miles For July: 5 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 384 miles

I ended up skipping Tuesday’s run—I was feeling really bleah and just not good all around. Sometimes you need to know when it’s better not to do it. (I wish I’d slept in instead, though.) This morning fortunately went much better. I ran a new slightly larger 5-mile loop, which went pretty well. I also thought for the first time in ages to strap on the heartrate monitor that goes with the GPS. I don’t have the average here, though, oops. But, all in all, a good run.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2961242

Bleah

0, 05mi

Start time: 6/13/09, 8:00am
Location: SW Waterfront, National Mall
Distance: 5 miles
Average pace: 9:25min/mile
Total Miles For June: 29 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 341 miles

Went running with Aaron and Dave, and that was the non-bleah part of today’s run; it’s been a year and a half since I’ve done so. We also ran into Stephanie, JP, and Ben who were just finishing up their own run and next week we might well join them. I was originally going to run two extra miles, but I just felt sick to my stomach the entire time. I made sure to eat a full hour beforehand, but no such luck. The last time I ate oatmeal and then ran in the same morning had the same reaction, though. Is it time to find a different pre-run breakfast? Maybe some toast with peanut butter? Oh well. Aaron wanted two little walk breaks in the run; it felt a little odd doing so after having thrown them out a few years ago…