Category Archives: 03mi

A little more November

0, 03mi, gym, indoor track

Start Time: 11/24/08, 6:30pm
Location: Thomas Jefferson Community Center
Distance: 3 miles
Average Pace: 8:30min/mile
Total Miles For November: 10.5 miles

Ok, I just had to hit double-digits this month or I’d have been too mortified.

More importantly, I’ve been feeling good today, and the doctor said exercise was ok so long as I didn’t feel anything hurting. So after half an hour rowing, I went and knocked out three miles on the indoor track. Nothing huge, but after this weekend it felt good to actually… well… run. Even if just for a tiny bit. (8:52, 8:27, 8:11)

Fifteen Days Later

0, 03mi, gym, indoor track

Start Time: 11/14/08, 6:20pm
Location: Thomas Jefferson Community Center
Distance: 3 miles
Average Pace: 8:42min/mile
Total Miles For November: 3 miles

Well, since my last run (October 30th)… when I turned my ankle on that run, it was indeed sore for Friday and Saturday, sore enough that I regretfully postponed my last long run scheduled for that day. It was feeling ok on Sunday, so I thought on Tuesday I’d get up early and hit the long run then. Except starting on Monday, I was flat on my back with what turned out to be a nasty cold and bacterial infection in my chest. Can you see where this is going? I’ve only just recently had a clean set of lungs again (although I am still on the antibiotics for another half a week or so), and the Philadelphia Marathon was looking… problematic at best.

I hit the gym today, using the rowing machine for 25 minutes and then knocking out three miles on the indoor track (just in case there were problems). I felt ok while running, but as soon as I stopped my lungs felt like they had liquid in them. So, that’s that. No marathon for Greg. *sigh* I pretty much knew that was going to happen, but I had to prove it to myself. So that’s that. In eight years I suppose I really should be thankful this has only happened once! (8:56, 8:34, 8:36)

Rest of September

0, 03mi, 06mi

Start Time: 9/28/08, 11:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 3 miles
Average Pace: 9:04min/mile
Total Miles For September: 61 miles

Wow, that was horrible. I was supposed to run a 10-miler, but the humidity? Out of control. As in, having problems breathing and feeling like it was actually pulling me back. Much worse than anything through the summer itself, which was rather unexpected. Aborted the run and went home; my only consolation (hours later) was hearing how many other people had the same problem with outdoor exercise on Sunday. Still, a little distressing.

Start Time: 9/30/08, 7:30am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 6 miles
Average Pace: 8:52min/mile
Total Miles For September: 67 miles

A slightly later start than I wanted this morning, but it all actually worked out very well. Just randomly ran all over the place; down Clarendon Boulevard and 10th Street to Glebe, then over to 50 before winding through residential neighborhoods, followed up by two more miles on 50. Nice weather, didn’t feel like I was pushing, and it was ultimately just what I needed to feel like things were starting to return to normal.

Nice “easy” run?

0, 03mi

Start Time: 8/26/08, 7:40pm
Location: Clarendon Neighborhood
Distance: 3.1 miles
Average Pace: 8:28min/mile
Total Miles For August: 73 miles

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2209207

The plan was to run an easy three miles around the neighborhood, in the form of a loop that’s just a little bit over 1 1/2 miles. It’s gorgeous outside tonight, and I just felt myself gliding easily down the road. Well, it wasn’t until I finished (the GPS agreed with the mapped route, saying two loops was 3.1 miles) that I discovered that I was going a wee bit faster than I expected. My total time was 26:20… my record for a 5K is 25:40. That’s all of 40 seconds different.

Good lord. Well, that was a nice surprise. A very nice surprise. It was my own little Twilight 5K, complete with beautiful red/purplish skies for the last mile. Great, great stuff. Didn’t feel tired or worn out, either.

9:00, 8:23, 8:13, 0:43 (.1 miles)

Win Some, Lose Some

0, 03mi

Start Time: 8/13/08, 6:45am
Location: Wilson Boulevard
Distance: 3 miles
Total Miles For August: 35 miles

Today’s schedule (since I have no spinning class this week) said to run 8 hill repeats, plus a mile warm up and a mile cool down. So, feeling brave, I headed off to the massive hill on Wilson Boulevard near the retirement center. Oooooof. I’ve ran up that hill once before (towards the end of what I think was a 10- or 12-miler, it’s all a little hazy now) and it kicked my butt so bad I had to walk a portion of it. And it’s only an eighth of a mile long! Well, let me just say that I’m glad I had a good run yesterday, because this? Not a good run. After four repeats I called it quits; I thought about running a fifth repeat and actually felt sick to my stomach. Bleah.

Next week my goal will be to up the repeats to six, I think.

Abort

0, 03mi

Start Time: 7/22/08, 6:30am
Location: Thomas Jefferson Community Center
Distance: 3 miles
Total Miles For July: 62.5 miles

Aborted early due to breathing problems. Am now on an inhaled steroid for my lungs. Yay.

Too Darn Hot, plus Treadmill Fiasco

0, 03mi, treadmill

Start Time: 6/28/08, 7:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 3 miles
Average Pace: 8:00min/mile
Total Miles For June: 57 miles

Start Time: 6/29/08, 7:00am
Location: Washington, DC
Distance: 3 miles
Average Pace: 9:00min/mile
Total Miles For June: 60 miles

Ugh! Saturday was a dreadful day to be running; already in the high 80s by 7am, and even worse it was so humid it was like breathing water. We had our 3-mile time trial, and it went really badly for me, there no way around it. I completely bonked on the last mile, and I felt so congested and hard to breathe that I actually have a doctor’s appointment about it on July 7th. Hmph.

On Sunday I was going to run a few miles on the treadmill at Charlie’s place, because it was still really darn hot out. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the air conditioning unit to work properly (argh) and it was so stiflingly hot I gave up after three miles. Ah well!

Progressive Run

0, 03mi, progressive run

Start Time: 4/22/08, 6:15pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 3 miles
Average Pace: 8:31min/mile
Total Miles For April: 9.5 miles

I’m now on the “pick one of the following workouts” regimen so Tuesday’s run was “2-4 miles progressive run, each mile faster than the previous.” I headed out to the W&OD Trail and made a big mistake—I started on a downhill. So I finished the first mile and that’s when I realized why this was a bad thing. First, I took that mile too fast because of the downhill. And second, it meant the return would be all uphill. Whoops. I decided that as a result I’d just run 3 miles instead of 4, and knowing that mile three was the last one gave me a nice kick even though it was still slogging back uphill. Oof! Next time, I start on the uphill. (8:47, 8:37, 8:10)

Birthday Run

0, 03mi

Start Time: 3/26/08, 7:50am
Location: Arlington Boulevard Trail (and friends)
Distance: 3 miles
Average Pace: 8:35min/mile
Total Miles For March: 44 miles

Last pre-race run and it was… eh. Splits were 8:32, 8:57, and 8:14. Not bad at all, don’t get me wrong, but I just have a bad feeling about Saturday.

Yuck

0, 03mi

Start Time: 3/19/08, 7:50am
Location: Arlington Boulevard Trail (and friends)
Distance: 3 miles
Average Pace: 8:59min/mile
Total Miles For March: 37 miles

That run stunk. Stomach was feeling less than great, plus a lack of energy overall. I finally terminated the run early and headed back home. Sometimes the smart thing to do is to quit while you’re… well, hardly ahead, but at least not too far behind.