Category Archives: 04mi

Finding Pace

0, 04mi, meter repeats

Start Time: 5/31/08, 7:00am
Location: Washington-Lee High School
Distance: 1 mile & 4x1200m
Pace: 9:30min/mile & 7:02min/mile
Total Miles For May: 55 miles

(Oops! I actually wrote half of this entry yesterday. Then the power went out briefly due to a thunderstorm and I just this morning remembered I didn’t finish it. I’m normally even later with this sort of thing but darn it, I was on time for a change.)

The idea for our latest workout was to run three laps around the track, and to stay on pace throughout the entire run. So at each lap you can gage how you’re doing, and try and get back on track. That’s when Emma and I learned two important things. First, if I run behind Emma, I find myself speeding up a tiny bit to stay on track with her even though she is going faster than I. And second, if Emma runs in front of me, she starts speeding up a bit to try and stay in the lead. Finally on the last one, she stayed about five paces behind me (and “concentrated on [my] shoes”) and lo and behold, perfect pacing. Go figure. (5:15, 5:20, 5:14, 5:16)

Lessons were learned

0, 04mi, progressive run

Start Time: 5/4/08, 4:00pm
Location: Rock Creek Park
Distance: 3.5 miles & 0.5 miles
Average Pace: 8:31min/mile & 9:08min/mile
Total Miles For May: 11 miles

Another “2-4 mile progressive run” attempt! However, looking back, I did a lot of things wrong. Got up early Sunday morning after a late night, so not enough sleep, coupled with a lot of work at Artomatic before going running. I also had a not-huge breakfast around 10am and then… nothing else before going running at 4pm. Smart. And I went out on a warm, sunny afternoon with the deck stacked against me. That said? It wasn’t bad, but I ran out of steam big time with about half a mile to go. Still, well within the range of the distance it was supposed to be, and after I caught my breath (and walked for a few minutes) I actually jogged in another half mile heading back towards the car.

Here’s the funny thing—when I ran this route last week? Butch drove by and honked. This week? Rick Carter drove by. Who will turn up if I run this again next week? I’m dying to find out.

(8:56, 8:40, 8:10, and (for the half) 4:02; the extra half mile later was 4:34.)

Brisk and Gray

0, 04mi, progressive run

Start Time: 4/27/08, 3:00pm
Location: Rock Creek Park
Distance: 4 miles
Average Pace: 8:24min/mile
Total Miles For April: 21 miles

My new training schedule has runs for the weekend day we don’t have actual training, so today’s entry on the schedule stated “2-4 mile progressive run” (which is what I attempted on Tuesday). I’d run some errands up in Woodley Park earlier and on the drive home down Rock Creek Parkway, noticed that a lot of the construction appears to be done on the trail—and decided that it would be a nice place for today’s run. So I went home, changed, hopped back in the car and parked right after Pegasus Bridge, before walking down to the Kennedy Center and starting my run.

It was a damp, slightly gray day out. Perfect for a run, in other words. I had the Garmin with me to mark off my splits, and before long I’d hit the first mile at 9:18. A much better start to a progressive run than my last attempt! As I continued to jog along, I glanced down at the Garmin and realized… either it was glitching, or I was going way too fast. Uh oh. I slowed down a tiny bit, but the mile was almost over and sure enough, I hit it at 8:19. Time to turn around… and see what happened on my way back. Mile 3 was just a tiny bit faster at an 8:17, and as I pushed up a bunch of hills in that stretch I took it as a victory of sorts. Still, I needed to show a better final mile so I gave a bit of a push… hurrah! 7:40. A great end to the run.

(That said, if I ever again see someone climb up onto the stone railing over the Potomac and do sit-ups, it will be too soon. Some people are very strange. And brave. And nuts. All it would take is a slight lean the long way and you’d fall off and into the river… which isn’t very deep. That would seriously hurt.)

Never did find any Easter eggs

0, 04mi

Start Time: 3/23/08, 1:00pm
Location: Arlington Boulevard Trail (and friends)
Distance: 4 miles
Average Pace: 8:56min/mile
Total Miles For March: 41 miles

I unfortunately wasn’t able to get my last group training run in—I had for plans the night before and getting up that early just wasn’t happening—so on Sunday I went for a spin around the neighborhood that felt rather “eh”. On the bright side, I did take some interesting detours, running north up Washington Boulevard from Route 50 back to my place. So the change of pace, at least, was night.

The Things We Do To Ourselves

0, 04mi, custis

Start Time: 3/17/08, 6:30pm
Location: Custis Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Average Pace: 8:48min/mile
Total Miles For March: 34 miles

Sometimes I really wonder about my sanity. The original plan was I’d leave work and go over to the W&OD Trail, knock out 4 or 5 miles, nothing too big. But I left work a little later than I’d hoped, and as I did so I began to think that maybe instead of taking half an hour to drive to the 3.5 marker on the W&OD, I could just head home and be at the Custis Trail in 15 minutes.

You know, the trail that goes straight up and down, and kicks my butt every time I run it? Ho ho ho.

That said, it wasn’t a bad run. Just a tough one. Considering I expected my pace to drop down into the 9:30 range with those hills, I’d say it was pretty good—doubly so when you keep in mind that back when I used to run this every Tuesday and in Alexandria every Thursday, my Tuesday Custis Trail pace was always a solid 30 seconds per mile slower than Thursday. So, victory. (8:44, 9:05, 9:00, 8:25)

The Frighteners

0, 04mi

Start Time: 3/12/08, 6:45pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Average Pace: 8:31min/mile
Total Miles For March: 22 miles

The plan was to step out for an hour and go run five more miles on Wednesday; while it would be the same stretch of trail, instead of running downhill for the first half (from marker 5 to 2.5) and then uphill back (2.5 to 5), I would start in the middle of the strech and vary the course a bit. (Downhill one mile, uphill 2.5 miles, downhill 1.5 miles.) What actually happened was that while it wasn’t a bad run, per se, it wasn’t one where I was feeling great either—I just still haven’t re-found my groove after skipping far too many runs this winter. So, I decided I’d turn around half a mile early (at marker 4.5), just run 4 miles, and call it a day.

Well, there were a bunch of running groups out on the trail and they were doing all sorts of strange sprint drills (something of which I completely relate to!), zipping up and down parts of the trail in a huge pack at times, other times stretched out into a thin line. I was just under half a mile from the end when I heard someone shout… well… something right behind me. I have no idea what. At the time I thought it was a warning along the lines of “move over we’re about to run you over.” In a slight panic, I headed off the trail onto the shoulder and waited for them to pass as I kept running. And waited. And waited.

With 20-20 hindsight what I think was shouted was actually to the other runners in that pack telling them they’d hit their timing mark and they could slow down, because I finally glanced over my shoulder and I was increasing ground between me and them. I’m not sure if that’s what helped contribute to my last mile split or if it was just the tiny downhill grade, but either way I’ll take it. (8:17, 8:41, 8:53, 8:12) Maybe I need to have people chase me from now on?

A Little Jab’ll Do Ya

0, 04mi

Start time: 10/30/07, 8:00am
Location: Thomas Jefferson Community Center
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:43min/mile

After getting a steroid jab in the foot on Monday, I headed to the gym on Tuesday to see how it worked. I took the first mile a little slow (9:14), no foot problems… and slowly (and without trying to) picked it up a bit for the other three miles (8:39, 8:23, 8:35). No pain whatsoever, just a tiny bit of soreness later in the day. I’ll be getting another jab right before leaving for OBX next week, so fingers crossed… maybe?

Good and Eh

0, 04mi, 08mi, rightfoot

Start time: 10/25/07, 8:00am
Location: Thomas Jefferson Community Center
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:37min/mile

The plan was to run earlier in the week before Thursday, but Monday through Wednesday I had such a horribly bad shoulder/neck pain that even moving my head hurt. So it wasn’t until Thursday that I felt good enough to actually run again. I went to the gym and used their indoor track; the first mile I did at a 9:00, and then without trying to the next three shifted up to 8:30. I felt good, no foot soreness, big thumbs up.

Start time: 10/27/07, 2:30pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 8 miles
Average pace: 8:49min/mile

I finally picked up new inserts for my shoes, put them on, and decided to run a 10-12 miler. Before I even started, though, my right foot felt a tiny bit sore. Hmmm. After about a mile things seemed ok, and my pace felt good. (8:41, 8:58, 8:42, 8:52) Four miles in, though… the foot started hurting. Oh, hell. I turned around and headed back; the hurting never got any worse (yay) but didn’t get any better either (boo). At least the pace stayed the same, so that’s better than nothing. (8:47, 8:46, 8:55, 8:47)

So now I’m wondering, maybe it’s the pair of Brooks Beast that I got back at the start of September that are the problem? I was wearing an older pair of shoes for my last two runs (that were also an earlier model, I think) and the foot problems weren’t so bad. At this point I’m thinking I will go to the podiatrist again this week, and also go back to the old shoes through race day. Fingers crossed.

Catching Up

0, 03mi, 04mi, lactate threshold run, rightfoot

Start time: 10/2/07, 6:30pm
Location: McLean High School
Distance: ~3.5 miles
Average pace: 9:15min/mile & 7:00min/mile

You know what happens when you’ve skipped your LTRs for a month? They stink, that’s what. I ended up only doing a little over half of the prescribed amount and then thought I was going to go splat. (This strange “oh look, August temperatures” phenomenon isn’t helping matters either.) Right foot was cramping again, although it eased up after a mile or so.

Start time: 10/3/07, 7:00pm
Location: Wilson Boulevard (Clarendon, Virginia Square, Ballston)
Distance: 4.25 miles
Average pace: 9:11min/mile

Just a quick jaunt up Wilson Boulevard and back. And, yet again, right foot strange cramps were in the house. I’m now wondering if the problem is the new pair of inserts in the shoes, so I swapped the right foot insert out today before going to the gym to use the elliptical and rowing machines. No foot pain, so fingers crossed, a bum insert was the problem! We’ll see on Sunday.

Support Your Local Military

0, 04mi, tempo

Start time: 9/18/07, 7:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:32min/mile

I keep forgetting to post this one—on Tuesday I was supposed to run LTRs, but I just couldn’t muster up the interest. I think it had to do with having the 21-miler on Sunday; after that much, I just needed something less structured, more fun. So instead I went for a 4-mile tempo. It was a gorgeous, cool night and I’d forgotten just how great it feels to go running in that kind of weather. I started off at my regular pace, then began to pick it up on the way back. Apparently it was also “shirtless armed forces running night” on the W&OD because I saw not one, not two, but three different shirtless/muscular/military-type guys running as well.

On the way back, I saw the original one for a second time up ahead a bit. I could feel myself getting closer and closer, and a combination of the prize at the end of the rope, it being a great night, and just feeling really good about running meant that last mile was really flying. Woohoo! (8:55, 8:49, 8:34, 7:51)

A nice break from the schedule for a change, and just what I’d needed to get my spirits back up.