Start time: 03/20/06, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 10:23min/mile
Now that’s the Julie I remembered from before (10:05, 10:26, 10:29, 10:32). She says that her allergy medicine doesn’t still seem to really be working though so she’s going to make another appointment to see if a different medicine will do the trick. Fingers crossed!
Start time: 03/15/06, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 10:35min/mile
On the bright side, better than Monday’s pace. And very consistant as well (10:27, 10:41, 10:37, 10:34). But I know Julie wasn’t happy with it, and to be honest I was less than thrilled as well. I told her that on Monday I was bringing a tazer and she gets one zap for every second below her pace. 🙂 More later, but I just accidentally deleted the data out of the watch so I figured I should post this now before going to bed and forgetting it all.
Start time: 03/13/06, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 10:53min/mile
“Sorry I’m poking along today,” Julie said around the end of mile 3, “but between diminished lung capacity* and just being lazy, this is about all I can do.”
Personally, I was content to be “poking along” today; the weather in the DC area this past weekend was fairly fantastic, and while I’d have normally waited until Tuesday after a Sunday race, knowing the temperature’s going to drop about 30 or 40 degrees tonight meant that one last “gorgeous running weather” day was in order. We clearly weren’t the only ones who felt that way; after a winter of mostly desolation and some die-hard runners, the trail was full today with both cyclists and runners. Quite a few attractive ones, too—an added bonus!
So, not terribly fast but I was perfectly content to enjoy the beautiful afternoon/evening and just take it easy.
* — Someone forgot their allergy medicine today.
Start time: 03/06/06, 9:30am
Location: Yulee, FL
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:20min/mile
Unlike Saturday’s run, I stuck with just a single loop around the neighborhood, and likewise instead of just running it went back to the old 6:1 run:walk. When I completed the loop it was a bit faster than my “just plain running it” loops from Saturday, and afterwards I used the car’s odometer to measure it out. The end result was pleasing—a 9:20min/mile pace that was extremely consistent.
My right foot felt like it was on the verge of falling asleep the last mile or so. Hmph. Did my right foot get jealous of the problems I’d had with the left one? I’m hoping that this can be fixed with a new pair of shoes; it could be that washing them made them shrink a bit. It’s either that or seeing if instead of a 2E wideness I have to shift to a 4E. Yikes! We’ll see what the foot measuring device at Metro Run & Walk has to say, first.
I’m ready to go home.
Start time: 03/01/06, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles & 2 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1 & running
Average pace: 10:24min/mile & 8:43min/mile
It’d been a while since I’d done a “4 & 2” but this was the first time in a while that I really felt up for it as well. Julie had really good energy for the first two miles; a 10:00 opener and then a 10:14 for the second mile when we passed some other runners. I think she was definitely feeling it on mile three (10:49), though, although the end in sight made her rally a bit (10:31).
The 2-miler by myself went well; the half-mile splits were 4:16, 4:21, 4:26, 4:22. So, pretty consistant once that initial burst of energy went in the opening half-mile.
Best of all, there was definitely still daylight when we began. Now that was a pleasant change of pace.
Start time: 02/18/06, 2:00pm
Location: Hotel Treadmill
Distance: 3.5 miles
Average pace: 9:31min/mile
Start time: 02/27/06, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 10:35min/mile
I totally forgot to post the one update from my vacation. In short, the area around the hotel stunk when it came to safely running so I stuck with a treadmill. I also should’ve stuck with not eating fast food an hour beforehand, which sat in my stomach like a ball of lead. My originally-planned 5-miler got cut a bit short, but better something than nothing.
Finally got back out and running today. Julie was sans allergy medicine (oops) and I could hear her huffing and puffing next to me. The week and a half off probably didn’t help either. I was originally going to knock out two extra miles afterwards, but my hamstrings were feeling tight, so another run cut short. Better safe than sorry, right?
This closes the month out with 45 miles; three less than January, but still more than February 2005. Not too bad.
Start time: 02/15/06, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 10:57min/mile
Snow, snow, and more snow was still on the trail. Julie and I took it easy, trying to keep from wiping out on the snow-covered trail. Not a bad time, all things considered.
Hopefully the next I’m running will be out in LA, but considering where our hotel is, that run might be on a treadmill! Ugh.
Start time: 02/09/06, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 10:40min/mile
Technically a few seconds slower per mile than Tuesday, but much more consistant; Julie peaked fast on Tuesday and the times slid (as happens when you haven’t run for three weeks) but Thursday was really on pace and good. Yay!
Start time: 02/11/06, 8:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 12 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 5:1
Average pace: 10:45min/mile
I ran with a bunch of my pace group from last training season (the first time in a while) and the results were… interesting. Some of them were running a 20-miler so several of us joined them partway into their run. Their pace was all over the place and I just tried to tag along as best I could. An… interesting morning.
Start time: 02/07/06, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 10:36min/mile
The last time I ran with Julie was back on the 17th, so it was good to get back out with her three weeks later. A bit of chit-chat, a bit of both of us just thinking in silence… but good, good company. It’s nice to be back.
Start time: 01/30/06, 6:00pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 4 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 8:58min/mile
Well, after a week off due to being sick with a nasty cold, I headed back out onto the trail today. Part of me was saying, “Wait one more day, know you’re really better.” The other part was saying, “It’s in the 60s in January. It won’t be tomorrow. Go running.” Well, you know which part won.
The problem with having taking a week off and then being all on my lonesome was that I headed out of the gate fast. Way too fast. (Well, too fast for me.) I’d been originally thinking that I’d start with 4 miles, maybe push it up to 6 because I’d have a more pleasing total mileage for the month. Well… 8:33 was probably a bit fast for the first mile when you consider that was almost my pace for my last 5K. The next two leveled out somewhat (8:51, 9:06) and I coudl feel myself getting tired. I knew the fourth mile would have an extra walk break… but I wasn’t prepared for it hitting where it did. It seemed early, way too early along the trail for the mental math game I was playing. (And if it was going to come early, I almost would’ve rather it had been at the base of the hill, not just after I crested it. Hmph.) I just felt run over with a steamroller. Finally it ended, I ran the last bit in, muttering to myself, and looked at the watch: 9:23. Which was still slower, but not as slow as I’d convinced myself. (Especially when you compare it to the previous mile and know that this one had an extra minute of walking.)
Isn’t it fun, the games your mind plays with you?
Anyway, for my first time back out doing any sort of exercise in a week I’m not displeased. And for the month? 48 miles, an improvement over last January (42.45), which considering I didn’t have any double-digit runs and was sick for a week is a good amount indeed.