18 and done

0, 18mi

Start time: 3/7/09,10:30am
Location: SW Waterfront, National Mall, Georgetown, Capital Crescent Trail
Distance: 18 miles
Average pace: 9:34min/mile
Total Miles For March: 24 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 141 miles

Oooooof. Be careful what you wish for, indeed.

After all the snow and ice of the last week or so, it seems the DC area’s collective thought process did indeed bring a warm front into the area. I’m not entirely sure, with 20/20 hindsight, that 74 degrees and humid was the way to go about it. I like to think that it was a combination of the temperature jump and new mileage that made me start face-planting by the end, but we shall see. I ran the old AIDS Marathon 18-miler course, which starts at 4th and I Streets SW, heads through the National Mall, across the Georgetown Waterfront, then on the Cap Crescent trail all the way to Maryland before heading back. It was a nice (if slightly hilly on the Cap Crescent heading outbound) course, and I haven’t run it since fall 2007. For a run that I did entirely on my own, it was comforting to have those old memories with me.

That said, once I got back into Georgetown, I was definitely running out of gas. When I got all the way to Constitution and 20th Street (finishing up mile 15) I just felt about ready to quit; so, for miles 16-18, I took a 1 minute walk break at the start of each mile, and that seemed to help a bit. At least I didn’t lose any additional ground doing so, right?

Interesting, it was the same finishing time for my 18-miler (or within an average of 1 second per mile) for 2008, which was a nice relief. 2007’s was about 12 seconds per mile faster, and in really hot weather to boot, though. Happily, I demolished 2006 and earlier’s paces…

And hey, on the bright side, the bruise on my leg didn’t bother me at all while running. Woohoo!

(8:42, 8:05, 9:02, 8:47, 9:23, 9:17, 9:21, 9:25, 9:52, 8:56, 9:18, 9:42, 9:52, 10:00, 10:53, 10:46, 10:06, 10:43)

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2613871

3 thoughts on “18 and done”

  1. I think you and I just missed each other — I was out on the mall, but was home at 10:30.

    Nice to read your comments on the capital crescent — that’s where I do my outside tempo runs, and I consider parts of it (from mile 8 to the water fountain at 6.5) to be challenging.

    1. I’m so glad you feel that way about the Cap Crescent! I couldn’t tell if my memory was cheating me and it was always hilly, or if I’d just been a big wimp. I definitely think I was feeling its after-effects by the end.

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