Start time: 11/17/09, 8:00am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:10min/mile
Total Miles For November: 48 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 754 miles

Just another whirl around the four-mile loop. I did come up with a new five-mile loop course that I'm tentatively going to start running next week and make that the new regular morning run. We shall see.

(8:16, 8:06, 8:15, 8:00)

Start time: 11/15/09, 8:15am
Location: 10th St, Wilson Boulevard, Bluemont Junction Trail, W&OD Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Average pace: 9:01min/mile
Total Miles For November: 44 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 750 miles

I don't get this 70+ degree weather this time of year. I mean, it's lovely and all, and I'm really excited about wearing my short sleeved shirt today. But it just feels... wrong. Also, it meant a rather sweaty and red-faced run this morning. I ended up inadvertently taking two walk breaks; one during mile 5 when I almost choked on the granola bar I'd brought with me on the run (never doing that again), and then during mile 8 when I almost fell over on a patch of wet leaves and walked for about 30 seconds to get out of the rest of them. So, not bad. Especially since it was better than the last two times I ran this route.

One nice surprise was running into Pam Riker who was doing some mile repeats on the trail, since we were meeting with other fellow AIDS Marathon staffers for brunch a few hours later. Clearly we had the same idea...

(8:32, 8:24, 9:02, 9:02, 9:24, 8:58, 9:23, 9:39, 8:44, 8:56)

Start time: 11/12/09, 6:00pm
Location: TJ Community Center
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:25min/mile
Total Miles For November: 34 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 740 miles

I ended up missing my first run this week, due to a trip to the oral surgeon for a tooth extraction. (Joy!) I did get out for a swim mid-week, though, which was better than no exercise at all, of course. Anyway, I find it very funny that whenever I run on the indoor track, there's always a ramping up process. Apparently it takes a mile or two to adjust to those 1/8th mile loops! Too wet and cold out to hoof it outside, unfortunately. Hoping to do an 8-10 miler on Sunday morning.

(8:47, 8:38, 8:13, 8:01)

Start time: 11/8/09, 11:00am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:23min/mile
Total Miles For November: 30 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 736 miles

After a week off, I finally went running again the Sunday after the marathon. It was an unseasonably warm day, which was lovely, if suddenly a slight shock to my body which kept saying, "Wait, what, I need to start cooling you down?" It felt good to get out and moving again, though.

(8:15, 8:14, 8:35, 8:30)

New York City Marathon
Start time: 11/1/09, 10:00am
Location: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Manhattan
Distance: 26.2 miles
Average pace: 11:08min/mile
Total Miles For November: 26 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 732 miles

Still need to write this one up, but my log book has entries since then that which need to be entered, so... a placeholder.

Start time: 10/29/09, 8:15am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:14min/mile
Total Miles For October: 89 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 706 miles

Boy, it sure is getting dark out in the morning. It'll be nice to have the clocks change an hour on Sunday. Last pre-marathon run this morning and I ended up just doing the regular loop. Today, fueled by something I haven't eaten in years: a pop-tart. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

(8:20, 8:04, 8:24, 8:08)

Start time: 10/27/09, 6:15pm
Location: TJ Community Center
Distance: 3 miles
Average pace: 8:40min/mile
Total Miles For October: 85 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 702 miles

With bad weather and other things going on, I didn't get to do either a swim or a run yesterday, so I ended up doing both of them today. It was a great time at the pool (still improving over time which is a nice feeling), and I knocked another 30 seconds off of my time for the 1600yd routine I do. Then, after work, it was just a short jog on the indoor track. Sunday is race day and I'm taking it easy; just enough to keep moving, but not too much.

(8:58, 8:40, 8:23)

Start time: 10/24/09, 9:30am
Location: 10th St, Wilson Boulevard, Bluemont Junction Trail, W&OD Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Average pace: 9:28min/mile
Total Miles For October: 82 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 699 miles

20 seconds per mile slower on the exact same route. The difference? About 30 degrees hotter outside, plus a thick humidity that on and off turned into light showers of rain. Plus, allergies acting up horribly, to the point that on miles 4-6 and 10, I ended up taking a walk break because I was having problems breathing out of my nose. Really wretched run in terms of how I was feeling and then some. Yuck.

(8:27, 8:39, 9:19, 9:52, 9:49, 10:29, 9:22, 8:59, 9:24, 10:14)

Start time: 10/22/09, 5:45pm
Location: Arlington Boulevard, Iwo Jima Memorial
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:29min/mile
Total Miles For October: 72 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 689 miles

Another night of poor sleep equalled no running in the morning. On the way to work, though, I saw that a lot of the set-up for the finish line area of the Marine Corps Marathon is already put together. So after work, I ran a mile down the Arlington Boulevard trail, and then ran through the Iwo Jima Memorial area and down to Memorial Bridge so I could see the stuff. Doing so was fun and brought back a lot of memories of running MCM (four times, 2002-2005) and I was definitely speeding up. Doubly so because it meant that I spent two miles running straight downhill. And then I turned around... and kind of ran out of gas. Oops. Doubly so since I was then going straight uphill the whole way back. Ah well. It was still a nice run.

(8:14, 7:44, 8:43, 9:16)

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3276789

Start time: 10/19/09, 7:30am
Location: 10th St, Wilson Boulevard, Bluemont Junction Trail, W&OD Trail
Distance: 10 miles
Average pace: 9:08min/mile
Total Miles For October: 68 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 685 miles

Originally I was going to run 10 miles on Saturday with Dave and Steve, but when it was pouring rain on Friday night with no plans on stopping and in the low 40s, it seemed like a recipe for getting sick. So instead I went for a run this morning before work. It was still cold—just 40 degrees when I left—so I broke out the hat, gloves, and pants for the first time in quite a while. The run itself was good, though; headed down 10th St and Wilson for two miles, then went onto Bluemont to W&OD for another two miles and turned around. Once I got back home, I went in the other direction for a mile and then headed back. Thanks to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and Evil of the Daleks episodes 4-5, the time just whipped right by.

I am starting to think about replacing my Garmin Forerunner 301, which doesn't seem to be carrying a full charge these days (although still enough to get me through even a 20-miler), plus I'm getting annoyed about its reliability as of late on picking up signals or not. Nothing like running a route over and over again and getting a different mileage every time. Grrr.

Start time: 10/15/09, 2:30pm
Location: Spring Hill Rec Center
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:41min/mile
Total Miles For October: 58 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 675 miles

It's a gloomy rainy day, and after getting little sleep last night thanks to what I have charitably decided was a slowly dying car (I like to think someone did not lay out their horn, deliberately, for a solid two minutes at 1am, 2:30am, and 4am) I didn't make it to the gym this morning. So I decided I'd go in the afternoon to Spring Hill (where I normally swim) and run on a treadmill there. Ugh. Hated every minute of it. There was no air circulation so I felt really badly overheated from start to finish, and some crazy lady decided that she needed to turn ALL the televisions to Fox News. Including ones right next to other ones on Fox News. Great, six big screen tvs all showing a run-away balloon soaring through the air. I was going to run five miles but after four I felt like such crap I stopped. Death to the treadmill.

Start time: 10/12/09, 12:45pm
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:27min/mile
Total Miles For October: 54 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 671 miles

Well, the temperature has dropped big time in the DC area. I left for my run around lunchtime and it still was in the 50s. What a difference! It felt great to run in the cooler weather, and I do love it—except for that my body is adjusting to the colder weather and I was a little hacky at times. Bleah. You know things are bad when I'm having to do the runner's spit, which I consider to be one of the grossest things about the sport in general. It was a nice run, though, even though at all three major intersections that I run through, I somehow ended up with green lights for all of them. (I know, I know, boo hoo. Normally, if nothing else, the one around the 2.5 mile mark results in a temporary catching of the breath.) Had thought about doing five miles, but thanks to getting almost no sleep at all on Saturday night (even after that 20-miler!), still a little worn down.

(8:35, 8:16, 8:30, 8:25)

Start time: 10/10/09, 9:30am
Location: North Arlington, Memorial Bridge, SW Waterfront, East Potomac Park, Hains Point, Mt. Vernon Trail, C&O Canal
Distance: 20 miles
Average pace: 10:15min/mile
Total Miles For October: 50 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 667 miles

You know a run is ending badly when all you can think at the end is, "Two more marathons and one more long training run and I am done with this stupidity." Yes, I can get huffy in my own head, about myself, when no one else is around. This was a miserable run for me; I hate running in the rain, so when they'd forcasted ran from 5-10am this morning, I figured I would sleep in (since I was all by myself) and start once the rain died down. So of course, I woke up and it hadn't rained but was now supposed to do so starting around noon. Argh.

Within about 30 seconds of leaving my house, of course, it started raining. That was the kind of run I had. When it wasn't raining, there was a bitter cold wind blowing on me; crossing over the bridge to East Potomac Park (and indeed all through the park and at Hains Point) the wind was so bad that I was afraid several times it would actually knock me over. Around mile 15 I really pooped out, big time; at one point I stopped to get water and ended up sitting down for a minute to take a tiny rock out of my shoe, something I'd have otherwise ignored.

The funny thing is, as craptacular as the run was, it was faster than my 20-miler a month ago. (The difference being about 9 seconds per mile, but also ending really strong and knowing I could knock out more fast miles. Here, if I had to run 6 more miles I'd have quit on the spot.) Ah well. I must've headed out too fast early on to have such a colossal burn-out at the end. Never have I desperately wanted lights to turn read so much as I did today on the way home.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3250112

Start time: 10/8/09, 6:45pm
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 6 miles
Average pace: 8:53min/mile
Total Miles For October: 30 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 647 miles

The plan was to get up before work and knock out a 4-miler—but I was really super-tired this morning and it just didn't happen. So, after work it would be, even though generally speaking my post-work runs are never as strong as my early morning runs. But it was still nice out this evening; not as cool as earlier today but still nice. So after I ran my 4-mile loop, I picked up an extra two miles as well. It sure was a beautiful night!

(8:33, 8:27, 8:55, 8:47, 8:57, 9:35)

Start time: 10/6/09, 7:45am
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:30min/mile
Total Miles For October: 24 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 641 miles

I'd skipped swimming yesterday because I was feeling a little creaky after the weekend's runs, and now I'm glad I did so. Still feeling a tiny bit creaky when I headed out this morning, although by the end I'd definitely loosened up somewhat. (Hoping to fit swimming in tomorrow mind you.) On the plus side, though, gorgeous weather, in the mid 50s. I'm going to have to dig out the rest of my long-sleeve running attire, both of the ones I'd kept hanging around are now waiting to be washed!

Start time: 10/4/09, 8:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 8 miles
Average pace: 9:53min/mile
Total Miles For October: 20 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 637 miles

Well, I'd hoped to get another 12-miler in today, but I had to make due with just eight. (I know, I know. Just eight!) Between having taken the time off (since my 20-miler on Sept 5th, I'd only run 20 miles in the course of a month) and the last remnants of the cold, it just wasn't going to happen. I was feeling a little tight as I passed by the car (I was heading from 3.5 to 7.5 and back, and then the idea was to run down to marker 1.5 and back) and the last thing I wanted to do was re-injure myself. Plus, like I said yesterday, I can turn next week's 16-miler into a 20-miler if I need to. Good enough!

(9:40, 10:06, 9:53, 10:03, 9:54, 9:41, 9:56, 9:51)

[I can't help but notice the difference in my speeds from the start of the year versus now, mind you. This entry of two 12-milers on a weekend has me moving at a faster clip, certainly. There's a part of me that gets wistful and sad when I look at the shift, and part of me that is relieved at not trying to hit that. I think having been perpetually in training for a marathon since May 2008 has taken its toll. It'll be nice, come mid-January, to not have to worry about one for a good long while.]

Start time: 10/3/09, 6:15am
Location: East Potomac Park, Hains Point, Mt. Vernon Trail, M Street, Independence Ave
Distance: 12 miles
Average pace: 9:53min/mile
Total Miles For October: 12 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 629 miles

Oof! Originally I had a 20-miler scheduled for this weekend, but I knew that just wasn't going to be an option after several weeks off. The plan is to hit two 12-milers instead, but a new wrinkle showed up in the form of a cold. Most of my running group is hitting the Army 10-miler tomorrow, so just Dave and I headed out for an early 12-miler (he's got training the rest of the day). I'm glad Dave was there, he gave me the push I needed or I might've just wimped out. That said, between having a cold and the thick humidity, I was glad for the walk breaks because I felt a little light-headed at times. (Don't worry, if that happened I gave myself extra recovery time.) From the neck down I felt great and ready for more, but my head just said otherwise. Still, I'm pleased. (I am also wondering if mile 8 was really that much more than the rest or if something glitched. Ah well!)

We'll see if I hit another 12 tomorrow; it'll depend on how I'm feeling. If not, I'll turn next week's 16-miler into a 20-miler. Since my race is a week later than the schedule I'm using is for, I'm ok with that too.

(9:52, 9:49, 9:44, 9:57, 9:43, 9:32, 9:41, 10:45, 10:05, 10:13, 9:34, 9:37)

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3235744

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.

Start time: 9/26/09, 9:00am
Location: Wilson Boulevard
Distance: 3.1 miles
Average pace: 7:57min/mile
Total Miles For September: 43 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 612 miles

I swear, every time I go for a 5K, something happens beforehand. Sometimes it's benign, like simply running a marathon eleven days earlier and getting injured in the process. Other times it's a combination of getting bronchitis and a trip to the ER for gallbladder problems. So when I ended up with a calf strain two weeks earlier, well, I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised. But I felt good enough to give it a shot, even though I knew that I still wouldn't do what I would have been capable of sans injury.

It was a nice, quick race. I started with Butch and Chris, but after about half a mile I remembered that it's only a 5K and I was moving way too slow for a race that I wanted a PR in. (The GPS said around the 1/2 mile mark that my time was 4:30. A nice "going for a run with friends" pace, but not a racing-just-three-miles pace in the slightest. A 5K is just such a small distance that a too-slow first mile will never really get made up.) I picked it up at that point, and it paid off; a 24:27 finishing time, which finally replaced my old 25:40 from two years ago (the post-marathon-injury race). I like to think that had I not had a few weeks off I could've gotten even faster, but that just gives me a new goal for next time.

I still don't think I've mastered running a 5K, but that's something I'd like to work on next year once I've (at least temporarily) bid marathons adieu.

Start time: 9/24/09, 6:00pm
Location: North Arlington
Distance: 4 miles
Average pace: 8:32min/mile
Total Miles For September: 40 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 609 miles

Oops, forgot to post a couple of these. Catch up time. I had to squeeze this run in between getting home and heading off to book club. Slowly starting to pick things back up a bit after my brief sabbatical.