Start time: 12/03/06, 8:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 8 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:38min/mile

This was the last 8-miler for the Honolulu Marathon participants, so I went by the run site and hoofed it out and back with Katie. (Stephanie was supposed to be there as well but ended up unable to make it down from an engagement in Gettysburg.) It was nice to get out there and just hit the pavement with Katie, chatting about this and that. After the crappy second half of the Firenze Marathon, this felt great.

Start time: 11/26/05, 9:00am
Location: Firenze Marathon
Distance: 26.2 miles
Finishing time: 4:46:48
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1 through mile 20, then... not so much
Average pace: 10:57min/mile

I unfortunately don't have lots of mile splits like last year, thanks to the GPS having a minor fit somewhere along the way (apparently I ran a 25.5 mile marathon), which probably was in no small part thanks to narrow windy alleys and streets winding through parts of Florence. I do, however, have some splits available.

Distance	Segment Time	Segment Pace	Overall Time	Overall Pace
5K	30:39	9:53	30:39	9:53
10K	30:27	9:49	1:01:06	9:51
15K	30:57	9:59	1:32:03	9:53
13.1mi	37:28	9:52	2:09:31	9:53
25K	25:40	10:42	2:35:11	10:00
30K	35:22	11:25	3:10:33	10:13
35K	39:25	12:43	3:49:58	10:35
40K	39:38	12:47	4:29:36	10:51
26.2mi	17:12	12:44	4:46:48	10:57

Notes:
Between 15K and 13.1mi is a 3.8 mile segment.
Between 13.1mi and 25K is a 2.4 mile segment
Between 40K and 26.2mi is a 1.35 mile segment

It should be a surprise to no one at all that it was around the 25K mark that Susan and I fell behind Tod and Dana. It is always interesting to see where some places where I felt I was still decreasing in speed was in fact consistent) if slow, essentially everything past the 30K mark (or 18.64 miles). Ah well, it's always good to know where everything went wrong, as well as where one was pretty darn on the ball. There's a lot I need to work on for next year. But hey, still a PR. So that's definitely something. But it is frustrating to look at, say, my 20-miler from earlier this year and know that I did the entire thing at a solid 10min/mile pace that I could've done even faster towards the end of if necessary!

Start time: 11/18/06, 8:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 8 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 10:00min/mile

That was it—the final group run before the Florence Marathon in 8 days. There were six of us; four of us (me, Tod, Sarah, Rob) running Florence and the other two (Stephanie, Katie) running Honolulu. Honolulu was scheduled for a 26-miler, but Stephanie and Katie had both decided to just run a 16-miler. Tod, Sarah, and I were running an 8-miler... and Rob decided that even though Florence is now a week away, that he was going to run an 18-miler.

...Well, to each their own, right?

It was a good run, though. I dropped off my car at Fletcher's Boathouse before coming in, so we got to run all the way out with Stephanie and Katie before they turned around there (instead of just running four miles with them and then waving goodbye). Rob was a little too zippy/speedy, but after we picked up Kendall (whose two fellow runners were not doing so well) we let the two of them start zooming off ahead. Since we're on taper-mode, I didn't want to go too fast so this slightly reduced pace was a-ok by me.

The Walk for the Homeless was going on downtown today, so we had some slight detours here and there to avoid the huge masses of people. I did this walk back in 2001 with Julie and Pam and it was a lot of fun, so it was nice to see it still continuing. (It did make driving back to the starting point a little problematic, though. Oops!)

At this point all that's left is a run with the Pacers folks on Tuesday, maybe a 3-miler on Thursday morning... and then I'm off!

Start time: 11/11/06, 8:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 8 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:15min/mile

I can tell when it's almost the end of the season when I forget to record my Saturday runs. Anyway, the second-to-last group run and with gorgeous weather to boot. (I dodged a bullet there, too; my normal running morning is Sunday and on that day, the weather dropped 20 degrees and started raining. Yuck.) Tod and I ran with three of the Saturday runners (Katie, Sarah, and Susan) and as Tod put it best, they sped us up and we slowed them down. A nice happy medium, and a good 8-miler. This upcoming Saturday will be our final group run for us Florence Marathoners (8-miler) while the Honolulu Marathoners have their big 26-miler. Should be a fun time... if a wee bit colder.

Start time: 11/05/06, 8:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 10 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:30min/mile

Oops! I forgot to put this entry in. (Fortunately I can backdate it. But it's really five days later.) A nice 10-miler with me, Tod, and Stephanie. Great cool weather, great company... taper taper taper!

Start time: 10/28/06, 8:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC to Bethesda MD (and back)
Distance: 23 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 5:1
Average pace: 10:37min/mile

This past Saturday was the final long run for the Florence Marathon training program—a 23-miler. Stephanie, Tod, and I did it together (no Katie, alas!), and were joined partway through with Sarah who was running an 18-miler after having to take some time off. After spectacular 18- and 20-mile training runs, the 23-miler was mostly good but not great. The first 20 miles went well; we were aiming for an 11min/mile training pace and looking at our splits for the first half they ranged from 10:09 to 10:45. The second half had a bit of a slow down towards the end when my legs felt like lead, but once I took an Advil (which I'd forgotten to bring with me... Tod to the rescue!) our pace actually picked up a great deal.

It was a fun final long run... good company and spirits kept everyone moving, and at the end was a big celebration with balloons and what have you waiting for us.



I'll miss having my long runs with Stephanie (she's running Honolulu); she's been a fantastic running partner.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=454110

Start time: 10/22/06, 8:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 10 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:48min/mile

Ok, it was actually (according to the Gmaps Pedometer) a 9.85 mile run. Close enough for government work, that's what I say. It was a nice run today; a little slow at first as Stephanie, Tod, and I got our frozen muscles to start moving (another cold cold day), but by the end we were definitely zipping along. Definitely a good day for running once you really get going. Meanwhile, Emma and Site Assistant Stephanie are off in Chicago getting buffeted by 14mph winds as they run the Chicago Marathon. Oh, and there's a chance of snow. Yikes.

Start time: 10/15/06, 8:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 10 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:30min/mile

Sunday was a 10-mile recovery run, just me and Stephanie again. It was almost ideal weather for running, though. Nice and cool, in the mid-40s. Two layers on top and a pair of shorts and I was good to go. This is a big deal because this is in theory the weather we'll be having in Florence for the marathon so it's good to know that this is just what I should be wearing. (Other than that, nothing really to report!)

World Wide Half Marathon Challenge
Start time: 10/07/06, 8:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 13.1 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 5:1
Finishing time: 2:10:41
Average pace: 9:59min/mile

20-Miler
Start time: 10/07/06, 8:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 20 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 5:1
Average pace: 10:00min/mile

What a morning.

Today was my scheduled 20-mile training run for the Florence Marathon at the end of November... but it's also the weekend of the World Wide Half Marathon Challenge, in which over 500 people around the world registered to run a "virtual" half marathon either today or tomorrow. No prizes, but we've all got race numbers, a results board, even a (PDF) goodie bag. Now, I wasn't planning on try to beat my PR for a half marathon today (2:06:08) but I figured it was a fun thing to throw in there. After all, I'd be running the distance anyway.

( The next bit is also in my regular journal, for those who read both and want to skip it... )

Tragically, we still had 6.9 more miles to go, but we stuck together strong (aside from dropping off Emma with about 2.75 miles to go; she's running the Chicago Marathon in two weeks so 17 miles is all she really wanted/needed under her belt) and had a good finish. Well, aside from the blister on the bottom of my foot from when it was raining and I couldn't see the massive puddle in front of me, which was deep enough that it went up to my ankle. Nothing like getting all that water and dirt and grit in-between your sock and foot. Oh well. Still, a really strong day, and huge props go out to the rest of my pace group who really kept me going and strong.

Now I better just not catch a cold!

(Oh, a tiny bit of a cramp in the left calf about a mile from the end. I think it was due to being tired and cold and wet more than anything else, but as always I'm logging it just in case.)

Half: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=448451
20-miler: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=448439

Start time: 09/24/06, 7:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 18 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 5:1
Average pace: 10:29min/mile

Today was the 18-miler, which is the biggie. Not because it's the farthest distance that we'll run this season (my mileage will go up to 23 miles) but because 18 miles is the mythical number where if you can cover that distance, you can theoretically run a marathon. We actually started out with a bizarrely large group of seven people, but two were visitors who were only running 4.5 miles with us before turning around, and Emma was only clocking 10 miles. The journey out to the turn-around went well, though, hitting the first 9 miles in 1:33:53 (a 10:26min/mile pace). Since we were supposed to run a reduced pace of 10:30, this was pretty darn good. On the way back, soon after dropping off Emma, Chris M decided that once we cleared the Capital Crescent Trail he was going to slow down and let the next group catch him so that his foot wasn't bothering him.

From that point on it was just me, Stephanie, and Bill (who normally runs on Saturdays) and we clocked those last 5.5 miles quite well; our finishing time for the back nine was just a 1:34:45, less than a minute longer. Score. It was a good, strong finish (and as an added bonus I got to shout a hello to Coach Christa who was helping with the Miami training program today). But best of all?

I felt great, like I could've kept that pace up for another 8.2 miles, no problem. Heck, if I had that would've been a 4:35 finishing pace, which is already an improvement over last year. Fingers crossed, and barring disaster, this could be one great marathon. We'll see!

Start time: 09/17/06, 12:45pm
Location: W&OD Trail, markers 3.5 to 7.5 (and back)
Distance: 8 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:44min/mile

I knew I was missing this morning's group run (if the word "group" really applies!) because on Saturday I had a 6:15am start-time for our MCM runners, followed by a 1pm birthday lunch for a friend and then a 5pm birthday evening celebration for another friend. Since the last one would no doubt run late (and there would be lots of food and alcohol between the two different events), waking up for a 7am run just wasn't happening. So I promised myself that I'd get out there in the afternoon and make up the 8-miler.

Well, I'm glad I finished the run; I was definitely dragging a tiny bit here and there. Ultimately it was just me and the iPod shuffle hoofing it up and down the W&OD Trail (which I decided to run for old time's sake). Kind of a quiet run, really. A little warm in places—I do wish I'd been able to get out there a little earlier, but ah well! I should be glad I got there at all, really. And as an added bonus, I was wearing new sporty-looking shorts that grok had passed on to me. Yay!

Start time: 09/10/06, 7:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 16 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 5:1
Average pace: 10:00min/mile

Today was our 16-miler, which means that starting at this point our "long runs" are slowed down to help prevent injury. For the 16- and 18-milers, this means that I'm supposed to run them at a 10:30 instead of a 9:30min/mile. Well... um... oops! We were just zipping along, and it was around mile 10 that I looked down at my GPS and said, "Um... Sorry about that." (That one was a 9:17.) We had a really good set of splits though. (12:16, 9:28, 10:20, 10:35, 9:53, 10:18, 9:23, 9:51, 9:47, 9:17, 10:18, 10:38, 10:29, 10:17, 9:53, and... um... 9:01.) Ok, I can explain that last one. Chris had decided to run a little less so he cut across the mall to head directly back. As we were heading back the full route ourselves, we saw Chris about a quarter mile ahead of us. We were definitely gaining on him, but he was still about a tenth of a mile ahead of us when he crossed M Street and so... um... I decided to try and catch him. Ok, I know! Very stupid! Bad Greg! (And I didn't even catch him. That'll learn me.) I'm not supposed to do that sort of behavior.

Oh, the "Ow" of the subject line? Well... er... guess what I discovered on the front of my shirt 2.5 miles from the end of the course?



Ack! I put on Bodyglide and everything. (Chris took a picture of me with my cell phone camera but I was in a slight daze and didn't realize I had to hit "save" on the picture of me with my bloody-nipple-stained shirt. Oh well.) Guess from now on, 16 miles is not only the time when the slowdown hits but when I need to switch from Bodyglide to NipGuards.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=364973

Start time: 09/03/06, 7:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 7 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:20min/mile

Well, after Tuesday's "maybe I'll skip this weekend's recovery run" comment, did I? Well, obviously, no. It was just me again (booo) but it also wasn't raining (yay!) like the Saturday runners got. I headed out by myself at a nice clip, though; after the first warm-up mile we're talking about miles 2-4 being 9:08, 9:07, and 9:09. Part of the return trip was a little slower when I picked up Coach Karen at two different spots; we ran together for part of mile 5 (9:56) before she took care of another runner, then she cut across the mall and we did part of mile 7 together as well. (Meanwhile, mile 6? 9:11. It seems that I am very consistent once more.)

It was interesting contrasting the streets in Southwest DC versus up by the monuments and museums. There, you could tell that there had been the remnants of a tropical storm coming through; lots of branches and leaves carpeting the sidewalks as far as the eye could see. The water in the Washington Channel was just as high as the humidity, but the temperature was still low (mid-60s!) and it was a nice way to center and focus once more after last week's not so great 14-miler.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=299537

Start time: 08/27/06, 7:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 14 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:48min/mile

We started off the run today with a whopping five runners; myself, Stephanie, Emma, Chris S., and Rick. Or, as we joked at one point, "four staff members and a participant." We lost Chris four mies in, but that was actually to be expected because he'd only planned on running eight miles. Up through this point we were all going pretty strong, despite it being a muggy, humid sort of morning once we'd left the waterfront area. We began to lose a bit of momentum after that, though. The weather was dragging us down, but it seemed like something more as well. Just one of those runs where partway through you realize that (unlike my 12-miler two weeks ago) you aren't going to be able to just power through it like there's no tomorrow.

About six and a half miles in (on the Capital Crescent Trail) Stephanie started to slow down a bit and offered to wait for the next group to come back. She's coming off of a bad cold and all things considered was being a real trooper when she wasn't really back up to her full capacity. Since Emma and I were going to mark the turn-around on the trail, we zipped up the last half mile, chalked all over the place, and let Rick and Stephanie catch us there. From there we headed back, but Stephanie soon decided (wisely) that she really just needed to drop back a bit. She and Rick decided to run together until a slower group caught us, so Emma and I continued onwards.

Except, of course, we were starting to fade as well. We pushed each other through as best we could, and I knew I was starting to warm up when I first welcomed a water volunteer pouring water on my head, and then ended up taking my shirt off for the last mile and a half. These are the End Times, people. Once we finished up, though, we got word that a runner needed locating on the Capital Crescent Trail, so after grabbing half a banana we threw Emma's bike into my car and headed up to Thompson's Boathouse so she could start biking in from there. Naturally, no sooner did we get there than the runner resurfaced... phew! That was a real relief.

So, a tough run for everyone involved. I don't think anyone (except for maybe Rick, super-runner-extraordinaire) in our group had a "great" run by any stretch of the imagination. But we all finished, and we all made the right choices, and I'm quite pleased with that.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=364978

Start time: 08/20/06, 7:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 6 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:18min/mile

It was another recovery run this weekend, which was fine by me; I'd had a long day yesterday between our MCM participants's 20-miler and the margaritas-and-Snakes on a Plane expedition. No Stephanie again (I think she may have dropped out at this point, but am hoping not!) but Chris S. had mentioned on Thursday that he wanted a 6-miler this weekend so I talked him into showing up. It was a good run; a little warm and humid, but we kept to a good pace and knocked the miles out pretty quickly (9:30, 9:20, 9:15, 9:43, 9:05, 8:59). Then it was time for a banana, an orange slice... and going back home where I took a shower and climbed back into bed. Ahhhhhh.

Start time: 08/13/06, 7:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 12 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:30min/mile

What a beautiful, beautiful day to run. Nice cool temperatures (in August? In DC???) and the hint of a breeze. Ahhhhhhh. There was no Stephanie again today, but I ran with our AIDS Marathon site rep Emma, which was a lot of fun. We kept each other very much on pace, and a lot of our miles were actually in the 9-to-9:15 range. Once you add in three water stops and stopping to talk to poufsouffle (and her two adorable dogs!), our average was a 9:30 for the day, but we were actually moving at quite a clip. It was great to get to just talk with Emma and get to know her.

Even better, hitting the 12-mile part of the route meant that I finally got to bridge the gap in my knowledge of the course; I know it all the way up to Thompson's Boathouse, and from Key Bridge on up the Capital Crescent Trail, but not in-between. Running along the Georgetown Waterfront was just beautiful, a real way to rouse one's spirits. (Although running under the Whitehurst Freeway stinks a tiny bit only because it's hard to get a GPS signal with all the concrete above us and all. At least it's just a small stretch.) I'd had a long day on Saturday and then not gotten nearly enough sleep, so it felt great to not only really hit the course moving good, but our last four miles were 9:27, 9:47 (with a water stop), 9:12, and 9:10. Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Excellent.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=361201

EDITED TO ADD: I almost forgot... the last couple times I went running I ended up with a slight stitch in my side. When this cropped up back in 2005, I found that eating a little more oatmeal for breakfast (two packets instead of one) solved the problem. This morning, I only had one packet because I'd forgotten to add it to the grocery list and that was all that remained. And while running... no stitch! Hmmmm. Maybe now I need less food in the tummy instead of more? Or should I just stick with my original plan of starting back up crunches to strengthen those muscles? (Well, I should do that anyway.) Maybe it was the magical power of eating some Sports Beans (from Jelly Belly, they taste like crystalized Gatorade and are delicious) instead? Clearly this requires more research.

Start time: 08/06/06, 7:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 5 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:20min/mile

Easiest "recovery run" ever—it was just me today (no Stephanie! I hope she and/or Katie are back next week...) but it was such a short run I didn't care. I'd like to say I thought a lot of deep thoughts and such but instead it was one of those runs where you just leave everything behind and go. And, I have to admit—it was a little fun to be the first one out there, all by myself, waving to each group as I came back. It was almost like being a signal for everyone else that the turn-around was just down the street and they were almost there, because I was already coming back through. It's nice to spread the good word. :)

Start time: 07/29/06, 7:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 10 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 7:1, then 6:1
Average pace: 9:30min/mile

I ran with the Saturday group this morning and... phew! Apparently there really is no place like home. One big problem was that the 9:00 group is really small, so the two groups apparently merge on a regular basis. The problem was, in the words of the coach at the site, "That group really runs between an 8:30 and 9:00 pace." Turns out there's someone else normally there that sort of takes the 9:30 part of the group under her wing, but wasn't there. Yay. The good news is that Katie (from last Sunday) was there so the two of us ran together. The group was fast out of the gate and about two-and-a-half miles in we gave up on keeping up with them. So we had a perfectly good run together, although by the end I felt a little queasy and dehydrated; a combination of a Paula-Radcliffe-esque need for a bathroom break (thankfully unlike everyone's favorite winner of the London Marathon, I hung onto my decorum for the last mile) and perhaps eating a little too much cookie dough while baking last night. Oops.

On the bright side, we'd been zooming enough at the beginning that even with slowing down a tiny bit for the end stretch, still a solid 9:30 pace. (And ultimately it was just an extra two minutes of walking at one point, and another brief walk break when I sucked down water into my windpipe. Whoops.) Very, very, very nice people at the Saturday site, but I think despite Sundays being just me and Stephanie most of the time I'll take that. Definitely.

Start time: 07/23/06, 7:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 9 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:30min/mile

What a nice run it was today! Yesterday was uncomfortably humid when I was out helping with the Marine Corps Marathon training program, so this was a real study in contrast; nice cool breezes, and while humid nowhere near as bad as yesterday. Stephanie couldn't be there because of work, but Katie from the Saturday run group was there so I had someone else to run the 9:30s with. Additionally, the two members of the 10:00 group (Scott and Pary) decided to join us, which was nice for added company—especially because on Sundays when Stephanie can't be there and no one else from the Saturday site shows up, I'll be running with them anyway.

Anyway, it was a really good run. Katie was fun to talk to, the mileage just sort of whipped on by, and before we knew it we were done. Scott and Pary slowed down a little bit towards the end but seemed to still be in good spirits. And, since I'm going to probably run with the Saturday group this next weekend (afterwards I'll be heading out of town for a mini-vacation) it's good to know someone from that site. Best of all, we were really on pace for almost the entire thing, and perhaps most importantly towards the end. When I finished at the end, I thought to myself, "Yeah, it should be like that." So yay!

Start time: 07/16/06, 7:00am
Location: Downtown Washington DC
Distance: 8 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 6:1
Average pace: 9:53min/mile

Dang, it sure was sticky and humid this morning... everyone looked like moving puddles of sweat.

Stephanie was back so I ended up running with her. We were on pace for a lot, then definitely slowed down a bit at the end. No splits, alas, so I've got to go entirely based on my total time. Not quite up to par but considering the conditions and that last week at this time I was at an 11min/mile, I'm more than satisfied. Next week I might have to run with the 10min group since Stephanie may have to work, mind you, so we'll see how that goes!