Training Widget

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

800 miles and still runnin'

Day 237 - April 30, 2008

April came to an end today and I celebrated cracking the 800 mile mark. I'm well off my anticipated pace for completing 4000 miles - yeah, I'd say 37 days is a bit off pace. Maybe it was bit ambitious - maybe I've just been a slacker. Either way, I've still run 237 straight days.

Day: 237 Time/Date: 6:15 AM 4/30/2008 Weather: Clear, 35F
Run: N Carnation-Davis Miles: 3.6 Time: 26:42 Pace: 7:25 min/mile
Miles to Date: 802.1 Total Running Time: 98:15:40

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Easy day

Day 236 - April 29, 2008

Recovery day after yesterday's tempo run.

Day: 236 Time/Date: 7:20 PM 4/29/2008 Weather: Clear, windy, 53F
Run: Amicus 2 mile Miles: 2.0 Time: 14:42 Pace: 7:21 min/mile
Miles to Date: 798.5 Total Running Time: 97:48:58

Monday, April 28, 2008

Exceeding expectations

Day 235 - April 28, 2008

Decided to run a tempo run today and chose a 3 loop route around the neighborhood. There are plenty of small hills to mix it up on the loop and not a run I normally do for fun. Typically, the loop takes 9:40 to 10:00 minutes to complete so I was hoping to run the 3 loops in under 29 minutes.

As I started out on the first lap I found it really hard to catch my breath. My chest felt tight and I'm not really sure why. The rain had cleared out and the air was crisp and clean. I pushed through it and eventually was able to gather my breath and pick up the pace. The first lap ended in 9:28, which was well under pace.

As the second lap went on, I felt my breathing picking up and my pace getting faster. The watch confirmed that. The second lap split was almost 25 seconds faster at 8:51. I thought I was struggling on the third lap. My breathing was really hard and I developed a side stitch. I thought I had just hit the wall, but it turns out it was the good pain that comes from running too fast. I finished the third lap in 8:37 - 50 seconds faster than the first lap.

It was good to run fast over a tough course. I feel like I'm starting to bounce back from the Feb-April lull that was holding me at 14-16 miles a week. We'll see if I can maintain it.

Day: 235 Time/Date: 5:50 PM 4/28/2008 Weather: Cloudy, 61F
Run: Twin Lakes Miles: 3.9 26:56 Pace: 6:54 min/mile
Miles to Date: 796.5 Total Running Time: 97:34:16

Faster than the day before

Day 234 - April 27, 2008

Same run as Saturday - just a little quicker pace.

Day: 234 Time/Date: 11:30 AM 4/27/2008 Weather: Cloudy, 60F
Run: N Carnation-Davis Miles: 3.6 Time: 25:49 Pace: 7:10 min/mile
Miles to Date: 792.6 Total Running Time: 97:07:20

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Racing the Thunder

Day 233 - April 26, 2008

Squeezed in today's run just as the second storm started. I was racing the black clouds trying to get home before the rain and just managed to turn into the driveway as the first drops started to fall. It was a cool storm that dropped the temperature 10 degrees in about 5 minutes.

Day: 233 Time/Date: 4:30 PM 4/26/2008 Weather: Cloudy, 75F
Run: N Carnation-Davis Miles: 3.6 Time: 26:36 Pace: 7:23 min/mile
Miles to Date: 789 Total Running Time: 96:41:31

Friday, April 25, 2008

Red sky in the morning...

Day 232 - April 25, 2008

Means I am up and out running way to early.

Day: 232 Time/Date: 5:50 AM 4/25/2008 Weather: Cloudy, 53F
Run: Amicus 2 mile Miles: 2.0 Time: 14:49 Pace: 7:24 min/mile
Miles to Date: 785.4 Total Running Time: 96:14:55

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Just what I needed

Day 231 - April 24, 2008

Needed to blow off some steam tonight and the run was just the ticket - wish I had more time to go further.

Day: 231 Time/Date: 8:30 PM 4/24/2008 Weather: Clear, 70F
Run: Geranium-Amicus Miles: 3.5 Time: 26:30 Pace: 7:34 min/mile
Miles to Date: 783.4 Total Running Time: 96:00:06

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

No particular place to go

Day 230 - April 23, 2008

Just a fun run with lots of off road running. Mostly I just meandered and enjoyed the warm sun.

Day: 230 Time/Date: 6:45 PM 4/23/2008 Weather: Clear, 75F
Run: SpringHill/SpringHaven Miles: 3.8 Time: 29:11 Pace: 7:41 min/mile
Miles to Date: 779.9 Total Running Time: 95:33:36

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Fixing typos

Day 229 - April 22, 2008

Today I found several calculation errors in my log stats and spent some time fixing the total time run. I think everything is correct now. Mostly these were due to copy and paste errors - I know I'm lazy - but I've got to save time where I can.

I was fortunate to avoid the rain showers this evening and finished the run as quickly as I could on a full stomach after dinner. I ran a 2 lap course tonight and ran the second lap 45 seconds faster than the first. My legs felt much better than last night and the hills didn't really bother me at all. It was a good run.

Day: 229 Time/Date: 8:30 PM 4/22/2008 Weather: Cloudy, 60F
Run: Twin Lakes Miles: 2.6 Time: 18:35 Pace: 7:09 min/mile
Miles to Date: 776.1 Total Running Time: 95:04:25

Monday, April 21, 2008

Delayed onset soreness

Day 228 - April 21, 2008

Tried to avoid the rain this morning b y waiting until tonight after work. That plan didn't work so well as it poured the entire 15 minutes I was running.

I didn't feel yesterday's run all day until the first hill of tonight's run. My legs were definitely sluggish and I felt every stride in my quads as I climbed each hill. I guess that Welsh run was harder than I thought.

Day: 228 Time/Date: 10:00 PM 4/16/2008 Weather: Clear, 47F
Run: Dahlia Miles: 2.0 Time: 14:28 Pace: 7:14 min/mile
Miles to Date: 773.5 Total Running Time: 94:46:05

Sunday, April 20, 2008

5 of the scariest minutes

Day 227 - April 20, 2008

On the way home this evening, I had the wife drop me off at the far end of Welsh Run and I ran home. It had rained all day, so I figured I was pretty safe and could be home before dark. I was half right.

It started to rain lightly about half way back which isn't bad for me, but anyone who knows Virginia drivers knows that I was now in the danger zone. I've never seen people drive so bad as they do when it rains around here.

When I turned onto Amicus, it was like every car in Greene had decided it was time to get home and get home fast. Of the probably 50 cars I saw, only one even slowed down, and I think that guy was just checking out my legs. I know his wife was. I decided my best bet was to just run as fast as I could until I could get off the main road, so I just let it fly down the hill, doing my best squirrel impersonation dodging back on forth across the road to avoid as much of the traffic as possible. Fortunately, it only took about 5 minutes to get from Welsh Run to E Daffodil and safety.

Other than that it was a pretty cool run and nice to get in something over 3 miles. I'll take it easy tomorrow, but I'm hoping this will help get my weekly average mileage back above 20 again.

Day: 227 Time/Date: 6:45 PM 4/20/2008 Weather: Light Rain, 59F
Run: Welsh Run Miles: 6.3 Time: 45:38 Pace: 7:15 min/mile
Miles to Date: 771.5 Total Running Time: 94:31:37

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Day of fun

Day 226 - April 19, 2008

Today was just one of those fun days. Soccer games, ice cream, kickball, and running.

Day: 226 Time/Date: 8:30 PM 4/19/2008 Weather: Cloudy, 70F
Run: Daffodil Geranium Loop Miles: 2.7 Time: 19:23 Pace: 7:11 min/mile
Miles to Date: 765.2 Total Running Time: 93:45:59

Friday, April 18, 2008

Another great day for running

Day 225 - April 18, 2008

Friday afternoon and great weather make for a fun run. With a 5 and 7 year old waiting for our all important game of kickball, I had to make the run quick. It was worth it. Nothing better than wailing on the neighborhood kids with an 18" kickball.

Day: 225 Time/Date: 6:30 PM 4/18/2008 Weather: Clear, 84F
Run: Amicus 2 mile Miles: 2.0 Time: 13:58 Pace: 6:59 min/mile
Miles to Date: 762.5 Total Running Time: 93:26:36

Thursday, April 17, 2008

What to say?

Day 224 - April 17, 2008

I've been sitting here trying to think of something clever to say about tonight's run but I got nothin'. It was just a great run on a clear spring evening. There was almost no breeze, so all the trees that are in bloom provided waves of spring fragrance that would trigger almost everyone's allergies, but not mine - I've got some super-anti-pollen antibodies or something that keep me sneeze free. Yeah me and sorry to those of you who can't enjoy it.

Day: 224 Time/Date: 6:30 PM 4/17/2008 Weather: Clear, 75F
Run: N Carnation-Davis Miles: 3.6 Time: 25:28 Pace: 7:04 min/mile
Miles to Date: 760.5 Total Running Time: 93:12:38

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

A Wednesday that didn't go as planned

Day 223 - April 16, 2008

I should have known when I woke up screaming at 12:50 am that today was not going to be a good day. I have had leg cramps before. When I ran my first marathon I even had cramps in both hamstrings, calves, and quads at the same time. But nothing was like the cramp I had last night. My hamstring shrunk to about a third of its normal length and was as hard as a rock. I tried to get out of bed to stretch it out and managed to fall flat on the floor. It took almost 10 minutes to calm down to where I could get back to bed. I'm quite sure I scared the wife pretty good. She was a good egg and got me a banana to shove down my gob while I tried to stretch it out.

Unfortunately, this was just the beginning. I wasted a beautiful day for running today. Work just refused to end today and I was forced to push all the way back until 10:00. I completely missed the bright blue skies and temperatures in the 70s. That really sucks.

Day: 223 Time/Date: 10:00 PM 4/16/2008 Weather: Clear, 47F
Run: Dahlia Miles: 2.0 Time: 14:28 Pace: 7:14 min/mile
Miles to Date: 756.9 Total Running Time: 92:47:10

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The anti-holiday

Day 222 - April 15th, 2008

People who think we should raise taxes should volunteer to do so now. Let me know if you are interested and I'll let you pay some of mine.

Oh yeah, I did run today too.

Day: 222 Time/Date: 8:10 PM 4/15/2008 Weather: Clear, 48F
Run: Daffodil Geranium Loop Miles: 2.7 Time: 20:56 Pace: 7:45 min/mile
Miles to Date: 754.9 Total Running Time: 92:32:42

Monday, April 14, 2008

Another minor milestone

Day 221 - April 14, 2008

I felt pretty good tonight so I decided to push out another half mile. The hills didn't seem to bother my ankle tonight but I'm going to still take it easy for a few days.

On another note, I did pass the 750 mile mark tonight. At this rate I should pass 1000 miles before day 300 - we'll see if I can get back to a more typical weekly mileage.

Day: 221 Time/Date: 9:00 PM 4/14/2008 Weather: Clear, 46F
Run: Twin Lakes Miles: 2.6 Time: 19:34 Pace: 7:32 min/mile
Miles to Date: 752.2 Total Running Time: 92:11:46

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Time to break out

Day 220 - April 13, 2008

Spoiled by the warm weather of the last week, I really didn't enjoy the return of cooler temperatures. Sure 56 isn't that bad, but the wind made it feel much cooler. I'm really stuck in this two mile rut, but I think I should have some more time freeing up this coming week. I think all of weekend guests are done for awhile - who knows maybe I'll even get a long run in.

Day: 220 Time/Date: 12:00 PM 4/13/2008 Weather: Cloudy, windy, 56F
Run: Amicus 2 mile Miles: 2.0 Time: 14:01 Pace: 7:01 min/mile
Miles to Date: 749.6 Total Running Time: 91:52:12

Saturday, April 12, 2008

One more run before the temperature drops

Day 219 - April 12, 2008

The forecast for tomorrow does not look good compared to the last 3 days. It was nice to get one more warm weather run in.


Day: 219 Time/Date: 8:15 PM 4/12/2008 Weather: Clear, 73F
Run: Dahlia Miles: 2.0 Time: 15:20 Pace: 7:40 min/mile
Miles to Date: 747.6 Total Running Time: 91:38:11

Friday, April 11, 2008

Flashes of Lightning

Day 218 - April 11, 2008

If push mowing my lawn counts for anything I'll use that for my lame excuse of the night. I hurried home from work to get the lawn mowed before the rains come later tonight, but that pushed the run back to after 8:00. The cool thing was that the approaching storms put on quite the fireworks display without me getting drenched. My legs were pretty dead from the mowing so I didn't push the pace very hard tonight. Some day I won't have any excuses and I'll get a decent run in.

Day: 218 Time/Date: 8:15 PM 4/11/2008 Weather: Clear, 75F
Run: Dahlia Miles: 2.0 Time: 15:03 Pace: 7:31 min/mile
Miles to Date: 745.6 Total Running Time: 91:22:51

Thursday, April 10, 2008

If dog hurdling becomes an olympic event...

Day 217 - April 10, 2008

...I will be a front-runner for the gold. Some little rat-dog came darting out of the bushes this morning and went straight through my legs, turned and came right back through. In my most graceful of efforts I managed not to crush it. At least it wasn't a great dane.

Today is going to be a long day - 12 hour trip to our nation's capitol for 2 hours of meetings. Good times. At least I got the run in early.

Amicus 2 Mile - -- 15:07 ----- 43F

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Tomorrow will be worse

Day 216 - April 9, 2008

Today was one of those days where I would have completely wasted the nice weather and not run without the streak. Glad I could squeeze in 20 minutes but 35 or 40 would have been more fun. Oh well - at least the taxes are done.

Day: 216 Time/Date: 7:10 PM 4/9/2008 Weather: Clear, 60F
Run: SpringHill Dickerson Miles: 2.9 Time: 20:11 Pace: 6:58 min/mile
Miles to Date: 741.6 Total Running Time: 90:52:43

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Just before dusk

Day 215 - April 8, 2008

The highlight of today's run was catching a doe and her fawn sneaking through the woods. It was nice to stop and enjoy the moment. When they finally saw me they bounded off effortlessly. If only my running came that easily.

Day: 215 Time/Date: 7:30 PM 4/8/2008 Weather: Cloudy, 53F
Run: Davis Run Miles: 3.3 Time: 24:28 Pace: 7:25 min/mile
Miles to Date: 738.7 Total Running Time: 90:32:32

Monday, April 7, 2008

How does this happen?

Day 214 - April 7, 2008

Dark and rain - my favorite time to run. I don't know what happened to my plans today but they went downhill fast. Man I need a day to just run for fun.

Yeah that does sound like whinese - maybe I can get my kids to translate.


Day: 214 Time/Date: 8:40 PM 4/7/2008 Weather: Light Rain, 46F
Run: Dahlia Miles: 2.0 Time: 15:05 Pace: 7:32 min/mile
Miles to Date: 735.4 Total Running Time: 90:08:04

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Tendai Marathon Monks

When I first heard of the Tendai Monks and their 1000 days of running I was in awe. The distances are insane and the conditions brutal. It sort of makes this streak look meaningless.

But then I realized they do their 1000 days over 7 years - yeah thats no streak.
I'll give them credit for 40Km everyday for 6 months though.

Ok I am kidding - this is nothing short of amazing and explains why only 46 people have accomplished this since the 1800s. Read about it here

No time today

Day 213 - April 6, 2008

I'll just post the details today. And for the record, I hate doing my taxes.

Day: 213 Time/Date: 7:20 PM 4/6/2008 Weather: Light Rain, 48F
Run: Twin Lakes Miles: 2.6 Time: 19:34 Pace: 7:32 min/mile
Miles to Date: 733.4 Total Running Time: 89:52:59

Saturday, April 5, 2008

The Day it Didn't Rain

Day 212 - April 5, 2008

Nothing fancy today - just a quick run with the dog. The ankle didn't hurt quite as much today - maybe it is finally loosening up.

Day: 212 Time/Date: 5:30 PM 4/5/2008 Weather: Cloudy, 61F
Run: Dahlia Miles: 2.0 Time: 14:47 Pace: 7:23 min/mile
Miles to Date: 730.8 Total Running Time: 89:33:25

Friday, April 4, 2008

Old Bald Runner Revealed

Day 231 - April 4, 2008


Well there you go - finally a picture. One would think after 30 weeks I'd be a bit more svelt but, well, I'm not. I still eat too much for the limited number of miles I run. I justify it by thinking how out of shape I would be if I didn't run.

Anyway, I still get down the road quickly some days. Today I was crunched for time before dinner so I pushed and finished my 2 miles in just over 13 minutes. Not bad for an old bald runner. Probably not the smartest thing for a bum ankle, but someone keeps telling me to suck it up.


Day: 211 Time/Date: 6:45 PM 4/4/2008 Weather: Cloudy, 61F
Run: Amicus 2 mile Miles: 2.0 Time: 13:16 Pace: 6:38 min/mile
Miles to Date: 728.8 Total Running Time: 89:18:38

Thursday, April 3, 2008

30 Weeks Complete

Day 210 - April 3, 2008

The ankle was really stiff this morning but did loosen up after some stretching. I iced it overnight and plan to continue that routine until the pain goes away.

Nothing special to say about the run. It was just a typical 2 mile run.

Day: 210 Time/Date: 6:50 AM 4/3/2008 Weather: Cloudy, 37F
Run: Amicus 2 mile Miles: 2.0 Time: 14:39 Pace: 7:19 min/mile
Miles to Date: 726.8 Total Running Time: 89:05:22

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

crackle, crackle, snap

Day 209 - April 2, 2008

Not a great run tonight - never got loose and felt very blah. I think I'm still feeling the effects of the 10 miler as well. The aches and pains are lasting longer during the runs than they should.

Day: 209 Time/Date: 9:30 PM 4/2/2008 Weather: Clear, 40F
Run: Dahlia Miles: 2.0 Time: 15:18 Pace: 7:39 min/mile
Miles to Date: 724.8 Total Running Time: 88:50:43

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

No Fool - Just Great weather

Day 208 - April 1, 2008

Perfect weather for an evening run.

Day: 208 Time/Date: 6:30 AM 3/27/2008 Weather: Clear, 70F
Run: N Carnation-Davis Miles: 3.6 Time: 26:29 Pace: 7:21 min/mile
Miles to Date: 722.8 Total Running Time: 88:35:25