5 Months and 151 straight days

The month of May has come to a close and I finished with a 10 mile afternoon run in 90+ degree heat. This month has been a scheduling nightmare for me and I've had to take my runs when I could get them. More than once I was out running after 9:00pm to get my run in for the day. I've been trying to maintain at least 100 miles/month, and I started the day with 91 miles logged in May. So a long run it was.

It wasn't too bad despite the heat. There was a good breeze for most of the run and the humidity today was lower than normal for the Virginia summer. I hate that nearly 10% of my miles for the month came on the last day, but I am glad I broke into triple digits. I finished the month with 101 miles and that was just enough to push me over the 600 mile mark for the year. I'd like to get back on track and finish the next 100 in 21-24 days, but as long as I keep the streak alive, that's all that really matters.

I hope everyone has a great June and that the miles come easy.

No long run on Memorial Day

Day 145 - May 25, 2009

I didn't get a long run in today, but I did go on a hike with the family today before running this evening. The weather threatened thunderstorms all day, so I wasn't keen on getting too far from the house. I know this is an excuse and that probably would have kept me from running at all today if it weren't for the streak. Instead, I managed a humid 3.7 miles just before dark.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and took a minute to remember the sacrifice that so many gave for our freedom. To all our men and women in the Armed Forces now, and in the past, I say thank you.

Busy week - many short runs

Day 142 - May 22, 2009

The streak continues, but the mileage this week is way down, and I'm way off pace for the month too. This week has brought many runs of 2 miles or less, but at least I didn't take the week off. Tonight I had time for a 3.5 mile run and it felt pretty good to run for more than 15 minutes. I'm hoping to get a longer run in over the long weekend to help push my monthly mileage up towards 100 miles. I hope I can get there.

New route today

Today I decided to take my running clothes to work and see how many miles I could get in at lunch time. It was a great day for running. I ran through the research park and then out to the airport and back. All in all I got about 4.5 miles in before it was back to the office. Running at lunch really revved up my energy for the afternoon and the hours flew by. I'm going to try and do this a couple times a week just to break up the routine of running the same routes all the time. There are a lot of options for different routes that all fall in that 30-45 minute range. I'm pretty excited that the new job shouldn't interfere with my streak.

Day 130 - perfect morning

I woke to a beautiful sunrise and perfect conditions for a run. I threw on my shoes and was out the door before anyone else even began to stir this morning. It was perfect. The sky was crystal clear and deep blue. The clouds transformed from a pinkish glow to brilliant orange and where snow white by the end of the run. It was a morning too pretty not to run. If they all were this nice, running for 1000 days would be a piece of cake!

Day 129 - To the track

I had the kids tonight (the wife was headed out for a girls night out) and wasn't sure when I was going to get in my run. I thought I was going to be relegated to the treadmill again when my youngest had a brilliant idea. "Dad, can we go over to the school and ride our bikes?" That was the best idea I heard all day. You see, the track at our high school is asphalt - terrible for a high school meet, but perfect for a dad with two kids and their bikes. I put them in the outside lanes and they can ride their little hearts out and I can get in a track workout.

My initial plan was to just run three miles and call it a day. I figured they would be tired and ready to go home. I really didn't even plan to run fast. I was thinking I would just run a steady 7:30-7:40 pace and go home 23 minutes later. But, as the saying goes, you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.

I ran exactly one lap at 7:30 pace, and then it happened. My pace got steadily faster and faster. Each lap just slightly faster than the previous. I finished the first mile in 7:17, and the second in 6:50. 14:07 for the first two miles. At that point, I decided I would stop and stretch and see if I could do a repeat of that for a second two mile, then finish with a faster single mile. Mile three did not disappoint and I finished the first four laps in 6:39. Again, each lap was slightly faster than the previous. I thought I might start to slow at some point, but it didn't happen on the 4th mile. In fact, I ran that mile even faster in 6:27!

I stopped to check on the kids who had ditched their bikes and were looking for trouble. Fortunately I was able to distract them with the playground just outside the track and they were content long enough for me to attempt my final mile.

With the succes of the first four miles, I wanted to end the workout with a strong finish. I was guessing I could run the last mile in 6:20 if I really pushed it. That meant I would have to run each lap in 95 seconds - which was three seconds faster than the final lap of mile 4.

Lap one was right on a perfect pace of 95, and I followed it up with a 93. That gave me a 3:08 for the first 800m. I was two seconds ahead of pace, but my legs didn't care. I was feeling great and sped around the third lap in 91 seconds. I really didn't know what to expect on the last lap. It felt like the wind really picked up when I was headed into it and I have expected the final lap to be slower, but I was pretty sure I was still going to make the 6:20 - there was no way I would be 6 seconds slower than the 95 I was shooting for. As I hit the final straightaway, the wind was not going to give in. I reached the finish line, hit my watch, and looked down to see I had finished in 89 for a finishing time of 6:08, with a final half mile time of 3 minutes even!

I really needed a fast run to finish the week. It's been one of those weeks where I just wasn't happy with my running. This finishes the week strong and gets me ready for another day in the streak to 1000.

All I could manage today

After a 60 minute pick-up football game at lunch and 90 minutes of mowing this evening, 1 loop around the neighborhood was all I could muster tonight.

I'm not worried about not getting enough running in - I was sucking wind most of the game. One would think 30 miles a week would prepare you for that, but its a totally different type of running! But man it was fun!

5 Miles for Cinco de Mayo

Day 125 - May 5, 2009

The legs felt much better tonight after 3 days of short runs. It took me about a mile to loosen up, but after that I felt fine. With any luck, I won't be sore tomorrow and I can get back on track with my weekly mileage.

Just in case you missed it

The Albemarle High School, boys 4x800m relay team is really special. Not only did they win the prestigious Penn Relays last weekend, they shattered the US National Record. Congratulations Albemarle.