May 2 - Midnight Run (Almost) - 4.5 Miles

The crazy pace of life continues...parent-teacher conference this morning, race to work (again), limo to Hartford with coworkers for lunch honoring co. president and 7 other women business leaders (pretty cool), finish last minute assignment at work at 7:30pm, shoot over to gym for late run but no sneakers in  my gym bag, race home say hi to family and lace 'em up for 4.5 miles in the dark (got out around 8:30pm).  I ran 3 laps around Day Pond until I started seeing things lurking in the shadows.

Except for the dark, conditions were perfect;  high 50's, light winds.  I completed miles 454-458 (unsponsored).  I felt like I was running fast but it turned out to be pedestrian pace.  Fortunately I didn't run into any pedestrians in the dark.

Today's Line:

Date

DoW

ToD

Distance

Time

Min/Mile

Notes

Effort

Total Miles

5/2

Th

8:30p

4.5

36:16:00

8:03:33

58f

7

458.4

Just in case you're getting bored of my running routes

May 1 - 5 Miles Ran

It was another action-packed Wednesday (Ellie's school night) but I managed to get 5 miles in after work.  This morning consisted of running around trying to help Shea get ready for school (2 quizzes and a presentation--busy day for a 6th grader), racing to work, picking up dinner on the way home and getting it ready for Shea around 6pm, asking our caretaker to stay an extra hour, getting my run in, eating dinner myself and finally giving in to Shea's desperate pleas for me to sit in the driveway and watch her rapidly-advancing roller-blading skills before the sun went down.  Phew!

I ran the Pinebrook loop with an extra loop around Church St. to round out 5 miles.  It was a beautiful evening, very comfortable around 6pm.  I was visited by several of my canine buds, the one on the farm on Rt. 149 and the German Shepherd at the end of Pine, and my bovine buds further down on Pine.  I also dealt with the Garmin Curse (see Apr. 10 post) at the end of mile 3--after a long downhill I was well under 7 mins a mile but I slowly crept up to 7:01/mi by the 2.7 mile mark.  After seeing this on the Garmin, I of course gutted out the 0.3 miles so my 3rd mile time would be under 7/mi.  And then  I had to run hill on Pine for the next 5 mins.  The curse...argghh.

I completed miles 449-453 (unsponsored).  It looks like I'm on track to hit the half-way mark on May 14th, Shea's 12th birthday, but if have increased my miles a little lately and if I keep up the recent pace 500 could come that weekend (11th or 12th).

Today's Line:

Date

DoW

ToD

Distance

Time

Min/Mile

Notes

Effort

Total Miles

5/1

W

6:15p

5.0

37:55:00

7:35:00

60f

7

453.9

Apr. 29 - Rest Day; Apr. 30 - 4.5 Miles Ran

After a day off yesterday, I put in 4.5 miles this (Tue) morning by doing 3 laps around Day Pond.  The morning fishermen quietly tolerate me disturbing their peaceful environs, though I think 3 laps is right at their breaking point.  Though my run was a little rushed, I enjoyed it--it's a great feeling to have the workout completed before heading off for work.

Today's Line:

Date

DoW

ToD

Distance

Time

Min/Mile

Notes

Effort

Total Miles

4/30

Tu

7:15a

4.5

34:31:00

7:40:13

50f

7

448.9

Apr. 28 - 6 Miles at the Track

Another beautiful day-sunny around 70 degrees.  My daughter had a friend stay over Sat. night so it was impossible to get out early this morning.  Besides the normal chaos associated with two 11-year olds in sleepover mode, the girls also had to work on their "watershed" project due this week.  The project entails constructing a model of a watershed area, which is basically the topography from mountains to the mouth of a river.  As always, the line between parental guidance and, how should we put this, well, "moving things along" was blurred.  Let's just say parents of 6th graders in town spent varying amounts of time "assisting" their kids with the project this weekend.

Still, I was able to get the track around 2:30 and knock out a decent workout.  I was a little stiff from the 10 miler yesterday, but I was able to get in 4x400, 2x800 and 1x1600, same as last Sunday.  With warm-up and cool-down laps, the total came to 6 miles, covering miles 439-444.  Miles 439-443 are not yet sponsored, but 444 was sponsored way back on Jan. 16th by Juli Giampaolo Soracin--thanks Juli!  A couple of cool things about today's run--apparently the number 4 is important to Juli, and today's workout ended not only at 444, but at 444.4 total miles.  Also, the workout was my second of the year at the track; many Masuk alums will recall that Juli was an All-American track star in high school.  Cool stuff.

Today's Line:

Date

DoW

ToD

Distance

Time

Min/Mile

Notes

Effort

Total Miles

4/28

Su

2:30p

6.0

n/a

n/a

68f

9

444.4

Track Workout:

4 lap warm up - 1.01 miles - 7:34 (7:29/min/mi)

4 x 400m, 200m jog in between:

1) 1:22.8 (5:26)

2) 1:26.1 (5:36)

3) 1:26.3 (5:39)

4) 1:25.5 (5:37)

2 x 800m, 400m jog in between:

1) 3:04.1 (6:04)

2) 3:04.6 (6:06)

1 x 1600m, 600m job in between:

6:22.4 (6:17)

3 lap cool down

Home stretch at East Hampton High track

Apr. 27 - 10.2 Miles Ran

Beautiful day, nice run.  This is what I've been waiting for!  I ran the Colchester Half Marathon course but cut off the final 3 mile loop for a total of 10.2 miles.  I ended very strong, with my pace in the 7:15/mile area the last two miles (yes, I know this because of the Garmin Curse--see my Apr. 10th post for details).

I completed miles 429-438 (unsponsored).  Pretty soon the we're going to need a big influx of sponsors, or one very generous one, to catch up to my mile total.  I hope it happens, I miss not thinking about the particular sponsor on each run.  I did think of Chase on my run today, primarily about how active he would have been on a day like today.  Let's all keep him in our thoughts when we play with our loved ones on days like today.

Today's Line:

Date

DoW

ToD

Distance

Time

Min/Mile

Notes

Effort

Total Miles

4/27

Sa

1:30p

10.2

1:18:11

7:39:54

65F

7

438.4

Evergreen Nursery around 4 mile mark 

More cows around 5 mile mark

Love this farm, it's on a big downhill section of the run

Apr. 26 - Another 4 Miles in Glastonbury

I'm getting the lunchtime routine down a little better; there is just no fluff time in the process.  Five minutes from desk to changing room, 5 minutes to change and get out the door, 2 minute stretch, 30(ish) minute run, 5 minute cool down, 10 minutes to shower and change, 3 minutes back to the desk.

I didn't have the Garmin today so I timed myself on my regular wrist watch.  The run felt a little slower than yesterday, but I clocked in 30 seconds faster at 27:20 (6:50/mi.).  This is a pretty fast pace for my fitness level, so I'm not 100% sure I timed the run accurately, but what the heck, no one is coming in second place so no one is hurt if I pad the stats a little (but definitely not on the mileage)!

I completed (unsponsored) miles 245-248 today.  Great weather, mid 60's, no wind.  I guess the sponsors like the thought of me running in horrible conditions; are they holding back until the next 30 inch snowfall???

Today's Line:

Date

DoW

ToD

Distance

Time

Min/Mile

Notes

Effort

Total Miles

4/26

F

2:30p

4.0

27:20:00

6:50:00

63f

8

428.2

Apr. 25 - 4 Miles Ran

I'm still trying to work out the logistics of the weekday lunch time run.  I rushed coming, going and running but still needed just over an hour to get back to my office.  I did 4 miles around Glastonbury center at 12:30.  I run in a little traffic for about 7/10ths of a mile, but then it was pretty quiet.  The gym is 1/4 mile from work, so with a 10 mins to get ready on each side, and a 10 min cool down, I get 30 mins of running time.  Everything has to go like clockwork, though.  Not the most relaxing way to run.

Still, I felt very strong today, running fairly comfortably on the flat course at 7 min/mile.  It's a tough call on the best time of day to run; I have more time before work in the morning but I don't feel as strong.  Maybe it's best to keep mixing it up.

I completed miles 421-424 today.  These miles are not yet sponsored.  The next sponsored mile is number 444, by our favorite numerologist, Juli Giampoalo.  I haven't been able to get the connection to 444 out of her; maybe she'll share when I reach the magic number.

Today's Line:

Date

DoW

ToD

Distance

Time

Min/Mile

Notes

Effort

Total Miles

4/25

Th

12:30p

4.0

27:52:00

6:58:00

58f

8

424.2