~8 miles @ ~11 min/mi

Yesterday afternoon's planned run didn't work out for CM Manlandro—she had to stay late at the lab—but today looks good, and about 6pm she arrives at my home. The jog to Rock Creek Trail milepost 3, maybe 2+ miles, takes 20:33 and then we fire up the engines. CM's assignment from her Experienced Marathoner Program coach is to do 4 miles at about 9 min/mi, but knowing her competitive nature I figure we'll go faster, and we do. The miles, to RCT marker #5 and back, flow by at an accelerating pace: 8:57, 8:49, 8:46, and 8:44. We take a ~2 minute recovery walk at the turnaround, which I taunt CM about mercilessly. Our jog-walk back home is ~29 minutes. The evening is warm and humid, and my clothes are sweat-soaked before the halfway point. I lose 2 lbs. in spite of drinking more than 20 oz. of water along the way.

^z - 2009-08-18