By some small miracle I haven't (yet) injured myself (much) via attempts, during the past 5 months, to move toward a semblance of slightly improved physical shape. Credit goes to:
- designers and purveyors of modern well-cushioned running shoes
- creators and maintainers of trails and paths around my neighborhood
- race organizers and officials of the Montgomery County Road Runners Club
- friends and acquaintances who combined encouragement with counsels of moderation
Herewith, some scrapbook entries looking back through the mists to the beginning of the year. First, with the kind permission of photographer Christina Caravoulias, a scary image of ^z studying a course map before attempting his first timed scamper in a crowd (30 March 2002).
For the record, a chart of miles covered. It begins with Monday, 31 December 2001 and ends on Sunday 9 June 2002; each row is a week, each cell a day; all entries are approximate.
| M + | T + | W + | T + | F + | S + | S = | Total |
| 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||||
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 13 | |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14 | |
| 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 22 | |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
| 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 21 | |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 21 | |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 23 | ||
| 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 18 | |
| 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 28 | |
| 5 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 22 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 21 | |||
| 6 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 24 | |||
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 14 | |||
| 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 14 | |||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 21 | ||
| 2 | 10 | 6 | 18 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 21 | ||
| 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 22 |
A fist full of memories from along the way:
- 30 March: "Super Sligo" 4.2 miles — ~38:58 @ ~9:15/mile
- 28 April: 7th annual "Pike's Peek" 10km — in rain, 56:14 (mile splits = ~9:30 + ~8:45 + ~9:00 + ~9:00 + ~9:15 + ~8:45; see SoggyJog (29 Apr 2002))
- 17 May: 12th annual OMS 5k — ~26:56 @ ~8:45/mile
- 27 May: 1st "Sue Wen's Run", 4 miles — ~34:10 @ ~8:32/mile (see SueWenRun, 29 May 2002)
- 9 Jun: a "fast" mile — ~7:16 (quarter mile splits = ~1:47 + ~1:47 + ~1:52 + ~1:49)
Some lessons taught through experience:
- Cut back when ill, in warm/humid weather, while breaking in new shoes, etc. ("listen to your body")
- Beware increasing mileage by more than ~10% per week
- Vary routes and distances and paces
- Have fun every run
TopicRunning - TopicPersonalHistory - 2002-06-09
(correlates: PresentTension, Be the Heat, Prudent Leadership, ...)