Adding the miles

I did a quick run late this afternoon, which gave me over 100 miles for the month of April. My total for the year is now 357.27 miles after my 3.27 miles today.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 331.54 miles

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 165.77 miles.

Running after the rain

The needed rain continued for all morning and early into the afternoon. This still allowed me to get out for a nice 3.57 miles later on in the afternoon. I ran in the cemetary and there was a man walking his dog, as well as a lady who was sitting in her car reading. The cemetary is getting to be a popular place to go. Everyone ends up going there eventually.

The mileage now for me for the year is and even 354.00 miles.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 326.06 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 163.03 miles.

A tough run

I managed to get in 3.48 miles in the cemetary this afternoon.

I am not sure exactly why, but the run was not easy. It took me well into the second mile before I felt comfortable running. However, I did get the miles in and am pleased with that.

This gives me 350.43 miles for the year. I am also nearing the 100 mile mark for the month of April. Anytime I get over 100 miles in a month, I am very happy with that.

There were a lot of tent catapillars on the pavement today as I ran. It is that time of year. I never know whether to step on them or let them live.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 323.32 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 161.66 miles.

A nice long run

I got up and was out the door early for a run downtown and back. This is something that I occasionally do on a Saturday and it net me 11.12 miles. Since I did not run yesterday, I wanted the extra mileage and this certainly gave me that. That leaves me with an excellent week of running.

My milesage for the year is now at 346.95 miles.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 320.58 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 160.29 miles.

Sneaking in a run

On a beautiful Thursday in Virginia, I realized that I had several time commitments that was going to make a run during the normal times, next to impossible to pull off. So, I snuck it into my morning schedule and got in 3.3 miles under near perfect weather. The lawn mowers that were not operating yesterday during my run, were out in full force today. It led me to wonder just how much money is spent on gasoline for lawn mowers. At one time that was not a concern, but at today's prices it suddenly is something to think about.

The easy run gave me 335.83 miles for the year, over 1/3 of the 2008 goal.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 315.1 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 157.55 miles.

Running on a beautiful spring day

The weather doesn't get any better than what it was this afternoon. The sun was shining, the temperature was a pleasant 72 degrees, and there was no breeze to contend with during my run today. Utilizing this perfect weather, I ran a pleasant 6.48 miles. There was the sound of lawn mowers all along the way as everyone seemed to be making use of the weather.

This gives me 332.53 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 312.36 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 156.18 miles.

Varying the type of run

I needed to stay near the phone at my house today. As well, there was the threat of rain. As a result of these two facts, I decided to run 3 shorter segments with a quick stop at my house to check the phone. This was a good variation of my normal run and allowed my times for each mile to be a bit shorter than normal.

My running program has settled into a good, solid system each day that is working for getting me enough miles each day.

The total miles was 3.34, giving me 326.05 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 309.62 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 154.81 miles.

Another week of running begins

After a day off yesterday, today started a new week of running.

Today was also the Boston Marathon race and I followed the progress with keen interest. There were 33 friends from my running website that I was following the progress of. They ALL did a tremendous job with 6 of them running faster times today in the Marathon than they did in the qualifying marathon that got them into today's event. With 25,000 runners, this event is certainly an incredible event.

Assuming all 25,000 runners ran the full 26.2 miles, this is equal to 655,000 miles. If this was done in individual cars averaging 20 miles per gallon at today's average gas price of $3.51 per gallon.......it would have cost $114,952.50 in gas costs for this group to have made this trip. At the time when I was a kid starting to drive, this same amount of people could have driven there for $9,792.25 (.299 cents per gallon).

My 3.49 miles run this evening gives me 322.71 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 306.88 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 153.44 miles.

The warm weather is here

I have had a good solid week of running.

Rather than going the route of average miles for 5 days, a day off, and then a long run, it has worked out with my schedule to run solid 3+ miles each day. The last three days have been 3.04 miles, 3.09 miles, and today's 3.55 miles. This works out to being more than what I need for the week and I have another day to go. That means I will have the option of either running tomorrow or making it a rest day.

The warm weather of the last couple of days has been a welcome feature for me. I do enjoy that warmth and seem to run better in it.

The miles added this morning now brings me to a total for this year of 319.22 miles.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 301.40 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 150.7 miles.

Evening run

I managed to get through a busy schedule for the afternoon in time to do my run this evening. The weather was perfect and I enjoyed the 3.52 miles that I ran.

This gives me 304.97 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 290.44 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 145.22 miles.

Adding on the miles

I rested on Sunday from running. There was some thought part way through the day to getting in a basic run at least, but my schedule suddenly dictated that this become a rest day.

Monday I was able to run a nice 3.64 miles and start the week off with a comfortable pace. I had a scratchy throat and wanted to be sure not to make this worse. I think this is most likely the pollen season affecting my system and it will eventually go away. It is more of an annoyance than anything else. Running in the cemetary while they were mowing probably did not help.

The 3.64 miles gives me 301.45 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 287.70 miles

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 143.85 miles.

No rest today

The rain was here this morning, but it cleared around noon time and ended up to be a lovely day. That proved to be too much of a temptation for me and I got in 3.3 easy miles in the cemetary during the afternoon.

While I was there, a family came to look at several gravesites. The 12 year old son was given the opportunity to drive the car around while the rest of the family all walked. Of course he made use of the moment and circled the cemetary a couple of extra times. He was very proud of what he was doing and very careful when I was running nearby.

That reminded me of a similar experience of a young boy about 43 years ago back in the state of Maine. I remember my Dad allowing me to drive the car in the cemetary to give me some experience driving. The road in that cemetary is gravel and very twisty. It requires some very accurate steering to navigate around the various corners and I remember being "oh so careful" as I idled the car around. I still remember that feeling of pride from those days. I appreciated the reminder today of this story from my younger years.

I ran 3.33 miles which gives me 297.81 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 282.22 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 141.11 miles.

The end of a good week of running

I had a good week of running with no particularly long runs, but solid consistent distances each day. Each day was between 3 to 5 miles. It really does not take long running each day at these distances to put together a solid amount of miles.

Each time I go out, I try to come up with a bit of a philosophy of how I am going to run that day and what I want to accomplish. Today I wanted to work on running a steady pace but not stopping for a fairly long distance. This worked very well and certainly helped my times.

I plan to run a longer run either Saturday or Sunday and then use the other day as a day off.

My 3.63 miles today gives me 294.48 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 279.48 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 139.74 miles.

Miles completed for 1956

I am working on a long range goal of running a mile for every day that I live. The miles I count are those since I started running in 2003. Growing up and playing sports, I know there were thousands of miles that I ran back then that were never calculated and not meant as a part of my running "career".

Today I ran 3.48 miles on a lovely sunny afternoon. The significance of these miles is that it completed the miles for another year of my goal. This completes 1956 and starts me on the way for the next year. While I am a long way off right now, I am heading in the right direction and if I remain consistent in my goal and running, I will keep chipping away at the years and soon racking up the years.

My goal of 1,000 miles a year not only takes care of the current year, but also makes up another year and nine months towards my goal. Any miles in a year that I run more than that is purely a bonus.

My miles today gives me 290.85 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 276.74 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 138.37 miles.

It was one of those runs

There are times when you run easier, faster, longer and without trouble. It is hard to understand or explain why this happens. Probably every runner wonders why it cannot happen every time out, but for some reason it seemingly "just happens".

I started my first mile and immediately recognized that this was a faster first mile than any that I have had recently. My records indicate it had been a month since I had run that fast in the first mile. Lest anyone think I am setting Olympic records, this "fast" mile was equal to what I was regularly running for a first mile two months ago. I have simply been going slower the last few weeks. Anyway, this was a nice run.

The weather was in the mid 60's and that in itself always brings out the better runs for me. I simply enjoy running when it is warmer. I am convinced that to be able to run at this stage in life is a blessing from God.

I managed to make the run an even 5 miles and this gives me 287.37 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 274.00 miles

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 137.00 miles.

The SUN

What a wonderful sight to see the sun this afternoon. I was not long in getting on my running gear and getting out there to take advantage of this weather. This was near the "rush hour" traffic time so I took my run to the cemetary where there was no traffic. The alternate route that I often use is in a subdivision where a lot of people come home to, so to avoid that was probably a wise decision.

I ran for 3.3 miles which gives me 282.37 miles for the year. This also gives me a lead over the 1,000 mile pace bunny of 11.11 miles and that equates to 4 days of running. While I plan to slowly start pulling away from the pace bunny, it is always good to have a lead of several days in case of weather problems or injury.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 271.26 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 135.63 miles.

Still dodging rain

I was able to run 3.28 miles in the afternoon over in the cemetary. As I was running I realized that for all of the rain that has been in the area for the last several days, I still have been able to get my miles in. This is really good and I am thankful for it.

While I always run wearing my Garmin 305 Forerunner, I feel like I am settling into a pattern of running that pretty well stays consistent through each run. While my times may vary, the pattern of times each mile is amazingly consistent no matter how I approach my runs. This speaks of the internal limitations of the body that dictate how fast a person runs. Knowing these numbers helps when I see that I can push a little bit to increase either time or distance.

These miles give me 279.07 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 268.52 miles

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 134.26 miles.

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is .....running?

Despite the fact that I don't like to run in the rain, I found a bit of time this afternoon and headed out to put in some miles....despite the rain.

The route today was the cemetary and it actually was a nice temperature at 50 degrees for running. There is a lot of activity of birds in the area, most likely from the activity of new baby birds going on. What a great time of year to run

I managed to get in this bonus 3.22 miles which gives me 275.79 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 265.78 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 132.89 miles.

Left in a cloud of dust

Just as I started this afternoon's run, a young couple zipped by me. I would guess that they are university age and probably attend one of 4 or 5 colleges or universities in the area. They both looked to be in fabulous shape and she was decked out in matching green shirt, shorts, head band and socks that were white with a green stripe. It did not take them long before they were long gone and out of sight. I was left in "a cloud of dust".

This reminded me that often in life we all may be seeking to accomplish the same objectives but each one will do so in their own time and manner. This couple ran and finished the run. I did the same thing on the same road.....just at a different pace.

Quite often the accomplishments of life have more to do with the willingness of the person to do it, than to the finesse with which it was done.

I ran 4.08 miles which gives me 272.57 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 263.04 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 131.52 miles.

Enjoying the break in the rain

We have been having rain over the last few days with cooler temperatures. While I have managed to get in some runs during this period of time, it has knocked some potential runs off my schedule. Tomorrow it is forecast for some more rain. That made me determined to get out and run this afternoon for some miles. That way, if I can't run tomorrow it won't be so bad.

The 57 degree weather with a sun that kept breaking in and out made for good running conditions as I did 4.05 miles.

The weather must have been good enough for one city worker who was sleeping in his truck as I ran by. He heard me pass and woke with a start. I should have been more quiet running by. It really is a shame when we pay these guys with our taxes and then don't even allow them to get a good sleep on the job. I will be more careful next time.

The run today gives me 268.49 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 260.3 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 130.15 miles.

The facts are encouraging

I know that some people could not be bothered keeping the statistics that I do for my runs. All of my life I have always enjoyed keeping track of things to the point that on most days I know which day of my life I am living. (Today is my 20,855th day of my life). While some people have no interest in such detail, there are times at which the information can be of benefit.

I realized today that by the end of March this year, I had run as many miles as what was the total last year at the end of April. This is a GREAT reward for my running during this first quarter. It is downright ENCOURAGING.

With a little sleet happening this morning, I held off running until just after noon.
I managed 4.04 miles giving me 264.44 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 257.56 miles.

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 128.78 miles.

OK.....so do you know what day of your life it is?

One quarter of the way there

It suddenly dawned on me that a quarter of the year has already passed. That seems quite incredible to think about. Of course that also means that one quarter of my goal to run 1,000 miles should be completed as well. Thankfully I am on track and was able to run 3.2 miles on Tuesday to give me a start on April.

I did not run on Sunday or Monday partially due to my busy schedule, but also because it was rainy during both of those days. We need the rain, so it was a welcoming sight except for missing my runs. Thankfully I had a long run on Saturday that more than covered the needed miles

This gives me 260.40 miles for the year.

The 1,000 mile pace bunny is at 252.08 miles

The 500 mile pace bunny is at 126.04 miles.