How to update SPListItem without starting workflow? "Systemupdate(false) " causes the workflow to be In Progress!

Hi, I have a Visual Studio workflow running on a list - which does something after an item is UPDATED.

I need to edit 1000's of list items by a console application - without triggering the workflow.

I tried Item.Systemupdate(false); //This shows workflow "In Progress".
After a few minutes it shows status of workflow as "Failed on start (retrying)"

Any help on how to edit items without triggering workflow will be great! (I cannot disable the workflow even for a second).

Thanks a lot.