Well, for us here in Southern AZ....the weather here has been what we would consider cold. Yesterday I scrapped the plans of my morning workout for a bit more sleep. The forecast was supposed to be windy, rainy and cold, but that's not how it turned out at ALL! It seems as though all the predictions just kept pushing themselves out, and I ended up outsmarting myself. So, I figured it was important to get that mid-week long run in! Once i got home, I changed into my running gear and went out for an hour and a half run through the neighborhood. My goal was to run parts of the workout with some intensity, as I wasn't sure what this morning would bring. It was also a weird feeling, I don't usually run in the evenings, and for that matter, I don't ususally run well in the evenings. I started out on the course that I did last Wednesday, my typical 9.5 mile course. As I went out, I noticed that my starting pace was a bit higher then what i do in the morning, but it felt good, and I didn't have to wait for my legs to wake up....So I just went with it. Miles 1, 2, and 3 were very nice and even. For miles 4 and 5 I figured that would be a good place to do a little race pace scenario. 4 is a continuous and gradual uphill segment. Along the way, I saw a pair of runners out who had a nice lead on me, and I used them as a rabbit that I could catch and overtake. I passed them, and kept up with the great leg turnover and motored my way along trough 4 and the downhill mile 5. From there I backed out of the throttle a bit and settled into a nice 8:15 pace and pretty much stayed there up until mile 10, where I struggled a bit as the course changed to again going slightly uphill, but added in the wind in the face factor as the strom front finally decided to make it's appearance. I'm sure your sitting there going...but he said above that the course is 9.5 miles, how'd he get to 10....Well, at mile 8 I decided that I was running well, so I took a left turn through a neighborhood that ended up taking me down to our marked path, and I extended the run from 9.5 to 11 rather easily. Mile 11 was nice and even as I made the right turn for the 1 mile straightaway home, which turned the wind to cross and slightly at my back. Some great things to focus on, my 7 mile time was 59:04! 4 seconds slower then Tuesday, and still 1:51 faster then Monday! I did the full 11 miles in 1:28:50. Dr. Garmin put that at a 8:34 pace....Not bad for a average everyday run! Sheesh, I can remember plodding along at 10 min/miles thining I was cruising. That was so 33 pounds ago, and a totally different stressed out me.
Today did finally getting washed out. I may actually do the workout this afternoon as it looks like the front may have mosved through for good. The suns back out, and it's a balmy 52 degrees. It's the standard 12x400m repeat day, so I can run across the street and do them in the seclusion of a nice and quiet retirment neighborhood. Today also marks my last day of work for this Calendar Year. that means I get to sleep in tomorrow and go running when nanna and pop pop show up. 9ish...10sh...Whatev! I get two full weeks where I can focus on nothing but training, just like it was my JOB! I'm going to give myself the gift of working out as if I'm a pro athlete. I'm going to see if I can get 60 miles in each week, and break out the bike for a few afternoon rides.
Anyway, I should finish up those last few things I need to get done before I'm off for the year. Until tomorrows Blog adventure, LIVESTRONG and train HARD!
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