A Spring in My Step . . .

Today I had what could be described as my best run of the year.  I began my run at 12:30pm, setting my stopwatch to see how well I’d do on this, my third running day in a row (I run three in a row usually, but it’s the final run that lacks oomph usually).

First half-mile: 4:04.  Whoa.

First mile: 8:39.  Whoa!  Not too far from my 8:27 pace of the St. Patty’s race.

First 2.5 miles: 22:02.  Absolutely amazing.  Even on the treadmill I hit this at 22:30.  And this with a dog stopping me with an ill-timed charge.  "Dog, you are messing up my run," I harrumphed.

I slowed down after I hit the halfway point.  I was really pushing it, finishing my fourth mile 35:30 – another :30 difference from my treadmill runs.  But it felt great, I tell you – I was in shorts and a long-sleeve technical tee (which I had to roll up, by the way), the sun was on my face and skin (I now have a blush of a tan) and the breeze was just enough to keep me cool.  I could not have been happier, my body could not have been happier.  I practically breezed through this run, really slowing down only during the last mile.  When I arrived close to my house, I charged towards my finish, pumping my arms so my legs would follow.  I hit the end with a time of 44:49 – it definitely would’ve been less if the dog hadn’t stopped me.  This was more or less on par with my treadmill runs (which stand at around 44:35); it’s great because there are hills out there, I tell you.  Hills!  Hills I’m not used to!  Hills I’ve lost my oomph on but hills that I charged gracefully today with advice from running experts!

I need hill work, definitely, especially with San Francisco in October.  Bring on the hills, I say.

I cooled down with a brisk walk, letting out a triumphant woohoo! for the world to hear.  I had just run this same course on Thursday, clocking in at 0:46:00 on the dot.  I knocked off 1:11 there.  Again, woohoo!

. . .

Too much blogging about running, huh?  I promise all five or six of my readers that I’ll eventually get back to longer posts about more substantive things once I’m done with my huge work project.