A breath of fresh air

Ran with Piper again.  I felt fine.

Will, Vince, and I did our Tuesday run down to Vince's orthotics (helmet) appointment.

I got us out the door and into the stroller fifteen minutes late.  I decided that I need to run back in and grab my phone.  As I ran back in, I also decided to switch my long sleeve shirt for a short sleeve shirt.  I left my keys on the kitchen counter.  So not only were we late to Vince's appointment, I locked us out of the house.  I called and left a message with Lars, my husband.  He couldn't get back to unlock the door until 2:30.  Vince's appointment was at 11.  So we had some time on our hands.

We played at the park for a while.  Everyone was warm except me.  But, luckily I brought along a beanie and gloves.  I did some jumping jacks too.  When Will decided he was hungry, we left the park.  Will ate apples and pretzels while I ran a couple more miles than I had planned on.  Vince fell asleep.  I stopped so Will and I could watch the giraffes again.  When we go home, we only waited maybe 5 minutes for Lars to pull in with keys.  So all in all a very eventful and bizarrely pleasant morning.

Duallie--28.1

So the dangerous road run I went on last week with Will and Vince is 4 miles not 3.5.  Why am I always a half a mile off when I estimate distances?  Very curious.

I still felt a bit unsafe as Piper and I ran by the cemetery.  That road is pretty busy and there isn't much room.  I'm thinking running this route alone is best or going single file when we get to that road.

Whoa!  I was expecting to run this race at a 8:40 to 9:10 minute mile pace.  I listened to how I was feeling and went with that pace as I made my way through the masses until... the beginning of mile 3.  I heard someone say that the time was 18:15.  I thought, "Oh no! I'm going slow!"  Although I said I was okay with a 9:10 pace, I really wasn't.  I wanted my average to be below 9 minutes.  So I pushed it.

Only as I crossed the finish line and looked at the clock did I realize I had exceeded my 8:40 pace.  By a lot.  When I stopped, my hamstrings were on fire!

This race made me wonder.  Is this how you are supposed to run races?  Have I never really run my heart out during a race before?  Or am I just out of shape?  Or was it the pickle I ate?

Man! What could I do...

if I ran 6 times a week?

if I got my mileage up to 40 miles a week?