Monday, July 26, 2010

Another day for flying?

On the way home from work, we stopped at Foodlion for Sherri to run in and pick up a few things, so we were a little late getting home. Sherri said she was hungry, so I decided I wouldn't run, since I was to grill some hamburgers. She told me she had to do some other things first anyway and to go ahead and run.

I had decided after Saturday's "failure" that I would run 5 miles on M,W,T and 10 on Saturday until I got it right. Since Sherri would be waiting on me and we didn't need to be eating supper after 8:00, I decided on 4 miles. Before I finished Mile 2, I was thinking, "Maybe just 3 miles today!" It wasn't easy, but I forced that thought out of my head and ran 4 miles. I even almost stopped somewhere in the middle of mile 4 and was going to call it a 3.x run. But I pushed on. I really struggled that last mile. I guess I was still feeling Saturday's 10 and the previous 2 weeks of not running as scheduled. (I've got to get back on track). I was also feeling the effects of trying to "fly" through this run. The thought of Sherri waiting had me run Mile 1 in 8:25 and Mile 2 in 8:24. Instead of turning around and heading toward home, I ran a little further, so I wouldn't be as tempted to stop after 3 miles. Mile 3 came in a 8:52.

Now, I wanted Mile 4 to be under 9:00, too. I was already on the verge of slowing to a walking during Mile 3, but I ran as hard as I could. I was gasping for breath and just wanted to fall over in someone's yard. When it was over, another 8:52 mile!

This 4 mile run in 34:33, an 8:38 pace, is the fasted I have ran 4 miles. My previous best was 8:51 in February. I was kind of consistent: 8:25 and 8:24, then 8:52 and 8:52. My heart rates: 173 avg, 189 max - I thought both would be higher, especially the max with the way I was struggling. Recovery was from 189 to 148. It was 90 degrees and totally cloudy. The urine was bloody. I kind of expected it, though.