I Will Probably Pay for It

I had already talked myself out of running before I got home from work. Both ankles, right shin, and left hamstring were a little sore. My knees felt tighter than usual, and my legs were also shaky at times, especially walking up steps. Rain also seemed to be moving in - it was already sprinkling with a darker cloud in the distance when I got home. I changed clothes, but not into my running clothes. The rain wasn't coming down any harder, and the feeling of "failure" for not sticking to my schedule, plus desire to break 8 minutes overcame me. So, back upstairs to change again. I still had to push myself out the door.

Before I began running, I thought that maybe I should walk the first tenth-of-a-mile. That way I wouldn't be so tempted to try to break 8:00, and risk further soreness. I wiped that out of my mind as I headed down the driveway - "A hard rain may be moving in, I need to get back as soon as possible!" The race was on.

The temperature was 75 degrees, just right to work up a good sweat. The rain picked up just a little and was steady throughout the run. The combo of sweat and rain kept me soaked. The sweat/rain was running down my face and I had nothing dry to wipe with. The rate at which the rain came down was at the point that I wished it would either stop or just pour down.

Mile 1 came in at 7:41. I knew I would slow down, because I pushed it hard. Mile 2 was 7:51. Okay, I was 28 seconds under. Keep pushing. Mile 3 was 8:09. I usually have a let down in Mile 3, and the 8:09 and 7:51 gave me 8:00. Now, all I had to do was run Mile 4 in 8:19 or less. "Push, push, push. Don't look at your watch. Just push." I did it! Mile 4 was 7:41.

My total time was 31:22, for a pace of 7:51. The fourth consecutive time of besting a 4 mile run. This is the best pace (and the only one under 8:00) of any distance since I was in my late-teens or early twenties. (Evidently, I could run a mile in 7:41, but I have been running 3 or more miles each time I run since December 2009.) I had less than a half mile "cool down" walk back home. I was already paying for it. It wasn't in any of the locations that were already bothering me. The added location was the right hip. It felt like it needed to pop - every last step home. My legs felt like jello.

No heart rates for today - the battery is dead. I would have like to have seen them, since this was the most consistent and hardest push I have done so far.