Running Chick

I had a decent run today, despite feeling a bit under the weather. I scooted out of work a bit early so I could get my run in before the Big Storm that's supposed to dump eighteen feet of snow on us. The weather held out while I was running, and it started to snow lightly when I got to my house. If I don't miss my run tomorrow because of the stomach flu I think I may be coming down with, I'll probably miss it because of snow removal duties. Bah.

Aside from the last 1.5 miles of my run today, everything went well.

The temperature was perfect, the sun was shining and again I was out early enough that I didn't encounter much traffic. I ran into the wind for the first one or so miles, which was really chilly, but once I hit Manninen Road the wind shifted behind me and I warmed up. My doggie friends from Denton Road came out to see me again but they weren't as enthralled with me as they were last week. The St. Bernard came over for a pat on the head, then he took off. Sheesh.

The last 1.5 miles were hard. My legs were burning, my breathing was all screwed up and I felt like I kept on getting slower and slower. I passed the 7-mile mark and thought about just giving up, but struggled for another half-mile then decided to turn around and end at the BP gas station again. As soon as I turned around, I figured out why I was struggling. I was running up a giant uphill stretch that kept on getting gradually steeper the longer I ran. I couldn't see this when I was running at all. When I run hills, I usually shorten my stride and drop my speed to conserve energy. Since I couldn't see the hill, I just kept on trying to keep my pace and stride up and I was slowly dying the longer I ran uphill. As soon as I turned around, everything fell back into place and I was able to finish strong in the last half-mile. That will teach me to pay more attention to what I'm doing rather than just zoning out.

This week's totals:
17 miles @ 3:09:33
Average pace 11:08 (5.4 mph)

I had a pretty speedy run tonight on my new shoes. I wasn't going to wear them until the roads dried up, but I decided that they were going to get dirty eventually, so it might as well be sooner than later. I like them. They're a bit different than my old ones. They have a wider toe-box and the heel seems to fit a bit more snug. The heel is also a lot firmer, and I thought that was going to be an issue, but it makes the shoe surprisingly responsive. I swear I could feel some sort of springing action on my toe-offs. That was really bizarre, but I ran 4.5 miles at a 10:51 pace (my fastest ever!) so maybe it is the shoes.

Anyway, done until Saturday. I hope the weather is as nice as it was last week.