AM: My first sub-6am run EVER. I didn't get to run any this weekend as I was so busy so I thought I'd give this early morning thing a try. Shhhhh... Don't tell anyone, but I kinda liked it!
I had a goal of being in bed at 8pm because I was a) exhausted from a fantastic weekend out of town and b) a little apprehensive about this 5am crap and didn't know how it would go. At 10:30ish I finally crawled in the bed but was wide awake, as I had just finished my pu, pu, su challenge and my heart was pounding.
5:05am alarm went off. I stayed in bed for just a minute or two and then hopped up and got ready to go. I was out the door by 5:12 wearing shorts, a s/s tech shirt with a l/s tech shirt over it. My horses were surprised to see me this early and let it be known that they wanted to go for a run too. Sorry guys!
I didn't run the rapist loop because it was dark outside. (no, i haven't bought any pepper spray yet) Although, I feel it would be safer to do at 5am than at 9pm. I stuck to the neighborhood route that I have grown to despise as it can be quite boring. Honestly, this was the most enjoyable the neighborhood loop has ever been. I loved getting to watch the sky lighten as the sun prepared to rise over the nearby mountains. The temps were absolutely perfect. I tied my l/s shirt around my waist around mile 2. I could've gone the whole run without it, but I'm glad I had it on at the beginning as it was quite windy this morning and it took me a moment to warm up. I didn't take my iPod with me; it was just me and the birds singing and the crickets chirping. Lovely.
I didn't hear nor see a single dog. I saw no fellow crazy people out exercising. I only passed about 5 cars and it was towards the end of the run. I enjoyed having the roads to myself and actually getting to hear the sounds of my shoes hitting the pavement. It was refreshing and just what I needed on this wonderful Monday morning. I ran the entire time which is pretty much unheard of for me when I run alone. I always stop to walk for a minute or tie my shoe or look at something or stretch this or that. This is quite an accomplishment for me!
After my run, I sat outside on the back porch a few minutes cooling off. Then I took a shower and went back to bed for 30 minutes until I had to get up for work. The 30 minute "nap" was fantastic! PM: After work and before my training group I ran 2 miles at 8:54 pace. I didn't know I could hold a sub 10 pace! Exciting! I ran .50 of it at 7:30 pace (3rd out of 4 laps on a .50 parking lot). I'm even more excited because I ran a 5k this morning so my legs were not really fresh. Training group ran 3 miles. I ran with 2 girls who held a 10:10 pace the whole time. I was so proud of them! They definitely dragged me along as I was tired. I figured that I could NOT stop and walk for a minute since I am a "coach" and all. I'm glad I got in all those miles today. Good day for KP. I think I might "officially" start a marathon training plan. YIKES. The one I found is "easy" and 18 weeks long and for beginners. We shall see if I stick with it in the HOT Alabama summer. It has 4 runs per week which is more than I normally do. Like I said, we shall see. I might just stick to running a few miles here and there like I have been. I'm nervous to officially start a training plan. If I don't make it, I will be so upset with myself.
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