Run Sixty-Four: Rushed and running fast (for me)!

Best-best!! And I still have a cold! Woot! 

This is one of my tiny incremental improvements -- a best-best by one one-hundredth of a mile and three seconds per mile. I'm starting to feel a little like Sergey Bubka, the Soviet (later Ukrainian) pole vaulter in the 80s and 90s, incrementally breaking my own records one tiny little bit at a time. Only less awesome. I suppose personal records are meant to be broken, right? 

It was a really good run, though I felt a little rushed about it. We had friends coming over this evening after my run for boardgames and I wanted to have time to sweat off and get cleaned up. As it was, it worked out fine -- I got home about the same time one of the friends did, had dinner, then took a shower while folks were chatting and getting the game set up. But I think the nervous "rush rush rush" energy helped me keep going pretty well. 

I was going at 4.7 miles an  hour almost always when I was running, with one or two little 5.0 mph kicks at the ends. Mostly 4.7 though. I was walking at 3.7 most of the time too -- because my walking pace is speeding up pretty nicely as well. :D 

Anyway, despite my lingering cold and congestion and the rushiness of it, I did really well and felt really, really good! I love this!

Next run is scheduled for Wednesday. I'll definitely be at the gym, as Patrick and I are going to the gym together and are going to be getting started with the trainer there. I'm not sure how much time will be spent running as opposed to working with the trainer on a personalized strength routine. I'd like to do at least *some* running, of course. I just don't know what to expect, though. Goal for whatever it is: Approach with gusto and get sweaty!

Run Sixty-One: This keeps getting better!

Oh, wow, y'all!! This is so cool! Another
best-best! ::happy dance::

Thunderstorms and heat kept me on the treadmill this evening. This worked out totally fine as I beat Saturday's treadmill run -- just kept going with the 4.7 to 5 miles an hour when running (and 3.7 mostly when walking). It felt so great -- I could tell I was pushing, but being able to push like that and go so well is just awesome!

I'm even starting to dig being all sweaty when I finish. When I started this back in January, I hardly got sweaty at all because I just couldn't do much. Now the sweat is like a badge of how far I've come.

I've found a way to beat the lack of stimulation of the treadmill -- I got the second season of the TV show Castle through Google Play and can watch it on our tablet. One episode is exactly the right length for one of my runs (with the cool-down after). It's kind of fun to have something to focus on (so I don't obsess about time and that sort of thing). And it mixes up nicely with the road where I have birdies and squirrels and other runners and the ups and downs of the sidewalk to pay attention to. 

Next run is scheduled for Wednesday. From the weather report I heard this morning, I'm hoping I'll be out on the road. ::fingers crossed:: If I am on the road, my goal is to go more than 2.7 miles. If I'm on the treadmill, I want to do better than this run (2.8 miles isn't too far off, right?). :D 

Run Sixty: Oh, yeah!! :D

Check out that distance!! And that average pace!
Shit howdy! 

I was on the treadmill today, because it was in the 90s with a ton of humidity in the middle of the day, which is when I went for my run. We'd already gotten up a good sweat with a walk earlier in the day as well -- we went to a local mall that has a rectangular layout.

We usually do one lap at speed when we arrive, which is a mile (according to the website). We actually did a lap and at least a third before we slowed down. My husband, Patrick, who has always walked a lot faster than me for as long as we've known each other, was setting the pace . I think he was trying to see if he'd be able to get ahead of me, but I kept up the whole way, even when he increased the pace. Toward the very end, he got way ahead of me at some stairs and I had to run for a few steps to catch up, but he wasn't out-walking me. I'm almost as pleased about that as about being able to hike again. 

Anyway, we did well over one lap (closer to one and a half) at around 3.5 miles an hour. We strolled another couple of laps after that.

All of that was before I went for my run. 

My run was incredibly awesome -- I ran light and fast (for me). I ended my two big running stretches (because I do walk in the middle) at 5 miles an hour for  a minute or two, which felt wonderful. I was walking faster as well. And I went farther and faster than I ever have before, by a respectable amount (not just nibbling at it). It was just pure awesome, is what it was.

Between the walking and the running and a fairly light dinner and lunch, we even got frozen yogurt for dessert after dinner. :D I'm digging a tropical mix lately -- coconut and mango yogurt with sliced strawberries and mochi on top. Super-summery! 

Next run is scheduled for Monday. It appears there's a chance of thunderstorms  (which is pretty common here in the summer), so whether I'm on the treadmill or the road will depend on whether those thunderstorms actually happen here. Goal for the run: I think I've generally been achieving a "be awesome" goal, so I'll shoot for that. :D