Tired and Not in the Mood--A Perfect Day to Run

When the alarm went off at 5:30 this morning, I was not ready to wake up. I rolled out of bed, still a tad stiff from yesterday's relatively aggressive 8-miler. Putting on my running garb, I could sense a little fatigue. However, all of these complaints combined made for a perfect short-distance "endurance" run this morning.

In moving from a mindset of enduring to a mindset of embracing, mornings like this provide the perfect challenge. Not to say I was overjoyed about getting out there today, but I knew it would be good for me. (New shoes made it a little easier to get out the door.)

I decided in my less-than-optimal state to go ahead and attack the Memorial hill pretty hard on my return. I also tried to increase my pace (sub 8) for the last half mile. I plan to keep stretching that distance out.

Strange that runs that are a mere 24 hours apart can be so different. Yesterday's run was one that surpassed even the traditional runner's high. The perfect combination of pace, music, and sunrise literally brought tears to my eyes at one point. It was a run that I experience maybe one in 100 times. Yet today, I seriously had to talk myself out of just flopping back into bed.

While I like the challenge of the Creek Turnpike trails I've been running lately, I really miss the neighborhood trails I was running in preparation for OKC. Love/hate relationship with hills aside, there has been a real tradeoff of two very desirable but mutually exclusive aspects of running: solitude for community. Running through the neighborhoods was extremely peaceful. I would pass maybe 3 people during the entire run, and car noise was minimal. Thoreau would have loved it. The Creek trails on the other hand are very noisy, and I run past quite a few people every time go out. Now, maybe it's just Oklahoma, or maybe it's just runners (or maybe it's just Oklahoma runners), but no matter how worn people look like they may be, they always offer a kind gesture. (Maybe it's just that they pity that poor sweaty bastard who's huffing and puffing up the Memorial hill?) Anyway, community is one aspect of running that I really appreciate. Thinking back on last Saturday's 10-miler with the Runner's World group, just being back with my running group again after 3 weeks away made the 10 miles feel so much easier than the six that I run alone on Mondays and Thursdays. (The cooler weather probably helped too.) Community is what got me started in distance running. And there's really nothing like running (or walking) 26.2 miles with thousands of like-minded people.

OK, enough of that.

7-23-09
Distance: 6.02
Time: 51:12
Avg. Mile Pace: 8.30

7-22-09
Distance: 8.07
Time: 1:08:36
Avg. Mile Pace: 8:30

7-20-09 (Garmin error)
Distance: ~6
Time:
Avg. Mile Pace: ~8:52