A Little Runner Is Hiding Inside Of Me

It's true...Thursday I was completely dedicated to the fact that I'd go home and run after work. By mid-afternoon I was seriously questioning my sanity, but when I got home, I got changed right away and headed out. The night before I had just run in my neighborhood and decided I liked that ten times more than my usual route of simply running straight down Frederick Douglass (my street) until I came along Central Park and then turned around. That route has been getting boring. So Thursday I set out among my neighborhood, South Harlem/Morningside. I ran down along Morningside Park and through the streets of South Harlem. One of the major motivators was the fact that it was an absolutely gorgeous night. I honestly wore a long sleeved running shirt, it felt like fall was right around the corner.

Luckily, for these runs, my phone (Droid) has an app that will map where you run and keep your pace and how far you're going, etc. This helps me so much, because while we all think 20 blocks is a mile, really...how are we supposed to know?

So as I ran I felt good. I was keeping a steady pace and was just letting the blocks go by me. The only thing that kept nagging at me was the fact that the Mr. Softee truck was honestly following me, ha. Every block I turned down I could hear the familiar jingle coming through its' P.A. system, just urging me to keep running away from it. It wasn't until the end of my second mile that my hip started hurting, which was pretty good for me for now. My goal for the night was two miles, so I was set. As I checked my phone to relay back to me the details of my run I saw that I had averaged a 10:40 mile, which is honestly unheard of for me, so that was incredibly encouraging. Now, I understand I only did two miles and it may be easy to keep that pace for 2-3 miles, but still...I was excited. For the sprint I'm figuring that three miles isn't that far and you can keep a fast pace and just push through. It's not like for the half or a full where you really do have to pace yourself. But, in the end I'm also thinking that if I can start my training with a 10:40 mile, I am well on my way to bettering my time! So, all positive things.

And now the sprint is in a week and a half and I'm still probably not as ready as I should/could be, but...I've never been one to back down from a challenge. We got our team uniforms last week and I now look like a real triathlete. What a summer this has been.


Peace, love and happy running!