Is it better to trust in science or to believe in yourself?

This morning I was supposed to run 11 miles at a 9:45/mile pace (Marathon Pace + 45 seconds). I was never able to get slower than 9:30/mile and finished with an average pace of 9:15/mile. To be honest, I don't know what to make of it.

My training program (PDF) is built upon scientific research and is designed to be followed to a T. But just the other day I read an interesting article in either Runner's World or Running Times magazine about how Kara Goucher**, arguably the best female American distance runner in the country today, has stopped following science so closely when it comes to running and has started to mimic how champion African runners train. That is, to run as hard and fast as is comfortable for the distance and not worry about paces and split times and data so much (I can't find the article online after a cursory search... sometimes it takes a while for print articles to make it online... although it might help to remember where exactly I saw it).

As I was running this morning I was having a really hard time keeping my pace slow. Especially when some college-aged girl zipped past me. She wasn't wearing a hydration belt so I figured she wasn't going as far as I was, but there was no way I wanted her to be faster than me. So I started to speed up. But then I thought about what I was doing and slowed down. But then I thought hey, I feel good and sped up. And then I looked at my Garmin and saw I was still about 3 miles just from my turnaround point and slowed down. As for the girl, I gave up and she went on without me, but judging from where she passed me going the other way on her way back there's no way she was in it for more than 5-6 miles. It's a good thing I didn't make it a point to show her the what for because I might have had to crawl the last three miles of my run.

But the issue of whether to run to a set, prescribed pace or to run at a pace that felt good stuck with me the entire run. With about 4 miles to go I got tired of going through the pros and cons of each in my head and just ran a pace that felt good and comfortable, without really trying to kill myself (Kara may be trying to compete with African champion runners but I'm sure not).

I don't know how it's going to work for me down the line or what's going to happen on race day, but when you run 11 miles with your first half split (5.5 miles) at 51:34 (9:23 pace) and your second half split at 49:45 (9:03 pace), how can you not consider that a successful training run? But according to my program today's run was an utter failure because I didn't maintain a consistent 9:45 pace.

Instead of trying to over think it all what I believe I'm going to do is follow the script for my speed and tempo runs during the week and just run what feels right on my long runs. It might the exactly wrong thing to do, but hey, it's just for fun.

By the way, this morning's weather and trail conditions were virtually identical to last weeks when I soldiered through a 10 miler that was just ok. Maybe I'm getting acclimated to steamy warm runs just in time for the weather to start cooling off. Figures.

**I know Kara Goucher is an undeniably great runner, and she seems like a nice person and all from the glowing profiles I've read about her, and I don't want her husband to come looking to kick my ass, but she really reminds me of that girlfriend of Jerry's in Seinfeld that one time who was two-faced:



Just sayin'...

How will you celebrate the shortest day of the year?

Even though I'm on an early section of a long and winding training road that will eventually snake its way to the start line of the Las Vegas marathon, I'm very excited about my first post-marathon race. Although it's held only two weeks after I run 26.2, I've officially registered to run the 2009 Celtic Winter Solstice 5 Miler on December 19.

This was my favorite race in 2008, and not just because I set a 5 mile PR there. It was a big, but not too big, race with a couple thousand runners, it was nice and cold, which allowed me to breathe easily, and the course winds through one of my favorite places to run. I'm not expecting another PR there this year because my marathon pace is so much slower than my 5 mile pace and I seriously doubt I'll be recovered/back up to speed in time to challenge last year's record after I return from Vegas, but just participating will be enough for me this year. And who knows what'll happen once I get out there and start running...

I generally don't hype events, just because if I like something doesn't mean everyone will and I don't want to take the blame for others' bad experiences, but as long as it's understood that it could be pretty cold out there (I ran in long sleeves, gloves, a knit cap and shorts last year) I don't think there's any way anyone can not enjoy this race. So if you're in the area, or close to the area, consider this race as a great running way to end 2009!

Not enough time requires reallocation of time resources

I think I've mentioned a time or two how it is my belief that marathon training is a life-altering endeavor, for the 4 months or so it takes to train at least. I say that because I am not a professional runner with unlimited time and resources to dedicate to running. I have a job that takes up a lot of time, and I have a family that takes up even more time, and with both comes responsibility that gets in the way of marathon training that not only alters life, but turns it into a juggling act. With 5 balls.

With school starting up I'm finding I have to make a choice to keep up with my training while also keeping up with my family responsibilities. Luckily, I'll get some breathing room starting in November when youth football season ends, so my taper time should be relatively relaxed, but September and October are going to be a real challenge. I have two alternatives:

1. Wake up at a ridiculously early time (such as 4:00am) and get my training runs in before my day starts, freeing up the rest of the not-enough hours in a day.


2. Change my weekday run days from Tuesday/Thursday to Wednesday/Friday.

I do my long runs on Sundays, and that's not going to change. And, luckily, I only run three days a week. Here are the cons of the switches:

Waking up at 4:00am - It's waking up at 4:00am! That also means I'd have to go to bed as early as possible, which isn't really possible during football season, which means I'll be grouchy. A lot. Of course, that affects those around me a lot more than it affects me, so it seems like a win to me.

Change run days - I'd lose my Friday rest day, which I look forward to, although if I do work out that day I'd prefer to do some kind of cross-training or something other than run. Also, it would leave only one full day between that run and my long run rather than the two I have now. I'm not sure how, if at all, that will affect my long run performance. Effectively, I'd be switching my two non-running days in a row from before my long run day to after it.

These are early ruminations, but we're T minus 4 days until my son goes back to school and T minus 11 days before my daughter makes her return to the halls of learning, so I should probably ruminate a little quicker and figure how I'm going to train for a marathon while being a decent employee and parent.

Sometimes the memory remembers things after they've been forgotten

Here are two notes about yesterday's long training run, my first 10+ miler since June, that I meant to write about, only to have them slip my mind at the time:

• I was plugging away on the Trail, slow and steady like the tortoise racing the hare, when about 6 or 7 miles into the run some guy went flying past me. I thought I was hallucinating Usain Bolt was running on the Trail because this guy was very tall, black, muscular, and wearing what looked like a track team singlet and shorts (although not in Jamaica's colors). I'd never seen anyone run that fast on the Trail before.
  
  The Trail has mile markers, and when I got within eyeshot of the mile 3 marker I saw the guy up there next to the marker walking around like he was cooling down. That's when I came to the conclusion that he was a real person and not a figment of my imagination. But then when I got to about 100 meters or so of the marker he took off like a shot in the direction of the mile 2 marker. In seconds he was gone. So I thought about whether I was seeing a real person or not all over again.
  
  Then when I got to some point past the mile 2 marker, on my way down the home stretch, dude flew right past me again! Now I was really flustered because there's no way I got ahead of him. The best I can guess is that he got off the trail for a while where it crosses a road and then got back to it. But it was still weird. I never saw him again after he passed me the second time so I'm still not completely certain the Usain Bolt look-alike (from behind at least because I never saw his face) wasn't my mind playing tricks on me.
  
  (BTW, I think he was doing 1 mile intervals, mile marker to mile marker. If he was real. Which I'm not sure he was.)


• When I finished running my shoulders and neck were noticeably sore and strained. Apparently I wasn't running with too relaxed of a form and my shoulders might have been inching up to my ears while I was out there wondering what that blur was that kept zooming past me. I guess I need to re-read Chi Running again and re-learn how to visualize keeping the body relaxed on my runs, before they get up to 16 or 18 miles. Yay.

Double digiting the distance

This morning I ran my first double digit distance run since June. It went ok. It rained hard half the day yesterday and I was pretty sure it'd be a mess to run outside today, but when I got up and looked outside it seemed to be drying up pretty well so I got dressed and headed out to The Trail.

Even though I do pretty much all my long runs at the same place it's not always the same run. It all depends on the weather. If it's been wet the ground gets soft and that makes it harder to run on. Conversely, if it's been dry and the trail's a little harder my run is still affected by temperatures and humidity and all that, so who knows how any run there (or anywhere) is going to go.

Today's conditions were soft on the trail, and warm and steamy. I got there early enough to beat the direct sunshine, but for me the conditions were still not exactly favorable. Luckily, I was supposed to go slow and easy and that's just what I did for all 10 miles. Unlike last week's pretty sweet 9 miler where I got faster over the last three miles, when I was done running all miles at about the same slowish pace I was done. I walked the "built-in" cool-down distance this week, and it was even longer than usual because I misjudged my turnaround point and went out too far.

Anyway, for those keep score, this was my third long run of my 18 week marathon training program (PDF). Here's how they've gone:

Week 1 (8 miles) - BONK! (Died at 7.68 miles and walked to 8.0)
Week 2 (9 miles) - SUCCESS! (Best run of the summer for the distance)
Week 3 (10 miles) - EH... (Finished right at target pace, but it was tough)

From here until I begin my taper in November I have no more single digit distance long runs. It's time to get grouchy, y'all!

I talk about the NCR Trail a lot, so this morning I took a few pics of what I see. I don't carry a phone (or camera) with me when I run because I have this superstition that carrying a comm device will make it too easy to quit on a run, and I was too lazy tired to walk around and get really decent pics when I was finished, but here are a few:

This is the view of where I start from most of the time:



This is what I see when I end my run (or finish my walking cool-down):



And this is the most glorious sight of them all. The path that leads back up to the parking lot so I can get the ever loving hell out of there when I'm finished:



If you see me out on the trail, say hi. Or be a jerk and don't.

Shameless shilling... for a good cause, of course

Ok, I'm not going to lie. I'm getting nervous. About hitting my fundraising goal for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in conjunction with my participation in the Philadelphia Distance Run (half marathon) on September 20. I am within 30 days of needing to get to $500 and I'm not even half way there (as of now I'm at $206.20). I know I suck as a salesman/shill/beggar and $500 in just over two months was probably a lofty goal from the start, but I was hoping to get to at least $300. I really need help to make it.

Please click here to send a few bucks to both salve my ego and to help out in the fight against leukemia and lymphoma. But especially to salve my ego. And tell your friends and family to pitch in a buck. It's fun for the whole family. Here are people who can pitch in to help a brother out:

You (again... don't be afraid to donate two, three, five times)
Your spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend
Your kids
Your parents
Your co-workers
Your friends
Your neighbors
Your pets (I'm sure someone out there has a dog with a credit card)
Your kids' friends' parents
Your extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins...)
Your in-laws
Your extended family's in-laws
Your friends of friends
Your bartender
Your mailman
Your boss
Your convenience store cashier you buy coffee from

If you want to know the people you'd be helping with your contribution (besides me and my ego), check out the stories of people living with blood cancers on the LifeMosaic. The stories are about people of every age, from very young to very old, and many of them are just like you and me who just got hammered with disease out of nowhere for no good reason. It's not fair they were hit with blood cancers, but there's hope that the money we raise and contribute can maybe allow others in the future to not suffer the way they have.

All you have to do is Click right here and fork over a few bucks.

Thanks!

Never too soon to look far ahead

Now that I'm in the midst of an 18 week training program (PDF) to prepare for a marathon, I basically consider my running year over. I mean, I have a half marathon (please donate to my cause -- soon!) and a 10 miler upcoming in terms of races, but everything I'm doing now -- including those other two races -- is preparation for the "big race" day in early December.

In my mind it's ok to start thinking about what I want to do in terms of running in 2010.

Next year is a big one for me. I turn 40, and therefore trip over into a new age group, even if it is just as competitive as the one I'm in now. So I'm wondering where I want to focus my running.

Two things are certain. I'm running the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run in Washington, D.C. in April (provided I can register fast enough), the Frederick half marathon in early May and the Survivor Harbor 7 (miler) in June. Everything else is up in the air, but I think I'm going to skip multiple half marathons and probably skip running a marathon too.

I really enjoy getting up and going out and just running however far feels good that day. Usually that's between 4-7 miles. I also like the idea of running more 5Ks next year. 5Ks are great, and no matter how tough they may be you generally only have to suffer through them for about 25 minutes and then you can go about your day with a well deserved sense of accomplishment. I also would like to run some 5 mile and 10K races. For distances like that I am perpetually in shape. Marathons and such are life altering during training.

There's a real challenge in pushing your body to run 13.1 or 26.2 miles, especially when you were 37 before you even thought to try. But to me there's also a challenge in seeing how fast you can push your body. So the question is do I want to make next year the year I push myself far or the year I push myself fast. At this point all signs say I want to go fast.

But that's today. Tomorrow I'll probably want to run a marathon a month. Such is the indecisive middle age crisis-er.

Kicking trail and taking names

I discovered this morning that when you run in August it's better to start at 6:30am than it is to start at 8:00am. You'd think that kind of logic would be built in to most humans, but hey, I'm the Running MORON and not the Running Brainiac.

Other things I discovered this morning:

• It's hard to see when you don't wear your glasses.


• It's hard to take pictures when you forget to bring a camera/phone.


• When a race you didn't know about is being held on a trail that's about 5 feet wide, involves about 100 people and you're headed into the crowd less than 1/4 mile from the start going the opposite direction, you should probably get out of the way.

Today called for 9 miles. Even though I'm training as though I'm running a 4:20 marathon, my training plan called for me to run at marathon pace (MP) + 15 seconds. The book my training plan is mostly based on uses your last 5K race time to determine how fast you should run the marathon and to set your paces for training runs, but the program I'm using uses your last 10K time. I, however, don't have a 10K time so I used the 5K time. Got that? Anyway, based on my 5K time I should be running a 9:01 pace on marathon day (NOT happening) so today's run should have been at a 9:16/mile pace.

When I got to 6 miles I was feeling really good and was right under target, running a 9:13/mile average pace. I have to admit, when you're used to running 3,5,7 miles at paces under 8:30/mile it is extremely hard to stay slow. But I did it and I was rewarded with a sweet last 3 miles that brought my average pace over the entire run down to 9:03/mile.

Here are the splits:

Mile 1: 9:11
Mile 2: 9:07
Mile 3: 9:22
Mile 4: 9:04
Mile 5: 8:59
Mile 6: 9:12
Mile 7: 9:00
Mile 8: 8:45
Mile 9: 8:42

I felt so good at the end, in fact, that I tacked on an extra 1/4 mile to the run because I didn't feel I needed the walking cool-down I built in to the route. It was in that span that I came head on with the race, so fortunately it didn't mess with my mojo too much.

This was my best run over 5 miles since the spring, without a doubt. I started slowly, stayed slow until it was safe to pick it up and never let up when I did increase the pace. I also started to hit the water bottle at about 5 miles, when I usually wait until between 6-7 miles. That was probably a good idea too.

Now I have some running confidence back, and it should last right up until next weekend's 10 miler kicks me in the behind.

Ode to my shorts

Just a couple weeks ago I was lamenting a pair of shorts that kept falling down during a 7 mile run after they got weighed down with sweat. They were frustrating me that day, but those shorts, a pair of Nike running shorts without a cursed liner, and I have a history together.

I got those shorts at just about the time I was getting into running. I was shedding some weight and they were the first pair I bought in a smaller size than I'd been accustomed to. They had nice pockets that held my mp3 player and a key and were extremely durable. I even wore them when I ran my first race ever, the Pikesville 5K in July, 2007.

Eventually they got a little big, and I'd long since made the mistake of taking out the string that keeps them up, but they were still mostly good for shorter runs and cross training.

This morning I was wearing them while riding a stationary bike when I looked down and noticed a seam in the crotch was split. After my workout I checked them out, and they had indeed worn through and the thread hadn't just come undone. Hence, they were not salvageable. Into the trash bin they went.

They became old and heavy, just like the rest of us when we age, but those shorts were with me when I discovered road running, road races, and distance running. They held their own even if they didn't hold themselves up toward the end. They were a trusty partner and on some level I'll miss them.

Thankfully, I just got another pair of shorts similar to them, but lighter, sleeker and smaller enough to keep from falling off when they get sweaty. When one era ends a new one begins. Such it is with the evolution of my shorts.

In Memoriam: black Nike running shorts, 2007-2009, R.I.P.

Sometimes you just have to whine about something else

Ok, I have to vent about my gym. Complain like a little girl, more like it. And, honestly, that's about all I can do when my gym is cheap (in terms of gym memberships), really has everything I need in a gym, and is two miles from my front door.

My gym is the "jewel" of a local chain of gyms. It's the newest, biggest, brightest, and I guess best location. It's been open for about three years and was doing fine until two things happened: a) the "operations manager" changed; and b) the daughter of the owners took over as general manager. Here's a few of my issues:

• They keep putting up more and more signs with words like "PROHIBITED" and "RESTRICTED" on them and then don't enforce the prohibitions and restrictions. Either enforce your club's rules or don't and take the signs down. One of them says that cell phones may only be used in the lobby, but you regularly see people having loud, obnoxious conversations on their phones in front of a sign in the middle of somewhere that's not the lobby and with gym employees standing nearby.


• The facilities are falling apart. The gym is nice enough, but it's not filled with terribly high end fixtures or anything. Yet they keep stuffing more and more people into a building that doesn't have locker rooms and such that can handle the traffic. The showers are constantly breaking down. The lockers are constantly breaking. Pipes are blowing up in the wall. And it takes weeks to fix things. Supposedly, they're putting new carpet and vanities in the locker room. That was supposed to be in July, but got pushed back into August because they're waiting for "a quote." It's coming up on mid-August and they're still waiting for "a quote." You're telling me some contractor doesn't want this job in this economy? And I'm not even whining about the video screens in front of the cardio machines that are also always out for days and weeks at a time, which I easily could.


• They tried to charge me $5 for a key tag. I've had this little thing on my key chain that I checked in with for nearly three years. It was so ratty it was unbelievable, and where I attach it to my key ring finally wore through and could no longer be secured there. So I asked for a new one on Saturday, only to be told by the operations manager that he'd have to charge me $5 for a new one. I could understand if I lost it, but I had it in my hand, it was evident that it wasn't engineered to last three years, and I don't think it's unreasonable to have a dumb 50 cent piece of plastic replaced every three years for free. Therefore, I was not about to pay $5 for a new one. He told me I'd have to take it up with a membership person on Monday. On Monday I went in looking for a fight. I told the lady at the front desk the deal and asked for someone to talk to. She said, "Huh? Why? Give me that." She took my old, ratty key tag and replaced with a new one. For free and without fuss (she's an angel, and the only person there who has bothered to remember my name). But the operations manager wanted to stick me for a few bucks.

I get that I'm not the ideal member. I actually use my membership. I haven't signed up, gone for two weeks and then trailed off keeping my membership current with the excuse that I'm going to go back to using it, eventually. I never stopped. And I don't go to socialize. Heck, I barely talk to my own mom when I see her there because I have to get my workout on and get the hell out. True, when the weather is more runner friendly I go to the gym less, but I'm always there at least 2 days a week, and as many as 4-6 days a week. So maybe I'm expecting too much of my gym and spend too much time there. And maybe it's my fault for expecting my gym to be a place I'd want to spend more time in. But I like to pretend that gyms actually do want their members to come and use it. Because I'm a dreamer, I guess.

Maybe there's a finite period of time one can be happy with something like a gym. I don't think I've ever known someone who's belonged to and consistently visited the same gym for years and years. I think it's like cable/satellite television or cell phone providers; you go with whoever gives you the best service for the best deal for the least amount of time. Maybe I haven't worn out my welcome with my gym, but my gym has worn out its welcome with me.

By the way, when the gym first opened the owner put up a big easel with a list of things that were coming to enhance the workout experience there. If I remember correctly there were about 15 things on the list. I think they actually accomplished three before they took the list down.

I just read this post. Good god I'm a baby. I'm going to go ask for a binky and let my mommy change my diaper.

First week of marathon training, first failed long run

I've been writing this blog since April 2008, and it struck me that I never go back and read anything in the archives unless I'm searching for something pertinent to a current post. I never read my past posts just to read them. I mean, why, right?

This morning I did, to see where my thinking was in my marathon training last year. And it turns out this post is going to be just as whiny as some of them.

Today I ran the most hot and humid run since last summer, easily. I was supposed to do 8 miles, but I only made it to (a very slow) 7.68 when I was so sapped of energy I couldn't press on. What made it worse is that I brought water with me, so I shouldn't have been all that dehydrated. I just couldn't breathe through the heat and humidity and whenever the sunlight touched me I felt like a vampire whose skin was burning. July was pretty runner friendly around these parts. August is proving to make up for July's friendliness in a very runner unfriendly way.

My problem might be my start time. I didn't get to running until right around 8:00am. If I started at 7:00 that last .32 mile might not have been as daunting since the heat might not have been so hot. So it looks like schedule shuffling is in order.

Oh, well. I'm not going to beat myself up too badly about this one. I mean, it's just for fun. And I get to try it again with an even longer run next weekend. Yay marathon training.

My mind on my training and my training on my mind

Yesterday I did my first mid-week run greater than 4 or so miles in some time. Welcome to marathon training. It, unfortunately, was on a treadmill because of a time crunch, and man was I looking for excuses to put off the 6 miler (2 miles easy, 2 @ 8:20/mi, 2 easy) by a day. It seemed so logical: I was late leaving work and had even less time than usual to squeeze my workout in; my rest day is Friday, so it wouldn't matter if I flip-flopped rest days; I was so bleepin' tired and had no desire to trod on a treadmill for 50+ minutes. Why not just do it?

I've come to the opinion over the years when it comes to exercise that the more you do something exercise related the easier it is to do that. For example, if you build yourself up to run 5 miles, after a while it becomes pretty easy to run 5 miles. On the other hand, if you put off building yourself up to run 5 miles it becomes pretty easy to keep putting it off. Do I want to start looking for excuses to rationalize and switch around training for a marathon the very first week I start training?

I decided the answer was no, so to the slog I went. And, such as it is most of the times when I trudge to a workout when I really, really don't feel like it, it turned out to be a pretty good one. I was tired and I wasn't thrilled with the painful inclines I chose to use, but in the end it was satisfying. And what more can you really expect other than a good feeling and a sense of accomplishment even in light of a (perceived) inability to do something to your own standards?

The best part is that I was able to enter my scheduled rest day without those 6 miles hanging over my head, so I'm able to walk around with my training conscience clear, a full day of rest, an evening of relaxation, and looking forward to my next run.

The lesson I learned: never underestimate the snowball/butterfly effect when training for a big run. You never know if one choice or decision you make now could affect what happens to you in your training three months from now.

Here's hoping the choice I made yesterday to suffer through a 6 miler helps me on a big 18 or 20 miler down the road.

First "FIRST for first timers" impression

I did my first marathon training run today; speed work on a treadmill because it was like a million and three degrees outside. And after this first "real" workout I'm already questioning my training strategery.

Since I'm using the FIRST training program for first timers I'm starting off really easily considering the base I have under me. Where the regular FIRST program is 16 weeks long and tosses you right in the soup on the first day, this 18 week program eases you into the madness. So today's workout - 6 X 1 minute "fast" intervals with 3 minute "slow" rest intervals - seemed really easy to me (my own homegrown speed workout last week was 5 X 800M @ 7:12/mi pace with 400M RI). And the fact that it only took me 41 minutes, including warm-up and cool-down, didn't help.

But I have a new mantra to repeat over and over when it comes to this marathon I'm training for: It's just for fun. Heart doesn't feel like it's going to pop out of my chest after that last interval like I think it should? It's just for fun. Legs only feel like spaghetti instead of mush after an 18 miler? It's just for fun. Bonked a 12 miler on a bad day? It's just for fun.

Understanding the cold hard fact that I'm no real competition for anyone with designs on winning something at a race, all I have when I enter these events is me against the clock, and it just might take all 18 weeks until I land in Las Vegas and line up in front of the Mandalay Bay on race day for it to finally sink in that's it's just for fun and the clock doesn't matter.

It's my mind that's the competition this time. In the struggle between me and my mind I'm not sure who's going to win. Guess I'll be able to breathe easier when I cross the finish line and sport a new finisher's medal.

Until then, it's just for fun.

Steamy and sultry, but not just because my clothes were falling off

This morning marked my final run as a not-training-for-something runner. Everything from here on out will be to prepare me for the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon on December 6. I have mixed feelings about this. I've kind of liked running to the beat of my own drum, so to speak, but I also like focusing my running toward a goal. At least running a marathon is a pretty lofty goal.

I headed back out to the trail this morning for a 7 mile run. It was about 73 degrees, which is warm but not completely intolerable, and it was overcast, which is a big plus at this time of year, but it was also about as humid, sticky a morning as any I can think of this year. There was a haze on the ground, haze rising off the river that runs along parts of the trail, haze in the parking lot of the trail head. It was so humid you could pretty much touch the moisture in the air. I tried to take a picture of the conditions, but the little lens on the camera in my phone kept getting steamed up and I didn't snap anything useful.

The run itself was a struggle from beginning to end, and I probably should have taken some water out there with me. However, the biggest issue was my shorts. I wore a favorite pair that I've had for a couple years, but I took the string out that secures them around the waist and I forgot that when they get weighed down with sweat they fall off. I spent the last mile and a half hiking my shorts up every three seconds. That kind of sucked. Oh, well. For the conditions and the wardrobe malfunction I think I did ok. I finished in about 1:01 and averaged an 8:44 pace. Nothing special, but I didn't embarrass myself out there either.

One interesting this about this morning was how I drove past the starting point for a 5K race on the way out to my run. I seriously thought about pulling in and running it on a whim, but I really wanted to run 7 miles, didn't want to have to run the race course 2+ times, and figured it'd cost about $30 for race-day registration anyway (actually, it was $35). So I passed. Literally and figuratively. Ha.

That was how my non-training period ended. Hopefully what goes on from here gets me to the finish line in December, one way or another.