Sneaky Extra Mile

I ran the Shamrock 8k. I found my runners high, and then I went back to work. I lost my runners high. I’ve been in a bit of a running rut since returning to work. Sleeping has been winning out when it comes to the sleep an extra hour or get up and run battle. I even skipped a chance to run this weekend for a much-needed nap. My body and my brain are still adapting to our much more hectic schedule.

My biggest issues with running lately:

• lack of time (although not a good enough excuse)
• lack of sleep (perfectly acceptable excuse since Chet has taken a step backwards in sleeping. In my 8 hours of sleep each night, I’m waking up 3 times to feed him. Knock on wood, the past 2 nights I’ve only woke up twice)
• I am way too familiar with our neighborhood. I can tell you exactly where I am at, what tenth of a mile I am at, and exactly how far I have to go at every block in our neighborhood. This can make a rough 3 mile run seem 10xs longer.

Today I was spoiled with an extra day off from work. My mom, our super-nanny, was partying it up this weekend in Vegas. No grandma means mom gets to stay home for a day. I took advantage of Christian being home this morning. I needed new scenery. I headed to my favorite place to run, First Landing State Park. With dog in tow, I set out to run 4 miles on a mixture of asphalt and trails.

I started my run just off Great Neck road and followed the path into the park. I ran down trail. I took a quick detour down the Bald Cypress trail to sneak in a little bit of elevation change. Running trails is always more challenging for me. I tend to run slower on the soft surface, but it will always be my favorite place to run. When I’m running outside and on trails, I forget about running. I quit battling my own brain. Instead I battle the terrain. Avoiding puddles, tree roots, and pine cones is so much more fun than battling my own desire to walk. I never once thought about walking on today’s run.

The puddles, tree roots, and pine cones weren’t my only obstacles today. My garmin was also out to challenge me. At one point, it quit tracking my run. I’m guessing it skipped close to a half mile. And then it did it again. This time for maybe a quarter-mile. Since I was determined to run 4 miles today, I couldn’t get in my car with 3.25ish on my watch. Instead I kept running. (This is a great way to sneak in some extra distance if you are looking to add mileage.)

Mile 1: 11:56

Mile 2: 11:33

Mile 3: 11:36

Mile 4: 11:24

Total: 4.02 in 46:43 @ a pace of 11:37

I did get back to my car with 4 miles on my watch, almost 5 miles on my shoes, and a huge smile on my face. Sometimes runs just feel good.

(I just know 10s are going to start popping up on my watch soon.)