Five miles & a superhero

Today's run by the numbers:

Miles: 5.12
Time: 1:12:38 (14:11 avg pace)
Temp: low 80s
Wildlife: 2 deer, 1 baby field mouse
3-year-old superheroes: 1

My Nike+ sensor stopped working Thursday morning, so I used my mapped out an approximate 5-mile route for today. The RW smart coach plan called for 5 miles easy at 14:11 (yeah, nailed that!). I had hoped to run it between 13:30 & 14:00 average pace & had written down what those splits would be for each of the 3 sections of the route. I was on target to do just that at the end of the first section.

I was making the turn to go down one of the farm paths when I heard "Mama!" I turned and saw Kate and Will coming towards me on the golf cart. Will wanted to join me for a while, so he and I started down the path with Kate still in the golf cart to give him a ride when he wanted to stop.

A smile, a wave and a "good morning" was all I offered to the crew priming tobacco in the field next to the path. I don't know nearly enough Spanish to even attempt to explain Will's attire: bathing suit (no shirt), homemade cape made from a towel and sneakers. At least he wasn't wearing his goggles on top of his head ...

(We bought an above-ground pool this summer ... now Will wears a bathing suit at all times so he's ready to swim at a moment's notice. At least this is an improvement over the "George of the Jungle" phase when all he would wear was his underwear.)

Will stuck with me for most of the second section even though we had to take a few more walk-breaks and G2 stops than I would have made if I'd been alone. Then, of course, there was a meltdown when I explained that we couldn't run down the path into the woods since we didn't tell Daddy we were going there. He and Kate finally got bored and rode the golf cart back home while I finished.

So, I didn't finish the 5 miles in the time I'd hoped to ... but at least I have the memory of my free-spirit, "Super Will" running with his cape flying behind him. I'll give up a minute or two for that anytime.

Tall Mom's Giveaway

Quickie post while I'm at lunch ... check out the Pearl Izumi giveaway at Tall Mom on the Run! For the couple of people who read my ramblings, she has a great, upbeat blog. If you like what you see, be sure to follow her & mention that I sent you there so we'll both get a bonus entry in the giveaway.

I'll write more when I have a little more time. So far this week, 2 miles Tuesday & 3 miles yesterday. Five miles planned for tomorrow morning ...

Four hot, sweaty miles

I'm back!

I had about 6 weeks of a "look at me NOT running" phase, but that's over now. I rolled my left ankle in early June and had to take several days off to give it time to recover. Well, those few days turned into 6 weeks.

Thankfully, my guilt (and a little fear) about being registered for the Medoc Trail Races 10 miler in October brought the motivation back. I used the Smart Coach program at Runners World online and built an 11-week program to (hopefully) get me to the point that I will be able to survive the 10 miles. I realize it will involve a lot of walking (being on trails will be tougher and I'm way out of shape), but that's okay. It's going to be so much fun!

Today was a scheduled 4 miler and it was tough but I made it through it. It was my longest run in quite a while. I started a little later than planned so it was already hot by 9:30 a.m.. The first two miles on what I call the "big tree" route were definitely better than the last two miles. I ran the "cow pasture" route a couple of times to finish out the run and that includes the tough hill. Here are the splits from my watch (used the distance times from the nike plus which hopefully are fairly accurate).

mile 1: 12:36
mile 2: 13:07 (25:44)
[stopped & rested for a couple of minutes & sipped some water]
mile 3: 13:41 (39:25)
mile 4: 13:30 (52:55)

Still slow, but that's okay ... at least I put a few more miles on legs. My left foot did okay. I've been dealing with some tenderness since the June ankle sprain that I've self-diagnosed as peroneal tendonitis (gotta love the internet and the ability to google ... the symptoms are exactly what I'm experiencing). After a few days of RICE, I successfully tackled three miles the following Saturday. I managed to complete all three runs scheduled this week also.

I'm so glad that I'm enjoying running again. I feel so much better when I'm following some sort of plan. Next week includes 2 miles Monday, 3 miles Wednesday and then 5 miles Saturday. If I'm smart, I'll also add in some cross-training on the other days. Wish me luck!