Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Beautiful Evening Run

Distance: 3.97 mi.
Time: 48:51 min.
Pace: 12:17 min./mi.
Time of day: 7 p.m.
Temperature: 61°F. A beautiful evening to run!

It was cold and rainy Tuesday morning so I decided I would wait till later in the day to run, hoping the sun would break through and dry off the roads. I was not disappointed. The afternoon was beautiful but work related issues kept me from enjoying it. I finally was able to get out after supper.

I live on a hill. And until last week I had never attempted to start my run from my driveway. I have always walked up the hill, turned the corner and continued one more block, uphill, to the point where the road flattens out. Last week, in prep for the upcoming North Shore half marathon, I walked to the bottom of the hill and then ran all the way up to the corner. Last night I decided to start at my driveway and run my entire 4 mile course.

I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to run up the hill, turn the corner and continue running the entire time. I used to get winded just walking up the hill to my mailbox. (Don't even get me started on the insane idea the USPS had in the 80's of gang mailboxes.) Sometimes I get discouraged, thinking I'm not making any progess in my training. But last night's run was a big reminder that I am improving. It was awesome running up that hill!

As I ran I focused on breathing and form. Yep. My two favorite things right now. My form is getting better. I don't think I shuffled at all last night. The breathing still needs work but I do see some improvement. I believe I am breathing more deeply more often. It's weird, but I think when I slow my pace, for whatever reason, that is when I start the shallow breathing and shuffling of feet. Could it be that I need to push myself a bit to increase the pace? Hmmm.

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