Waking up on the run

Day 322 - July 24, 2008

46 weeks into the streak I still find ways to surprise myself on the run. Obviously, yesterday's 9 mile run left my legs a little tired and I wasn't really psyched about running this morning. So to ease myself out, I chose my favorite daily route and headed into the fog. As I expected, I was pretty slow.

My first half mile out of the development was 10 seconds slower than my normal crawl. Add that up over a 3.5 mile run and that's over a minute slower. So, I decided to try and pick it up a little, but my effort didn't yield much. When I finally reached the turn around, I was 13:54, still a good 10 seconds from normal, but at least I was maintaining my pace.

On the way back, I was monitoring my pace and I estimated that if I continued to run at that pace I might break 27 minutes. It seemed unlikely, but I half jokingly reminded myself of Phillipians 4:13 and continued to push on. Well, something must have clicked on the way back because the strides were coming easier and before I knew it I was back in the development with only the long downhill around Carnation to go. When I reached the driveway, my watch said 25:56! I had run the second half in 12:01.

It is funny what little things we use to motivate ourselves. I really doubt whether God, or anyone else for that matter, cares what time I run my daily runs in. But, that one short thought, that didn't enter my head at any other point on the run, may have been just the trigger I was looking for. I hope I can remember this post when faced with a real challenge someday. If a little positive thinking can get me through an insignificant 3 mile run, imagine what it can do when it matters.


Day: 322 Time/Date: 6:30 AM 7/24/2008 Weather: Clear, 63F
Run: N Carnation-Davis Miles: 3.6 Time: 25:56 Pace: 7:12 min/mile
Miles to Date: 1049.4 Total Running Time: 128:42:56