My sitter is back! I headed out for a run along the river trail... hoping to do about 6. Though, at the 2 mile mark, I realized I was going at marathon goal pace (8:25) so I opted to stop and do a 2x2 mile tempo run. As I rested, I thought... hmmm, wouldn't it be sweet if I could better the mile I did last week?! Can I top 6:58? I decided to give it a go... the return run included a couple of gentle downhill segments and I thought for certain this could help better my time.
I started to really struggle. I was parched. I hadn't thought to bring along water. 3/10 of a mile to go and it was all I could do to continue running. I finally hit the lap button and realized that the humidity, my running hiatus, and the 2 fast-paced previous miles really had done a number. 7:38. It is amazing how quickly one can lose endurance & fitness when you take time off.
Somewhere along the way, I had discovered a tiny shrew along the road that had perished by some unknown cause. I made it a point to bring it home with me to share with the kiddos. Impromptu nature study... tied in perfectly with our current focus on vertebrate animals. They were delighted with my discovery. As I was carrying the little fellow with me, I essentially jogged/walked the last mile for cool-down.
4 miles in all. Getting my running legs under me again. Will take time.
You were missing one important element on that mile... excitement :-) You picked up a dead animal and brought it home? ewww :-) I thought us southerners were the only ones that did that ;-)
ReplyDeleteHooray for the sitter!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm with Wes. You took it home? :)