Saturday Stats

Today was a big run. 10 miles. I've run 10 miles a few times before, but it's been a while.

I was a bit worried how this run would go, considering I had forgotten to hydrate yesterday, and only drank about 4 glasses of water. I know, not smart. I also didn't eat a lot yesterday to carb up.....

So this morning I set my alarm for 6:10 because I REALLY wanted to get it out of the way. I ended up waiting around the house for a few minutes, because it was just still too dark to start running.

At 6:45, I found my gate guard friend and gave him my water bottle to pick up after mile 5. My plan was to run 2 different 5 mile routes. This ended up being huge mentally! I loved that the routes were different so I didn't get as bored.

The first 5 miles were pretty annoying. I couldn't get my shoes to fit right for the life of me. I stopped at least 6 times to re-adjust the laces. I was reallly missing my old running shoes today, because they had Yankz and were quick and easy to adjust. I'm thinking of buying some for these shoes too.

Anyways, first 5 miles was just under a 12 minute pace. I then slurped my Vanilla Bean Gu in record time and took off for round 2.

A dog chased me again and almost bit me. I don't know how to handle this. Most of the dogs are not on leashes so no one cares what they're doing. And if a dog does bite me, no one will help me. It's not in their culture. So I already have a plan ready in case....to borrow/use someones cell phone to call Daniel to come get me. I carry his phone # and a little money in my running shoe pouch.

So......round 2 went AMAZING!!!! I was on my last mile when I realized I was several minutes ahead of where I should be. I mean, I know I'm getting faster, but I was really far ahead! So I ended up running another leg towards the end to make up for it in case I had missed something.

After getting home I realized I went a different way than I had mapped so when I thought I was supposed to be done, I wasn't. The route I did today was a bit shorter. So i'm glad I tacked on the last part just to be safe. And I mapped my run as best as I could and it's either 9.9 or 10 miles. I'm going to believe it was 10.

I also had an overall pace of about 11:45. Pardon me while I scream from excitement!!!!!!

I've been running less than 2 years. I feel like I have ALWAYS been at a 12 minute pace, and when I would run anything over 5 miles, it quickly went to 12:30-13 minutes depending on how long I ran. I never saw much improvement in my pace until just recently. Not sure if time is what it takes, or because of some of the weight loss. (I'm SO close to a total loss of 30 pounds, but these last few will just not leave!) :)

I'm in shock. Shock and awe.

My total mileage for the week is 21.1 miles.

Next week is Week 6 of training with a long run of 11 miles. Bring it.

love

Laura