3.1 miles

“Good things come slow — especially in distance running.”
— Bill Dellinger

I did the Fleet Feet Firecracker 5K this morning. It was very well organized, and the course was great, but my performance? Not so much.

I started off with good intentions about Gallowaying the run on a 5-to-1 ratio (run five minutes, walk one), but I felt so good that I wound up running the first 20 minutes with relatively little effort. Unfortunately, by the time I forced myself to take a walk break, I was getting a little too hot, and when it was time to start running again, I was in the middle of an uphill climb. I’m not usually scared of hills, but some fears about the humidity (83 percent), heat, dehydration, and inadequate training got the better of me, and I wound up doing a lot of walking in that last kilometer or so.

Still, when the dust settled and the times were posted, I didn’t really do that horribly — my chiptime was 31:41, which is slow, but still five seconds faster than my time in Clinton a couple of weeks ago, and only four seconds slower than my time in last year’s Firecracker run.

I try not to run for time, but it’s hard to ignore it when you’ve got someone calling splits every kilometer, and I wouldn’t mind posting a PR this season. I think that’s not entirely out of reach if I’d just knuckle down and do some speedwork and some hill training. Maybe I’ll make Song run wind sprints up the Hill from Hell with me a couple of times a week. That ought to give me better 5K times and a less obnoxious collie. 🙂

Ron and I are also discussing the prospect of buying a treadmill. I’m not sure where we’ll put it (I’m trying to figure out a way to rearrange my office so I can put it in here, but I’ve got an ugly feeling it’s going to wind up in the middle of our living room instead, which will look classy), but I can’t see blowing $40 a month to run on somebody else’s treadmill — and drive halfway across town to get there, with gas at $3 a gallon — when I can get my own for what I’d spend on a one-year gym membership. The idea of walking into my living room, popping a Route 66 documentary into the DVD player, jogging for two hours, and then walking 20 feet to the refrigerator to refuel with a glass of decaf sweet tea and a plate of leftover pasta with browned butter and mizithra cheese sounds very appealing.

Box score:
Miles run today: 3.1
Miles with Song: 0
Song’s total miles: 1
My total miles: 7.1

Next scheduled run: 1 mile with Song tomorrow, possibly up the nastiest hill in Red Fork.

Hope you’re having a good Fourth of July, wherever you are. If I get a chance to photograph some fireworks this evening, I’ll post them.

Emily