Sunday, June 13, 2010

Day 1,260: Getting ahead of the count

My running weeks start on Sunday, so getting a good start to my mileage week is always a goal.

After two days of sluggish running, I knew I'd be ready to break off a long run. The weather spotted me 2 degrees (75 degrees) from the day before and I headed off down the course to the end of the ING Georgia Marathon/Half-Marathon.

Conveniently, my work is about 5.1 miles into the route after the end of the course. I stopped for water (only 3 cups instead of 4 from last Thursday) but my wicking shirt was totally soaked. I rummaged through a drawer for an old T-shirt I stored there when I used to bike to work.

Continued on, down Marietta St. and then later up Baker-Highland to connect to Auburn Ave. where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King are entombed. This is one of two of the most special places in my running routes in the city for me and it always gives me a boost to run by.

By the time I hit the big hill on Euclid Avenue in Little Five Points I was pretty stoked -- I had plenty of energy and the rest of the way is pretty much downhill.

In Poncey Highland I stopped at a convenience store for some Powerade and drank half of it. Less than a mile later I stopped back at my place to feed my cats, drink the rest of the Powerade and change into my third shirt of the day.

Smooth sailing the rest of the way to my gf's place.

Increasingly I'll see myself tailoring my runs depending on the weather and how I feel. If I had felt tired at all during the first part of my run I definitely would have cut the run short but I felt good and now I am significantly ahead of pace for the rest of the week (would have to run 3.04 miles the rest of the week for 30 miles and 4.81 miles if I wanted 40).

Time: 7:21 a.m.
Temp: 75 degrees
Gear: CFSST (Cherry Blossom Ten-Miler, ING Georgia Half-Marathon '07), SST (Full Tilt Poker), shorts, Nike Air Pegasus+ 26/B.

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