Waa Waa–Using the “S” Word

Man, I just can’t believe how slow I’ve gotten over the last years. I just figured out my per mile pace on my long run today and was shocked.

I know it’s a process…I have a lot of work to do to find my “fast” gear again…and I can’t expect to just snap my fingers and have it all come back…but still….

Today’s run went better than last week’s. I thought about my form, picking my feet up and running relaxed, and I know I did so much more than last week when I had no thought to do so at all.

I felt stronger throughout and had none of the bad calf cramping that showed up at the end of last week’s long run. I did approximately two more miles and felt better.

It seemed like my road mind is coming back, meaning I focused properly on the task at hand and it didn’t seem overly long and boring (I admit to those things in the past. There’s just so much to see and consider when you’re on the trail!).

This was nice:  I stopped at the Crestview Minimax to see if they had a water fountain to refill my bottle. When I asked, one of the cashiers said, “Sure; let me show you where it is.”

He took me back to the far corner of the store where the water fountain was, I thanked him, and started to fill my bottle when he said, “Hey, would you like some ice for that?”

Wow! That was so nice! He pointed me to the ice machine and told me to take as much as I needed. That was just such a bright spot–people can be so nice.

I like that long run route. It is super convenient for me location-wise, and there are great places to stop along the way if I need to. It was a good route to do by myself. Even so, I still saw people I knew out running at random spots (so nice to see my friend Sadie out of the blue and get a sweaty hug! She was moving along well). I also saw more deer than I’ve ever seen in my life along Hart Lane. Now, I grew up over there–I remember it before Mesa went all the way through, when 183 was a two-lane road, and there was no MoPac, and I have never seen that many deer there.

Amazing.