D@mn I’m Fast

Okay, I know that I may not be fast as some of the people reading this, but for the purpose of getting ready for my marathon I will be chanting this ad nauseam in the coming weeks. Today’s run was awesome; it reinforced my affirmation.

I was more than ready to get outside today, due to having missed my run yesterday. I sunk my headphones deep into my ears, and started my running music playing. I had it pick up were it had ended the last time I ran with music. The song grabbed me right from the first few beats; I took off faster than usual, without caring about what my pace would be. I just let the music play enjoying the breeze blowing, and the sun shinning. A few songs later I looked at my pace. It was still fast but I still felt good. I thought, “So what if I tire out later.”

As I ran, I contemplated how long to run. I missed my 5-mile run yesterday and was supposed to run 5 miles today. Together, that would be 10 miles. I wasn’t about to do that. About 2 1/2 miles out, I hesitated for a fraction of a second. I wasn’t ready to turn around yet. On I ran, still going at a fast pace. 4 miles out, I was ready the turn back. I hit the restroom, ate a few gummy bears (they were leftovers from Sunday’s long run), and stretched before starting back.
I switched it up a bit on the way back. Instead of staying up on the main trail, I ran along the water on the well-worn paths that the mountain bikes have made. I followed the narrow paths, moving side to side and following the path up and down the little mounds of dirt. I returned to the main trail for the last two miles. Finishing just in front of the side entrance to my work, I exclaimed “YES!” Looking at the GPS to see an 8.13-mile run in 1:06:02. D@mn, I’m fast; that’s 8:07 minutes/mile!