getting braver

Yesterday it was time for my 8 mile run. For some reason i just wasn't looking forward to it, like i had the 7 miler. mainly bc it was supposed to be mid 80's by 10am. jeremy and i decided to get up early, 6:30am, and try to get out by 7. our 7 was more like 7:30. as we drove by all the bank thermometers, they told us we should have come out earlier, as it was already 79 degrees.

today i decided i wanted to change my interval some. i'm trying to find what works best for me. the week before i had run the first 2 miles, then gone to run 1, walk 1 for the next five. i decided i was going to be a little bit braver and go for run 2, walk 1 for the first 5 miles, then after that if i was struggling i would switch to run 1, walk 1. and so that is what i did. the first 5 miles felt good, really the first 6.5 felt good. it was overcast so the sun wasn't beating down on me the whole time even though it was warm and humid. unfortunately the last 1.5 miles, the sun decided to make an appearance and it got HOTTER quick! the last 1.5 were pretty brutal. my run 1, walk 1 became for a run 1, walk 2-3. there was a hill at the start of mile 7 that i walked up. when i got to 7.5, jeremy was there waiting for me. he had done 10 and said he would run the last .5 with me. it was great to have him there with me at the end.

i got a new PR for 5 miles by several minutes and was only 2 seconds off of my best 5k time! my average pace was 25 seconds faster per mile than last weeks 7 mile run average. so i am getting faster!

i also am proud to say that i ran closer to town yesterday. usually i run at the park or through a neighborhood, but never have i ventured into town. to me that is the ultimate run. to be able to run through town signifies that 1) lots more people that i know will see me 2)lots more people that i dont know will see me, 3)i am a true runner if i run through town bc of both 1 and 2, and 4)runners that run in town are fit and have a "runners body". bc i'm still 40-50 pounds overweight, running through town hasn't been an option bc i dont have that "runner's body". for some reason though yesterday i wanted to venture towards town, not into it, just closer to it! i ran towards main street, then i turned off and ran down another popular road and back to the park. that was as close as i had come to becoming an in town runner. hopefully as my training increases, the weight comes off, and the more comfortable i feel, i will eventually run down main street or even on centre college's campus but that's for another day!