Monday, November 15, 2010

3.14 miles in 24'54"

i woke up before my alarm went off at 5:50 this morning. i laid in bed enjoying the extra sleep i'd gotten. being 100 miles away from normal responsibilities does wonders for the mind and body.

i dressed and then headed down to the park to meet up with ryan k for a quick 5K. i arrived a few minutes early, so i cranked up the heat and listened the radio. ryan showed up a short time later and i pulled on my gloves and skull cap. it was 39 out and i knew i'd need them for at least the first few blocks.

we took off at a pretty good clip. for a little while it was hard to talk much, but i got everything under control before the first half lap was completed and settled into a really nice rhythm. my legs and lungs felt great and my lower abs, which had been sore after my half mary on saturday, were no problem.

we finished the first lap in just over twelve minutes and continued on. as we turned north in front of the grade school, i pulled off my gloves and skull cap and tried picking up the pace. after a block or two i was still feeling good, so i stayed at that pace until we reached the barclay college gym. there i picked things up again.

as we cleared the top of the hill by the college apartments, i realized it was all down hill back to the finish, so i pushed the pace one last time. i figured i could run close to "puke pace" for six blocks. i was mostly right. only problem was it was seven blocks.

about three blocks from the end of our second loop, i started feeling more woozy than i like to feel. i backed off the speed just a tad to keep the bile at bay, but when we rounded the final corner a block from the finish and i ramped it back up for a strong finish. both ryan's and my watch read 24'54" when we stopped. i was pleased. a great run with a great friend. i drove back to the house where i was staying. i showered, dressed and headed for breakfast with my daughter.

No comments: