5.00 miles in 40:04

connect.garmin.com/activity/121432957

forget two hours! that isn't enough of a challenge. my new half marathon goal is 1:50. there. i said it. i am shooting for something bigger than i could've imagined last august when i started running. mind you, i have a stupid, silly goal faster than 1:50, but i'm not throwing that one out to the public yet. you'll know it if i make it. you'll hear the shout clear up in chicago!

today's run was simply amazing to me. i was running along, all comfy like, so i looked at my garmin. i was running at 7:08 pace! what?! that's nuts! i backed off a bit knowing it had miles to go, but i was blown away. 7:08 should not feel easy! even slowing down, my first mile was 7:38. after that i settled into a rhythm that felt good and set the cruise.

when i turned onto country club road, i knew i was going to slow down a little climbing the hill. i also knew i didn't want to push too hard and risk a heart rate spike that would cause a blow out. i've done that plenty of times. ugh! so i maintained the same "feel" running up and over the hill that turns onto lake road. i hit the bottom on the other side of the hill at around half of the five miles hal demanded of me today, so i turned around and ran back up the steeper side of the hill and back into town down country club.

from there i took a zig zagging route back up to dillon's, ran through the store's parking lot to avoid the highway traffic which was just beginning to pick up a little and ran north on lawrence. by this time i could see a sub-8:00 finish if i worked just a teensy weensy bit harder. i tried my best and missed it. my average was only 8:01 when i stopped the garmin. i am such a failure...NOT!

i loved this run! it gave me back my confidence. i was concerned that i'd lost too much speed sitting out for two weeks in the middle of my training, but, if anything, i've gotten faster. that's why i'm setting my sights on a loftier goal. you, my dailymile friends, are going to hold me to it and push me on to stupid, silly fast!