Awesome Run

It has been a week since my last run, and I was a little worried that it would have a bad effect on this morning's run. I wanted to do about 7 or 8 miles, my longest since Broad Street, and usually when I am running on stale legs it turns out to be pretty bad.

I have also had a problem with early morning motivation lately, but was able to get myself out of bed at six this morning. After slowly getting started I got outside. That is the hardest part and once outside I knew it was easy from there.

I started really slow and just tried to keep my pace steady. It was nice and cool out, and a bit overcast. It looked like it could rain at anytime, but I have ran in the rain so much this winter that I did not care. At least today would not be a cold rain.

The entire run felt great and when my Forerunner beeped for the third mile I noticed that I was steadily increasing my pace, and feeling good while doing it.

I passed mile seven and started feeling a little tired. There was a little more than a quarter mile to the intersection of my street, so I continued to the traffic light. I was a little fatigued and really had to push that last bit, but I finished strong.

Before starting I expected that I would need a couple walk breaks, but ended up not needing them at all and not even thinking about walking the entire time.

All in all I did 7.31 miles in 1:21:52 for a pace of 11:12
My splits were 12:06 - 11:44 - 11:28 - 11:17 - 11:11 - 10:37 - 10:23
and the final .31 mile was ran at a 9:55 pace.

I felt incredible after this run, and it really gave me a boost in motivation.

Bad Run Turned Good, Easy Run Turned Hard

So, on Sunday my plan was to do a long slow run of about 9 miles. I wanted to keep the pace around 11:30-12:00 per mile and just get the distance in preperation for Broad Street. I went up to Cooper River to do about two and a half loops.

The first mile was okay, but I felt really bad. I could not loosen up and my pace was up and down. Same with the second mile, but now I couldn't keep my pace slow enough. I just felt all out of whack and could not get into a groove.

I finished one loop of the river and was thinking that I should just give it up. I stopped at my car and got some water. I paced a bit and talked myself into doing another loop. This time I would take it extremely slow. I sucked down a GU and went off as slow as I could.

This lap felt better, but I was still going too fast. I decided just to go with it and keep my pace steady. I could definitely feel the effects of the GU because I was feeling much more energized than my first loop. I felt very loose and relaxed. I finished that second loop feeling good and decided to stop there. Shorter and faster than I was intending, but feeling really good.

A couple days later I went out for an easy recovery run. I was planning to keep it around 11:00 miles for 3 miles, but it just seemed so slow. Mile first mile was 10:32 and I felt incredibly good. I kept going, and noticed that I was easily going faster.

I was in a zone, and mentally I was flying. I do not think I was even really aware of anything more than five feet away from me.

My second mile split was 9:15. The fastest mile split I have ever ran. I stopped at a water fountain for about thirty seconds and quickly got back into the run.

By the time I reached the 2.5 mile mark I was feeling worn out. I told myself I would run to the next traffic light and then I could quit. I got there and my Garmin read 2.88 miles. Only .12 left to make it an even three so why not.

I dug deep and pushed it out. Third mile split was 9:43

Total run was 3 miles in 29:31. My hardest workout yet, and my best avg pace at 9:51 minutes per mile. I walked for about twenty minutes so that I would stay loose and cool down properly. I felt very good for the rest of the night.

I compared this workout to the first one I ever did with a heart rate monitor. This was back in January and was also three miles. I did an average pace of 11:04 and had an average HR of 172. I also tried to run one full mile at sub 10:00 pace and could only hold that for .6 miles, and it was extremely hard to do that.

I think this is great improvement in such a short time! Watching these improvements and comparing workouts really keeps me motivated to run.

Long Run, Big Blister

Five weeks. That is how long it has been since my last LSD. The runs in that time have been few, and none more than three miles. I felt really good after my last run and figured yesterday morning was time for a good long run. I decided on 6 miles, which is the longest I have ever done.

I woke to find that it was raining outside. Not a down pouring rain, but a slow steady rain, and a dreary overcast sky. I headed out and started slow. I walked for a short warm up and then took it around a 12:30 pace.

I knew that the same old routes would probably bore me a bit, especially on a dark a dreary day like this, so I went a new way, running through Riverwinds Community Center and then back toward my house. I actually pounded out 6.5 miles, my longest run yet, and it felt great.

I felt strong the entire run, and although minor cramps and annoyances came up, I ran through them and they quickly went away. I then walked for twenty minutes to cool down, and that worked well because my legs felt good all day long.

I did have a weird sensation on my toe and pretty much figured it would be a blister. Sure enough... I took off my socks and there it was. A small one at first, but it has ballooned up pretty good. Not the biggest I have seen, but the biggest I have had in quite some time.

One thing I was reminded about on this run was this... looking at your watch too much can spoil a run. My Forerunner was covered by my rain jacket, so it took some effort to look at it. For the first four miles I looked at it only once, to see my pace, and ignored the other numbers. When I got near mile 5 I wanted to see how long I had been running and caught the distance. I was still running strong, but now I had too many numbers in my head and all of a sudden my side was cramping and I felt like taking a walk break. It took me a few minutes to get my mind off it and just get back into the run.

So that is it... 6.5 miles in 1:19:47 for a 12:16 pace. HR avg-160, max-180. I feel really good about this run and I am looking forward to a strong April.

Just a little over a month until Broad Street, and I am getting excited about it.

On a side note... I got the Wii Fit yesterday. It is pretty cool so far, but I have not used it enough to give a full review. I see some things I like and some I don't, but I will be exploring it some this week and we shall see how much I like it.

Long Run, Negative Splits

Today I ran my long run a little harder than I was supposed to. Despite that it felt really good even though it started pretty bad.

I woke early and could not get out the door. The one day I finally have motivation and I am ready to go, and the bowels start talking to me. After a couple trips to the bathroom I finally got outside.

My legs felt pretty tight, and I was still a little worried about my stomach. I took my time warming up and did not go very far from my house at first. I decided to take it extremely slow, and after a little bit I was feeling better.

Before the end of the first mile I was feeling great and had picked up my pace. I knew that I would be doing five miles today. I decided, on the fly, to try to get it in under an hour. Last time it took me 1:05:41.

Something clicked in me. I was feeling great and just floating down the road. My mind was racing with everything except the run. I was thinking about my writing, my job, my future. I was daydreaming about the marathon and my mind was just wandering all over the place. The last mile I had a good song playing and really picked it up.

When I got home and looked at the data in my Forerunner, I was surprised by the splits. 12:18, 12:16, 11:50, 11:22, 10:41. A total time of 58:29.

My legs feel great, my mind is clear and I am feeling awesome right now. This is the first time I had a run where every spilt was negative!

Now if I can carry this run into the rest of the day, and through the beginning of the week...

Long Run Cheat

I usually do my long runs during the weekend. This past couple of days has been crazy so I decided to get my long run in this morning, but count it for the weekend. So I did not really cheat on my long run, I just cheated on when to include the miles, since I am a stat whore and wanted the six miles to be on last weeks total.

My main goal for this run was to keep a very slow and steady pace. I was aiming for six miles, which I have never done before, but told myself five would be fine.

I also did not want to listen to music on today's run and debated on whether I should listen to a podcast or just forget the ear buds altogether. I opted for a podcast called 4 Feet Running. This is a great podcast. They record on the run and in the studio, so most of the time I felt like they were running right beside me while talking. I definitely recommend it.

I think listening to their conversation helped me keep a slow steady pace and also entertained me while I ran.

As I neared my house I was a little short of six miles, but I was feeling great. I took an extra loop around some of the side streets so that I would hit six and still have enough distance to do a good cool down walk.

I love the feeling after a run, and it feels especially good after a long run. Today feels so much better than yesterday!

A Wasted Day

I got back from Florida very late last night. It was a very nice vacation. So relaxing and enjoyable. It actually got pretty cold in Orlando, but still fun. And I managed to get in two runs, one of which was my first time on a treadmill. More about them later.

I slept in today and had intentions to run a long run today. I started the day unpacking and cleaning up, but as the day grew older I found myself doing not much of anything. I am frustrated because the day slipped away from me and I feel like I have accomplished nothing at all. Even though I have one more day off, I am already feeling the stress of daily life creeping back and it is frustrating.

A good long run tomorrow morning will help me feel better. I do not usually run on Monday's, but I am going to cheat a little and use that as the run I missed today. Also tomorrow I will sit down and put in stone a training plan for the Broad Street run. I am excited to get this started and look forward to that run.

I will be posting a few more times tomorrow to tell you all about my running and vacation last week. I do not want to do it all in one post, since that would make it way too long and people would abandon ship as they got closer to boredom.

I also need to catch up on the blogs that I follow... so until tomorrow, I will see you around.

2008: A Year In Review

Well, 2008 has been a great year for me. It is the year that I finally fell in love with running. This may be a long post, but here it goes.

I started the year cycling. I had been doing it on a regular basis for a bit over a year. I was doing it to get back into shape, but was pretty "business casual" about it. I was still using the no name mountain bike that I had bought at Target over 7 years ago, but I changed out the knobby off road tires for slick road ones.

Over the last few years I have tried to take up running a few times. It was not until April of this year that I found the C25K program, and thought that it would be perfect for me. I was basically a couch potato and would love to be able to run 5k on a regular basis.

I did the first week in these crappy shoes that I got from PayLess. My feet were killing me and I knew that I had to get real running shoes. I could not afford the local running store, so I went to a department store and got a pair of New Balance. Immediately I could feel the difference and I fell in love with running shoes. I still to this day have some sort of weird thing for them, and actually check them out on other runners.

By this time I had started to abandon cycling and really wanted to get into running. I followed the C25k program for only the first three weeks. To be honest I do not even remember why I stopped, but I regret stopping. The first week in May would be the last time I would run until August. On top of that I would not ride my bike, except while doing it with my, now 5 year old, son.

Something clicked inside of me near the beginning of August. I wanted to run and I knew that I just had to do it. I would go out and run for 15 minutes and then turn around and run back. I never really got far, and there were a lot of walk breaks involved, but I was doing it. It was easier for me to do because I was not really tracking my runs, just running.

My first breakthrough came a couple weeks later when I ran two miles without stopping. It felt really good, and I realized that I could have done it all along, but I was not letting myself do it.

I kept better track of my runs and worried more about building mileage and endurance rather than speed and pace. I noted improvements in time, and celebrated milestones in speed, but my main focus was distance. I increased mileage gradually, I think sometimes too slow, but focused on running longer and farther.

My first race was a pumpkin run 5k in October. I signed up less than a week before it and got my brother to do the same. We got there and were immediately intimidated. Everyone looked faster and more experienced at running than us and I was sure that I would finish dead last. Three point one miles was the farthest I had ever run, and I only did it once.

I got caught up in the excitement of running with so many other people and went out too fast. I walked quite a few times and thought I was going to die on one of the hills, but the race was a good one. I finished near the back of the pack, but there were plenty of people behind me!

The following week was the Run The Bridge 10k that crosses the Ben Franklin Bridge into Philadelphia and back, then goes through Camden and ends in the Riversharks minor league baseball stadium. I did NOT run this race, but I was pissed off at myself because if I had continued with the C25K program and ran through the summer I know I could have done it. There is always next year.

Late November was the Philadelphia Marathon. I had no intention of running this at all during the year, but as I fell in love with running I knew that I was going to go over and watch it. I have already decided that this will be my first marathon, hopefully in 2009.

It was a fun day watching the marathon. I got over there early with my brother who was attempting the full marathon for the first time. His training was interrupted by injury, but preferred to try it than have a DNS.

I had a great time watching the marathon. I never thought I would like watching strangers run, but it was fun. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the festivities of such an event and was glad that I went. I am excited to be a runner next time rather than a spectator.

My brother ended up stopping at the half, because his injury was acting up again, but he has vowed to run it all the way through next year. I will also be doing it.

My second race was a 5k that came in December. I was by myself, but much more confident since I knew a little more of what to expect at an organized race. I just got a Garmin Forerunner 305 a couple days before and was excited to try it out.

This race was even better than my first. The route was nicer, the weather was better, and I ran the whole thing without stopping. On top of that I PR'd with a 32:14, breaking my goal finish of 33 minutes.

My mileage gradually increased each week and each month. The last few weeks of the year I have developed some serious shin splints, so I am resting up. 2008 has been a great year, and I am excited to run through 2009.

Here are some numbers:

Total Distance in 2008: 114.9 miles
Longest Month: 30.9 miles
Longest Week: 8.6 miles
Longest Single Run: 5 miles

Races Run: 2 5k's
PR's Set: 2
Fastest 5k: 32:14

I will be tracking all my runs in 2009 and setting bigger and better goals... but more on that in the first post of 2009.

The Last of The Firsts of 2008

I am warning you now... this post is going to be long.

I have had a lot of firsts during 2008, and I will talk about them in a later post. Today was my last day of running for 2008 (more on that in the next post), and I find it fitting that it was full of firsts.

The first time that I drove somewhere in order to run.
I wanted a little bit of fresh scenery, and I have been tossing around the idea of finding more places to run and writing about them, so I decided to go to Copper River Park in Collingswood, NJ. I used to think it strange to drive more than you are actually running, and I still do a little, but it is nice to get out of your neighborhood and find new places to run.

The first time I carried a camera and snapped photos while running.
It seems that I see something amazing on every run that I do, yet I never have anything to record it with. I decided to carry my camera with me this morning since it was my first time running Cooper River Park. I snapped some pretty nice pictures. Check them out at my Flickr page. I will not carry my camera with me every time, but one thing it did for me today is help me keep my pace slow during my LSD and also helped me to enjoy my surroundings and have a relaxing run.

The first time I ran 5 miles.
Today was my LSD run, and 5 miles is my new record for long run. I did it at a very slow and relaxing pace, and did not take any walk breaks. I only stopped for about ten seconds at a time to snap a photo.. This run was a very good quality and it also boosted my confidence that my endurance is improving.

The first time I ran over 1 hour.
Again, proof that my endurance is improving. I had no walk breaks at all and I felt incredible after the run. My pace was very slow and 5 miles is not very far to go in an hour, but I will be working on speed next year.

So here is my run. The distance around the river is about 3.75 miles, but I wanted to do 5. So when I finished my lap around the river I did the last mile and quarter on the track that they have there.

The track is nothing fancy, just dirt, but it felt great running on it. I had to make a conscience effort to keep my pace slow, and the pace of the track part of my run was almost a minute faster than the rest of my run. This is another confidence builder, knowing that I will be able to go fast on the track when I start my speed workouts.

Speaking of tracks, I am glad I found this one because all the local schools keep theirs locked up tighter than Fort Knox. I have two high school tracks within running distance of my house and can not use them. In fact if you look closely at this satellite photo you will see a much nicer track above and slightly to the right of this one. That belongs to a Catholic high school and, of course, is all locked up.

Long Cold and Wet

Last night, when I checked this morning's weather report, I was excited to see that it called for snow early in the morning. It was supposed to turn to a wintry mix around the time I was scheduled to run, but the snow would accumulate to about an inch.

I was excited because it meant that first thing in the morning everything would be snowy, the sky would be overcast, and there would be a natural peace to the atmosphere. I was excited to run in such weather and even more excited that it would be my long run. I mentally amended my run to take me by some places that would look nice in the snow and I made sure I would have my camera on hand.

When I woke up and looked outside... nothing but rain. Heavy rain that was freezing all over everything. When I got outside the steps were slippery, the cars were iced over, and the roads were already slushy. The only good thing was that there was still a natural peace in the atmosphere since no one dared get out of bed yet.

I could barely stay stable on the icy steps and worried that the road would not be any better. My mind began thinking about making screw shoes, and wondered if I would be able to get through my run today. The road was better. Icy in parts, but bearable. I again amended my route, but this time to stay away from heavy traffic and take roads that would allow me to move back and forth in order to avoid ice.

It was not long before my jacket was dripping with water. There were multiple times in the first mile that I thought about cutting the run short. This weather was miserable. Shortly after the first mile I stepped in a puddle that was much larger than it appeared. Cold quickly went though my foot. I was going to use this as an excuse to stop, but decided to keep going.

A few walk breaks, and four puddles later, I decided to loop around this one block onto the main road and run back to the main intersection a few blocks from my house. Since my jacket was covering my Garmin I was not sure how far I had ran, but estimated it was almost three miles, and decided that would be enough for me.

When I got to the intersection I looked and my Garmin told me I had already gone over three and a half miles! I did not even realize it. I decided to finish the entire four miles and immediately felt better about the run.

While finishing that last half mile I thought about running. This is one of the reasons why I run. To test my limits and my endurance. To run no matter what is thrown at me, and to keep going.

Most people run because it is fashionable to run a mile every day or spend thirty minutes on the treadmill at the gym. A lot of people run a single marathon so that they can cross it off their list, just to never run again.

I run because it is primal and the human machine can push it's limits and run no matter what the circumstances. I run to build my endurance and eventually expand my limitations. The harder I run the better I become at it.

I run because that is what I am created to do.

100 Miles

Today I ran my 100th mile. It really is not a lot when you look at the big picture, but I just started running this year, and have only been doing it seriously for about four and a half months now.

It is ironic, however, that such a milestone mile would turn out to be a bad run.

I was overdressed for the weather. I am still getting the feel for what to wear for each temperature and this morning I had too much on my upper body.

Also, I did not warm up or stretch properly. No wonder my legs were feeling tight during the run and my body was not relaxed.

Finally I started too hard. I have not run since Sunday's long run. My leg was hurting and I gave it a few days rest. It felt fine this morning and I started too fast for my own good. I knew it too, but continued with the pace because it felt good. Before long I was slowing and pushing myself through the run.

When I look back over my runs I can see what the good runs have in common with each other and what the bad runs have in common with each other. It is easy to see that a good run requires certain ingredients.

You need a good warm up, a good stretch, and you need to go at the proper pace. That with a few other elements can make or break a run.

Now as long as I remember that I should be fine.

LSD and More Milestones

Today was a long run. In the past my long run pace was about the same as my easy run pace, which I do not think is a good thing to do. All week my plan was to do this long run at a much slower pace and to make it my longest distance yet. A couple of steps that I hope will build my endurance.

Four miles was the planned length. I was afraid that I would need to cut it short because my left leg has been bothering me for a couple days. I keep telling myself that it is just shin splints, and I think that I am correct because it did not hurt at all during the run, even though the leg has been sore the rest of the day. I plan on resting it for a couple days and if it does not feel better I will probably look for a doctor to check it out.

So the leg felt good during the run. I changed the display on my Garmin to show nothing but the pace so that I could focus on keeping it slow and steady, and not worry about the time or distance until I got closer to the end of the run. At first it felt weird going so slow, (which is doubly weird since a few months ago that was fast for me.) but I got in the groove and my legs coasted along the road.

I figured that I might need a walk break or two, since this was my longest run ever, but I did not feel like I needed one at all during the run. Even when I went through a park and passed the water fountain that I planned to stop at, I decided to keep going and not stop.

It felt so good to run for such a long distance. When I came to the end I slowed to a walk, and my legs felt like they wanted to keep moving faster.

So all in all I did 4.02 miles in 50:33 which comes out to a 12:35 pace. Just where I wanted to be.

So a few more milestones... I ran the longest distance I have ever run. I ran the longest time I have ever run. I needed no walk breaks at all. And I had my longest weekly mileage.

I am feeling very good about my running right now, and am so motivated to keep going and building my mileage. As long as my leg feels better and nothing is wrong, I should be able to build up my mileage over the next couple of months and start training for the Broad Street Run. God willing.

I have a lot more topics going through my head, so you will probably see multiple post over the next couple of days. And since I need to rest my leg and can not run, the only thing left to do is write about running!

Ice and Blogs

My left leg has been bothering me just a bit for a couple days. I iced it down real well tonight and it feels good right now. I am going to see how it is later tonight and pray about whether I should run tomorrow or not.

I am planning on a LSD run tomorrow and will be doing my longest distance so far of 4 miles. Tomorrow I am focusing on the distance rather than the time, so I will be keeping a slow steady pace and see how my leg feels.

Another note... I have been exploring a lot of blogs lately and keep finding some great running blogs! If you have time to explore then make sure you check out the incredible runners in my list.

And if you know of any good blogs, or have one that I have not seen yet, make sure that you tell me about it. I love reading the progress and story of others, and I hope they enjoy reading about mine.

Good For What Ails You

This week has been a little rough.

After getting home from the marathon on Sunday I started feeling sick. It came on pretty strong Sunday night and when I woke Monday morning I felt like I was about to die. I had to call out of work, not something I usually do, and I slept most of the day.

Tuesday, a day I normally run, I felt good enough to go to work, but not good enough to run. My body ached and I wanted to stay in bed. I couldn't though because it appeared my youngest son was getting pink eye and I had to take him to the doctor. No pink eye, but he was developing an ear infection.

Wednesday was better. I had a full day of work, but I still felt kind of crappy. I was late getting out of work because I had so much to do and when I got home I felt like doing nothing but sleeping... too bad though, I needed to go out and get a few things for Thanksgiving.

Thursday... I can not believe Thanksgiving is here already. I wanted to run a Turkey trot today, or at least do a long run in the morning, but did not feel up to it. I did have a good day though, we deep fried a turkey and had a great feast. We had a fire going outside and stood around it talking while keeping an eye on the turkey fryer.

Friday morning. I still felt stuffy, but after sitting up for a while my head cleared a bit. I decided to go for a run. Since it has been so long since running I decided to do a very slow pace and only do a mile. I ended up getting to a mile and a quarter a decided to keep going. I got to a mile and a half and still kept going. I decided to stop at two miles.

The run was actually the best I had done in quite some time. Very good quality at a comfortable pace. My head was cleared up and my headache was gone. I did start coughing and almost chucked a little, but that was only from all the snot and mucus that drained into my stomach. Sorry about being so gross.

This just boosted my love for running. It actually makes you feel better.

Back On Track

After running my first official 5k on October 25th I slacked off for a week. Partly from laziness and soreness, but mostly from lack of time. The last two weeks, however I have gotten back on track. I did 5.5 and 5.9 miles each week, and will hopefully bump it up to 7 miles this week.

Three miles is now my long run. I am getting overtaken by running and can not wait until my long runs are double digits and I am doing 20 miles a week. Still a while to go, but I will be there.

On another great note...

Philadelphia Marathon this weekend! My brother has been signed up to run it for a while, but he hurt his foot a couple months back. He is going to start and try to get through it.

I can not wait to check out the expo and watch the race. I will be getting there early and will do my best to get as many pictures as possible. The forecast is cold, but hopefully no rain and little wind.

If you would have told me a year ago I would be getting excited about watching a marathon I would have called you crazy. I can only imagine how excited I will be to actually run in one.

A Short Prayer And A Long Run

I love running in the mornings, but when I wake up early in the morning my body aches and I never feel like getting up. When I finally do get up it usually takes me half an hour to get moving and another fifteen minutes to get dressed and ready to run. I know that part of this problem would be solved with a new mattress, but that is not the point of the story.

All week I have planned on running 3.1 miles... it may not seem long, but it is my longest so far. I decided to do it Saturday morning and was looking forward to getting up early and getting into the run. I knew that I would be slow starting in the morning, but I did not want to start off my run like that. I talked to God the night before and asked him that I get a good night sleep and wake refreshed and without any aches.

This seems like such a simple little prayer and is insignificant in many ways, but God answered me. When I woke up Saturday morning my body was feeling good and I was ready to go. I did not even hit the snooze button.

I meditated on God and prayer during the first half of the run and felt great. The morning was overcast, yet beautiful. I was through the first two miles with a single 60 second walk break. The last mile was a little tougher, but the toughest part was the last half mile which consisted of two rather steep hills... something I did not realize when I mapped out the distance on the runnersworld.com training tool. I ended the run with a time of 35:35, which is a pace of 11:29. Pretty good for myself!

I know that three miles is not a long distance for most, but I also know that a lot of people who read this will understand what an accomplishment this is for a beginner. Being a beginner can be frustrating at times because progress is slow, but for me it is great because almost everyday has a milestone.

Three miles is my long run right now, but before long it will be my daily run.

Lessons From A Bad Run

Sorry this is so long, I hope you don't get bored.

Today was my "long" run... long for me is 2.5-3 miles, and I planned on doing 3.1 just so I could get an unofficial 5k time.

So I set the alarm for 6am. When it went off I heard it down pouring outside. I pushed snooze a time or two and when I woke the last time it sounded like it had stopped raining, but instead of getting up I turned the alarm off and went to sleep.

When I finally woke I was mad at myself for not running early in the morning. Even though it was wet out it was still a nice day to run and I should have done it first thing in the morning.

Lesson 1...
I always regret when I do not run as planned... I need to just do it, because even though it is hard to get up some mornings it is worth it. That hassle is temporary, the regret for the rest of the day sucks worse than having to get myself going.

I finally did get moving and went out for my run. As I said I planned on doing 3.1 miles but somewhere around a mile and a half my leg was hurting like hell. The pain was pretty intense and I decided to quit after 2 miles. On top of that my sock kept sliding below my shoe and my heel started burning. I reached down to fix it and saw a bit of blood. (I can actually say I ran until I bled.. lol) I took quite a few walk breaks and finished the 2 miles with a pace of 12:37. I was a little surprised to see this pace because it was only a couple seconds slower than my last long run a few weeks ago.

Lesson 2...
I am improving. Even with a bum leg and needing walk breaks my pace was as planned and could have potentially been better. Keep myself healthy and I will be better and better at running.

Finally, I am walking home after the run and a little ways ahead of me I see something moving at the edge of the road. It is a deer standing in the tall grass eating away. Cars are passing back and forth and he just stays there eating away.

I watched him for a little bit and tried to see the drivers reactions as they past. Most of them did not even notice the deer, despite being in plain view.

Lesson 3...
No matter how much you are hurting, or how fast you are going, you should always be aware. You never know when God will give you the opportunity to admire His beautiful creation. Sometimes seeing things like this also makes me realize that life is precious, and truly a gift from God.