11 miles

brutal. the heat, I mean. the 11 miles was just dandy. But, dangit, it's hot out there. 82 at 5:15, with some ridiculous humidity out there just to make it fun. I headed out, intending to do two 4-mile loops and end it with a 3-miler. That would give me the chance to switch out the lawn sprinkler and refill the water bottle at each lap. And, for once, the plan became reality.

My iPod decided to turn itself off after 90 seconds, so I ran without music for the whole two hours. I had set the Garmin for intervals of 1 mile run, 1 minute rest, with the fast pace alert set at 10:25. Part of the reason I've not been able to run long the last two weeks is that I go out way too fast, so today I had the beeps telling me when to slow the heck down. Final average pace was 11:00, which is about right for me for a long haul. It's just right to keep me going without wiping me out entirely.

There really wasn't much of consequence to this run, nothing extraordinary about it to report. Just me and my feet, and my clothes, which were soaked through and sticking to me by the end. I was wearing the lightest, thinnest shorts I own, and a long tank, and it quickly became too much clothes. I had my hair in pigtails (I was rocking those pigtails like my hero Nytro) and could feel the sweat trickling down the back of my head after about five minutes. It was disgusting. But in a weird way that only you TriBloggers and RBFers can appreciate, it felt good. It means that the summer training season is nigh upon us, and it was good to get out and just run.

I got a leg up on the laundry last night, so the last load is in the washer right now, and my packing system means that loading up the rollerboard won't take but five minutes later this afternoon. And I'm on the later flight tonight, so I don't have to leave for the airport until about 5:30. We're headed to pond hockey in a bit, and then we'll all have lunch somewhere for an early celebration of our 13th wedding anniversary. Sounds like a good day to me.

hope y'all all have a good day and a good week, too. Peace out!!