steady

I never found out about the coaching position. It was just one of those days- if you will. Things were crazy and busy and well actually that's halfway normal in our class. I did manage to get out of the school traffic rather quickly. I'd say at least 12 minutes for a half-mile stretch. Yeah, I could have ran close to 2 miles by that time.

But at least I got out to the course fairly early. Today it was kind of cold, but it is gradually getting warmer with a high of about 55. So the wind has died down, and the cold factor isn't what it was earlier in the week. Shorts, longsleeve, and and undershirt were perfect today. I was sweating and warm even though lots of people I passed were wearing full winter gear. Of course the runners were dressed similar to me. There are a few guys who I see rarely. One is older looking maybe 40's and skinny. But the guy is dead fast- at least for the two miles I saw him run by today he gained on me. There is also a girl and I think her boyfriend. They seem to be around or above my fitness level as far as pace goes. It takes a while for me to close on the girl, and the guy hasn't been caught yet.

I started off as usual with slight nagging along the bottom outside of my right foot/ankle area. Then as the run progressed that faded away and I hit my stride. I felt really good today so I pushed the pace slightly. Not enough to really breathe hard, but enough to feel like I was working it. The whole run was that way. I worked in some accelerations and that helped a great deal. It really gave me that kind of boost I needed to keep a nice stride going. I tried counting my laps, but of course got sidetracked. It was either 6 or 7 for sure. So add .1 for each mile and either way I was at or above 7.

The legs still feel like they are taking a beating though. I have noticed around my knee and a little of the quad seem to "feel" like they are wearing. I have 2 days off so I didn't mind pushing it a little more than usual. The whole thing is not too push too much at first. I'm really trying to hold back whenever possible and that is difficult for me since I'm pyschologically ready to run till my legs burn off. Anywho it was a good run, felt good up the hills and actually struggled on the downhills since I was going a little faster than usual.

7(8.75) miles. 50-47 degrees. silver