30 minutes in the morning

It sure makes me happy.

The alarm went off at 5:10 this morning. I stumbled out of bed, kind of wishing I had not had as much beer as I had last night, grabbed my running clothes I had set out last night, got dressed, taped my knee (I am finding that the tape works best - I can wrap it tight around the front of my knee, and then have it looser around the back, so those muscles/tendons don't start doing wonky things as I am running) , considered getting the mp3 player then decided against it, then I was out the door.

I wanted to set a good tempo, but not kill myself.

Started running, started my stopwatch.

It was a beautiful, crisp morning. I enjoyed being out by myself, before most of the world was moving. Noticed that the folks that have the house near my first turn had FINALLY trimmed the tree, so I could stay on the sidewalk! Nearing my landmark for 1 mile, I was thinking I was doing pretty well. Timer said I was at about 10:15 for the first mile. Not bad!

Around the next corner, up the first significant hill. No Fear! I lengthened my stride, and conquered the hills with style and panache. Rounded the next corner to all sorts of birds singing in the bushes. Worked on my runner's stride.

Heading into the home stretch, I was still feeling pretty good, running faster than during my long runs, but not to the point where I was straining. I gave a pretty good kick at the end, and stopped my watch when I crossed my starting point. 30:04. Sweet! (3 miles, Check!)

30 minutes in the morning, that's all it takes!
~a