Running errands, and an unofficial PR!

Lately I’ve been doing some workouts that have included some faster running with Meredith. These have been good for me, to break out of the monotony and “easy” running I’ve become used to. And..it may be paying off!

I missed my 20 miler this weekend, there is just so much going on. Lately many of my workouts have been running errands: yesterday to the bank, today to the car rental place and then from a stop to drop off my car (it’s now en route to Colorado, where I’m flying on Sunday).

Today on my runs I felt GREAT! The run out to the car rental place was 2.15 miles, down a bit of a sloping hill. I felt like I was flying, and as it turned out, my pace was 7:21 overall. That’s 7:50 for the first mile, 7:02 for the second, and then 6:05mm for the last .15miles. I’m not sure what the guy at Enterprise thought about giving the sweaty girl the keys to the car 🙂

Later on, I had to drop off my car for transport. He offered to drive me home, but I decided I’d run it as well. For some reason, I pushed it even harder than this morning. I stopped at a traffic light just as my watch hit a mile: 7:32. Nice! I kept going, and just as I hit mile 2, I stopped to walk. I glanced at my watch: 6:54. Well darnit, if I’m running that well, I can’t walk! I was flying (and dying!) when I hit the third mile at 6:38. At this point I could do enough math to realize that my 5K PR of 7:04 wasn’t holding up. So when I got home at 2.93 miles I knew I had to keep running. I ran until I saw 3.1: finish time was 21:36 (6:58mm)

So, despite not having trained for a 5K, and having run two fast (for me) miles this morning, I tore out a darned good effort! This makes me feel good about my upcoming race. After 21 marathons, the distance isn’t the challenge anymore: its moving beyond that comfort pace. Today I pushed myself just that extra step, and I feel pretty good about it!

(oh – heart rate this morning: average 162, max 181; heart rate this afternoon: average 167, max 191.)