Best Run Ever (So Far)

Yesterday morning was the Kentuckiana Heart Walk, a fundraiser for the American Heart Association. Both the office and hospital I work for are big sponsors, so I signed up to raise money and walk. There are actually 2 distances, 3 miles or 1 mile, and one of the goals is to encourage activity. When I first signed up, I was trying to figure out how to get a long run in this weekend also. Then I realized I could run to the start, which was 5.5 miles from my house. When I first came up with this plan, I had an 8 mile long run scheduled and I was trying to decide if a 5.5 mile run + a 3 mile walk = 8 miles. I don't think it does, but since changing to the half-marathon in Indy added 3 weeks to my training time, it doesn't matter. My new training plan had a 5 mile run on the agenda.

I started our early and it was so dark. Our subdivision doesn't have street lights. I wore a bight yellow long sleeve running shirt that I got from a series of races last winter. It actually was for the one I couldn't complete due to a wheezing attack. I also wore my reflective vest. I didn't realize how dark our end of town is. The road I ran on for most of time doesn't have many lights, so most of the time I was in the dark. There was more traffic then I expected for so early on a Saturday, but I didn't have much trouble with people driving too close.

I have decided on long runs, I will run 9 minutes and then walk 1 minute. I followed this plan and around mile 3.5 as the sun was coming up, I realized I felt great. Running didn't seem that hard and my pace was better than it was at the start. I got to my destination and talked (and bragged) to my co-workers. Someone asked me if I had just gotten out of the shower and I said, "No, I ran here." I had a some time to rest, drink water and eat a banana while they made announcements and we took a group photo. Then Judy and I completed the 3 mile version of the Heart Walk. It was a beautiful day and we kept up a fairly good pace, but were able to talk the whole time. We passed a bunch of people and I think we were among the first ones back. I had previously arranged to get a ride home with Judy. We drove the route I had taken on my run and I was kinda impressed with myself for doing it.