My Friend, Lance

It's amazing how when you actually do what you're told, it works better. Yesterday was just a two miler, no biggie. As I've said before, this time around I'm trying to work on my pace and push myself to become a faster runner. I had planned on running at 6 in the morning due to insane heat, it's in the 90s here all of a sudden! Well, that didn't time out with nursing so I had to wait until that evening to run. So during the afternoon my Runners World came in the mail. I read an article about how progression runs can help your pacing. (A progression run is where you start out slow/comfortable, and then gradually get faster throughout your run.) The article talked about how a lot of runners start out too fast and slow down throughout their runs and then will also do that on race day. It struck home with me because that's exactly what happened to me on the treadmill. And if you're a runner, how often have you said the words, "Oh I started out way to strong." So yesterday when I was heading out in the humidity around 8:30 at night, I decided I was going to give it a try. The first half mile I actually was struggling. My ankles and knees felt real stiff like they had never moved like this before. So I kept chugging along gradually going faster as I warmed up. And then as I was rounding a corner I saw this other woman running right in front of me. My competetive nature kicked in and I sped up to pass her all the while politely smiling and saying "Oh, it's hot out here!" Then I held that pace for the rest of the run just in case she was going to pass me. Crazy, I know. So when my ipod told me my run was finished, Lance Armstrong's sweet voice came on saying that I had done a personal best in the mile! I averaged 8:40. I guess I should always do what I'm told.