Broke the Ten Minute Mile!!!!!

Unless my watch is broken I ran better than a 10 minute mile!  Like 9 minutes and 50 seconds.  It sure seemed slow when I was running and there were a couple times when people ran past me like I was standing still.  But, there was some traffic, so I ran faster than the cars on Storrow for some of the run.  Anyhow, it felt pretty good while I was running.  I ran on the Charles, from the nice free parking up toward Harvard Square, across the Western Ave bridge, and back.  I thought it was slightly less than 3 miles, so I ran past my car and then back when I finished, so that I would get the full 3.1 miles.  When I mapped it out on map my run it says it was 3.67 miles.  And I'm going with that!  My total time was 36 min and 30 sec, but I had to stop on the bridge for traffic (totally legit).  I couldn't get to my watch to pause it, but I counted 30 one-thousands while I waited.

It was sooo cold out, I was considering not going for a run, but it had been a while since I was resting my leg from whatever the deal was on the Fresh Pond run.  I even went to the gym once this week and lifted weights.  Wow.

I can't believe I'm approaching my One Year Runaversary!  It will be next Thursday.  New running tights?  Perhaps :)

Leg Pain!

I went to Fresh Pond for a run - no idea why I haven't gone there before.  From the Trader Joe's parking lot it's 2.9 miles around the pond - perfect for a nice shorter run!  It's mostly flat, there are a ton of people and dogs to watch, and part of the path is even dirt.  Anyhow, I got about a third of the way through my run and my right leg was killing me!  I think I need to get back into lifting.  I wound up running for 22 minutes total, and walking for a fair amount too.  Nice day for it, and not a total fail because I did still go almost 3 miles.

Another Flat Tire!

It's either bad karma, parked on an Indian Burial Ground, Punks, or Evil Mechanics.  I refuse to believe it's coincidence.  This time I noticed it was flat in Quincy at the Quarries, figured it was just not pumped up enough, and went climbing.  At the end of the day it was really flat, and totally sketched me out to drive home.  So I brought it back to the mechanic.  Figured it would be best to do today, before it was flat again.

Of course the run home was a lot more uphill than the run there.  Boo.  And it was just two days since the last run, plus I'd been climbing all day (OK, it was a pretty chill day of climbing, but I'm still claiming it.)  So, a little slower on the run.  I took a different route back - it was 2.63 miles which I did in 28 minutes.    That's about a 10 min 39 sec mile, which is actually much faster than it felt.  Knees are sore, and so is the wallet.

Car Repairs

I had two flat tires in two days!  Unbelievable.  The first one still had some air in it, so I was able to drive it to the garage, but the one yesterday was completely flat.  I had to call AAA.  I was thinking I needed a tow, but the dude who came reminded me about this thing called a spare tire.  Which he put on my car - it was hidden underneath the car, not in the trunk, and the rim was totally covered in rust.  I bet that's what the rest of the bottom of my car looks like.

Anyhow, today I took the car over to my mechanic and T'ed into work.  Once I got home I decided to run to the garage to pick it up.  It's about 2.7 miles, which is an OK distance for a run, and most of it was new running area, not the same boring route.  Also, not being a loop, I got to go down hill more than up :) There were a couple big uphills, especially at the start because I ran up Winter Hill instead of around it.  Which is all just an explanation for the fact that yes, I ran about a 10 min, 10 sec mile!  Maybe one day I will actually get below a 10 min mile, especially if I can find all downhill routes....

Fartlek Take 2

I didn't get to run this weekend because I was off at a work thing all day Saturday (in Maine) and then went climbing in NH on Sunday.  Two climbs, my first trad follow!  It was fricking scary!!  The rope was a lot thinner than I'm used to and there's a lot of give to it, so when I needed to stop I went down a lot further than I like : (  Of course, I got to the top and was like, "that was so cool!" Must be the adrenalin that makes it so fun - good to be alive.

Today I had a long day at work, so I decided that I would do a shorter run, but compensate with some fartleks.  I only ran 2.27 miles, but I did about a half dozen sprints, a couple of them up hill!  Total time was 24 min and 10 sec, which is about a 10 min 38 sec mile overall.  So, for sure it wasn't faster than usual.  But I was really puffing away - much more so than normal.  So hopefully it was helpful.

I was thinking about how some people say that a 10+ minute mile is hardly running, it's more jogging and that they walk that fast.  But, thinking about it, no one has ever walked past me while I am running.  And I pass a lot of walkers.  But not runners, of course.

Towards the end of the run my knees started hurting.  I did smash a knee against a hold climbing on Tuesday, so I blame that.  But, I really should try to start lifting again.  I haven't done any of that for a couple months.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I had the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich at Uno's for dinner, sourdough bread coated in butter with a ton of delicious melted cheese, grilled until it was the perfect crunchiness.  With a tasty tomato soup.  Which was probably 1000 calories and 45 grams of fat, and I regretted as soon as I finished because of the intense calorie count and the fact that I'm lactose intolerant and it was a lot of cheese.  But I will think of grilled cheese at yoga shavasana again.  Mmmm.

So, anyhow, I thought it fitting for me to do fartlicks again because, well, the cheese.  But then I couldn't bring myself to do them d/t the large gas bubble hanging out in my stomach.  Anyhow, I came home and did the usual 5K in 33min 38 sec, and it was actually a pretty good run!  I did have to stop one point to cross a street, lots of traffic and they were already looking annoyed by this biker.  But that's legit.  That's a little slower than my "usual" pace - 10 min and 50 sec per mile.  I think I started a little slow because I was worried about the cheese.

There was a man with no shirt on walking his dog.   Big beefy dude walking a skinny grayhound.  You know how people and their pets tend to look similar, well, somehow these two did.