Summer has arrived

When I arrived home from work yesterday, I don’t imagine I couldn’t have felt more lethargic or weary. I wanted to run, I think, at least I was supposed to (?) but my limbs seemed longer than usual and I was feeling the affects of an additional gravitation pull that wasn’t luring me outside. Luckily, Carter had agreed to meet me, and even more fortunate was the fact that I had a leisurely hour in which I hoped to a) uncover my motivation and b) work my way into the heart of the Death Star and turn of the damn gravitation shield.

With a 3-mile tempo on the menu, we decided to take the long way to the Park, instead opting for both hors d'oeuvre and dessert prior to serving up the main course. Summer had started to show her face and when we arrived at the beginning of Circle Drive, we were already glistening with sweat as we stored our shirts in the lower branch of an ancient maple.

Having not run any intensity in over six weeks I had no idea what to expect, or what to aim for, but figured I might be in 34 high shape and therefore settled on 5:50s. I “eased” into the first mile feeling relaxed and comfortable, splitting the mark in 5:39, not quite what I had anticipated. Rather than set myself up for a slow painful death, I beat my lack of fitness to the punch and instead opted to run the hillier lower mile loop during my second mile, 5:56. With one mile remaining, I switched back to the upper loop, trying not to pick up the pace but rather maintain a steady rhythm, clocking a 5:55 (I swear I was running faster). After the tempo, Carter and I jogged over to the all-weather pitch and ran a few diagonals, just to stretch the legs out (felt great)... I love summer, and tomorrow (today) they're calling for highs of 28C!

Training: 1:04:04 with 3-mile tempo and 4x strides