A Sloppy Mile

Distance:  1 mile
Time:  8:33
Location:  Cronese to Rio Vista School

I was glad I ran tonight, but it was a struggle to get out the door.  My mistake tonight was eating a large dinner (a Chipotle burrito) only two hours prior to my run.  I got a veggie burrito, so I figured the lack of meat would make it lighter and I would digest it quicker, but it sat pretty heavy on me for those whole two hours.  I didn't feel somewhat ready to run until about 8:30pm, and by then it was pretty dark out.  After stretching it was about 8:45 and I was losing motivation fast.  My original plan was to do another 20-minute run, but I was feeling so sluggish and full from the burrito that I couldn't bring myself to do a longer run, so I opted for a one mile timed run.  I was hesitant to do this, too, though, because one mile runs tend to be faster and I wasn't sure I could run with a fast pace tonight.  But I went for it anyway.  I did have a fear in the back of my mind that I wouldn't break 10:00 (the same fear I had on Monday), but thankfully it didn't come to that.  In fact, my mile time was much faster than Monday's.  I ran a 9:09 on Monday on very sore legs, and tonight I ran an 8:33 on a very full stomach.  Makes me wonder what I'll be able to run when I'm feeling in perfect running condition!  I'm back to where I was in early May last year -- mid 8's.  And last year I pretty quickly got down into the high 7's.  All in all it was a good run with a time I can be pleased with for now.  The important thing is getting my runs in right now.  I need to build up as much stamina as possible before June 30th!

The route I ran tonight was up my street to Cronese and then west towards Havasu where there is an elementary school called Rio Vista.  This is the route I would run with my wife during the autumn and winter of last year and early this year.  I also ran this route once during the dead of winter in leg warmers.  It's a nice one mile run, with a little more variety than my go-to route back at the Powhatan house.