A jog in the Glen

Monday morning I stumble out of bed to meet a friend for a 9.5 mile loop around Waterfall Glen forest preserve. It was a perfect morning to run, clear, cool and no humidity to speak of.

I put on my running clothes, snarfed down half a Cliff Builder's bar, chugged a portion of Gatorade, grabbed my gym bag and headed out the door.

Whenever I run with anyone else I never want to be the one to slow the group down. While I prefer to run most of my runs solo, a weekly group run always pushes me past my comfort zone. Often times, I find that I have been sandbagging my solo runs as was the case today.

We agreed on a 9:45 pace that would be a standard long/tempo pace for me, and a slow recovery pace for her (this is someone who runs a sub 4-hour Boston Marathon).

Our first mile was intentially slow as we stretched out and warmed up. We were able to converse comfortably as we approached the first mile -- 9:37. Faster than our planned average pace.

We decided to slow it down a bit so we could negative split our miles. This was, after all, a tempo/recovery run. Mile two came in at 9:13 -- how did that happen??

Mile 3 : 9:26

Mile 4 : 9:45 (a mostly uphill mile)

Mile 5 : 9:16 (a mostly a downhill mile)

Mile 6 : 9:43 (a moderate rolling hills mile)

Mile 7 : 9:34

Mile 8 : 9:23

Finish: 9:05

It's amazing what a bit of company does...you forget about the minor aches and pains, the one shoe thats too tight, you forget about ever walking or making any other excuse to slow down.

You just run for the fun of running.

Runners World Quote of the Day:
"If you want to win a race you have to go a little beserk."

Bill Rodgers, four time Boston and New York City Marathon Champion