Fun In the Sun

For those of us that never really have the chance to run when it's light out this time of year (which is about 99% of the runners in New England), it was nice to go for a long run in the middle of the afternoon vs. o' dark hundred. As if that wasn't good enough, the temperatures reached the mid-40's, which given the recent temps around here, felt like July. I decided to forgo the usual 80 layers of clothing and stick to just 2 long-sleeved shirts, shorts and tights. It was nice to actually be able to move when I run and not feel like the little kid from "A Christmas Story".

I decided to tackle a really hilly route that I ran quite a few times when I was getting ready for the half-marathon in October (the total elevation gain is 1,348 feet vs. last week in Newton, which the Garmin calculated to be 856 ft.). It's a fairly quiet route traffic-wise that goes by a golf course, a farm with horses and longhorns and a fruit stand. In other words, pretty rural. Due to the lack of traffic, I decided to use the IPod today, and to make sure it was charged before I went out (unlike last week). After having a great run with the DFMC group last week, I was wondering how it was going to be doing a long run solo this weekend. Having the newly updated mix definitely helped.

As I was starting out, I was a little concerned with how I was going to feel, having done almost 7 miles yesterday. I ended up having a great run and feeling the best I've felt in a while.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/22503523

I came to the conclusion today that I always feel stronger and faster when I run later than 8:00 am vs. the usual 5:45 am time during the week. Not only was my time and pace better than last week's long run, but I didn't stop once on the hills, which I was never able to do back in the fall. I decided when I was done that the route was one that I'm going to take advantage of in the future in order to help prepare for Newton in April.

As great a day as this was, the weather forecast is bringing me back down to earth, with 4+ inches of snow predicted for Sunday night and temperatures back in the 20's and 30's over the coming week. I'm looking forward to the group run next weekend in Wayland. Johnny has his weekly swim lesson at the same health club we're invading next week, and I'll be finishing up right around the time his lesson begins, so it works out swimmingly (sorry, couldn't resist).

On the fundraising front, I am just about at the $3,000 threshold. THANK YOU to everyone who has donated up to this point. With the economy still on life support and being on the heels of the holidays, it is truly amazing and humbling related to how generous people have been up to this point. I think that it's a solid example of how many people are affected by cancer and what the potential of beating this disease means to each of them.

Have a great week and happy running.