Did You Ever Have One Of Those Runs ....

... that you didn't feel positive about too much other than knowing that you got out and did something? :)

After watching the Astros Wednesday night and then being emotionally challenged when I arrived home last night, my body was saying, "Hey, you really need to stay loose for New York City." I took Waverly to school, got home and had some breakfast and then waited for my stomach to settle before trying to get out and run at about 10 a.m. (trying to take advantage of the cool weather).

The work day made 10 a.m. turn into 1 p.m.! So I figured that maybe I'd do the 2.1-mile loop in the subdivision three times and call it a 10K! I started out hard and tried to push as much as I could but I felt like I was running in quicksand. I thought to myself that there was no way that I had ever been able to run under 29 minutes for a 5K! (But I know that I've done it three times.)

I pushed the entire way and hit the line in the pavement in 20:55.32 -- hmmm, just under a 10-minute mile. That's a 31-minute 5K. Where did the 29:22 at Run The Woodlands go from three weeks ago? Maybe I won't be going anywhere in the morning.

After downing a little Powerade, I once again told myself that I just needed to go out and get some miles in. I headed out behind our subdivision, Hannover Forest, to an area that they had been clearing out to hold water runoff and then ran along side the back fence of a newer area that had been built in the last year or so.

You know how it goes. You look at your watch after going what felt like 20 minutes and your watch shows "12:40.74". Yikes! I walked it for less than 45 seconds then just took off slowly.

It was one of those days that I figured the best thing that I could do was just go run for awhile. Not worry about time or distance. Just get out and run. There was no runner's high. I didn't feel super good about the run. But, it was a run.

I ran through a portion of what will be known as Hannover Village that opens to Spring Steubner. So I found out a new way to get into our subdivision, if need be. I actually went out on Spring Steubner. Not the brightest idea, but I got off the road as quick as I could and ducked into a subdivision called Windsor Forest. Huh, never heard of it.

It looked like that I might have to do a loop of it and then retrace my route. But when I went to southernmost part of the subdivision turned right and headed back north, I saw a street that turned to the west. I basically meandered down roads and streets and ran through what I then recognized as Dove Meadows, which goes out to FM 2920.

As I approached FM 2920, I noticed that the costume place was busting at the seams! (Yeah, I know. Bad pun.) I turned left, heading east, and out on to FM 2920. Knowing that I was on a major thoroughfare (boys and girls, this isn't the safest thing to do), I picked up the pace plus I needed to look like a real runner! They had just resurfaced much of the road so it was all new freshly poured asphalt which was nice on the legs. I stayed on it until the turn that comes in just south of the street in which was live on: Hannover Pines.

So I ended up running for 57:49.52 and my guess, given the pace, is that it was probably no more than 5.5 miles.

But if it was, then I logged approximately 7.6 miles between 1 and 2:30 p.m. in hopefully tad bit warmer temperatures than what I will face 9 days from now in NYC.

Therefore, it can't be all bad!