I fought the road and I WON.

Well, I had planned on doing 8 miles today even though I didn't have time, but it didn't happen. Why? 1- because there's a reason that races and long practice runs are early in the morning before it gets hot. Even with water, inhaler, goo, & stretching, my butt was being kicked by 85 measly degrees. 2- My mp3 player died 8 minutes into my warm-up. There is just no way I can do 8 miles without music! It's sheer insanity to just entertain the thought. Pshaw.

The good news? FASTEST FLAT MILE EVER-- 12:44:59. Woohoo! And I only had to sit down & try not to puke for one or two minutes afterwords.

Here's my story: I moseyed the 1st mile for warm-up, which ended up being about 17 minutes, which is fine. I finally got my heartrate watch to work (not that I used the heart monitor strappy thing), so I was able to time myself accurately. That 1st mile (after warm-up mile & stretching) I did a 1:1 run:walk pace. In the heat of the day? It was difficult for me. I still ended up with that lovely under 13 minute mile, but it was H-A-R-D. (see: near puking meantioned above).

So, with a little disappointment but also wanting to cry tears of joy for my lungs, I changed to 1:2 for the final 2.3 miles, which was much better. It was still hard, and I wanted to quit, but I love pushing myself. I only punked out once when it was time to run & I was at a hill that I hate. It's not that big, but it defeats me, so I walked 3 minutes, then ran. Total 3.3 miles was about 47 minutes, which is okay. I could have pushed out the end, but it's not a race, it's practice.

I love victory!