Friday, November 04, 2011

Friday Five

1.  I had my first early morning run scare last Tuesday.  About 20 mins into my run I'm standing at an intersection.  There were cars coming from the cross street so in an effort to be nice, I was waiting until they passed before I pushed the walk button.  So this truck passes and then honks and slows down (this at about 5.50am) and shakes his finger at me.  I've no idea why but he speeds off and I keep going.  Then, I get to the next block and he's coming down that cross street.  I was far enough away so not sure what was going on but he turns right (away from me) and speeds off.  Thing is, that is the way I was running and I just couldn't see what happened to him.  In hindsight, I should have changed my route but instead I kept to my route and was nervous until I got up to the gas station on the corner and headed back into the neighborhood.  Not sure why I did that (hey, it was early) -- but it was a bit before I stopped feeling nervous.

2.  I'm actually probably going to break 1000 miles this year and this is huge for me.   I never set it as a goal as I really didn't think I'd stay committed this long but it is looking like I'll squeeze in -- probably that last week in Dec but I'll take it.  Considering I ran 400 miles max (estimate from calendar and garmin I got mid year last year) in 2010 (from May 29th (first day of running) on).

At the end of this week I'll have 802 miles -- leaving 198 miles in 8 weeks or 24.75 per week.  Since I'm building up from 30 per week this is doable certainly.  That's exciting and I'm already trying to figure out what my 2012 goal will be.

3.  The rain appears to be here.  Yes, I live in a  weird place where it doesn't rain for 5 months (usually mid May to mid Oct) and we are late a bit for the rain (we had a smidgen early Oct but then amazing weather the rest of the month).  But alas, I see rain in my forecast -- and this wimpy runner hates her the rain.  I guess this will actually be the weekend I join the gym so I at least have a treadmill if I can't get myself out the door in the wet.

4.  One more week at 30 miles (next week) and then I'm taking it up a notch -- 33ish maybe.  35?  Still not sure.  So far so good but my body is definitely feeling it.  I'm more and more in awe of the super high mileage runners -- 60? 80? 100?  That just got more impressive.

5.  I'm going to run this race next Friday.  The National Veterans Day Run has races next Friday in 10 cities across the country.  I wasn't going to do it initially as it is a work day -- but heck, the race starts at 7:11 -- and is just minutes from my house.  I'll do a work at home day (thank god I can) and be working by 9 latest.   The race just seemed like something that should be done so an 11k on 11.11.11 it is.  I'm excited.


4 comments:

Caroline said...

I just passed 1000 this week. That is a first for me!

11-11-11 race, I wish I could do it too, the LA one is at 4:11 pm..right on time for traffic on a Friday!
that is really bad timing so I am going to have to skip that one.
:(

Paul said...

Hey cool on the 1000 miles! Congrats!

Re: the scare...yah I would have avoided going that way if possible. Maybe just turn around and go back if no other options. Esp since it's a guy in a *truck*.

Make sure you do step back weeks as you race your mileage to give yourself a break!

Re: rain. It sucks but I'll be running my 20 miler on Sunday morning in the rain no doubt. I don't mind the rain as long as there is no wind. The only issue is making sure ones shoes get dry before the next run.

Enjoy the 11k race!

Terzah said...

That would have creeped me out, too. I can feel my stomach doing flips on your behalf.

But congrats on 1,000 miles and on the race this weekend. I have a 10K in one week and am looking forward to it (even though I can't wear headphones). You've inspired me to go tally my miles, too. :^)

Anne said...

I hate scary encounters like that, but it's sometimes good to be knocked out of complacency without any serious consequences. And nice job on approaching the 1000-mile mark for the year. That's awesome, Tricia!