Run Report: New Sneaks

Tuesday AM I actually got my butt out of bed and ran before work (I only hit snooze twice!). I had 4.5 miles planned and I think my eyes were barely opened for the first 1.5. I had picked my original 5k route around Cheeseman Park (a local gay hangout park where I refuse to run at night because women have a tendency to get goosed). I added a loop around the Denver Botanical Gardens (which I had no idea I lived so close to) to get the route to 4.5 miles.

Overall, I love my new sneaks. I wore my running socks: blue with extra padding on the front and heel. Next time I think I'll skip these, as they made the new shoes super tight and I don't think I needed the extra cushion. My tootsies went a little numb around the 3rd mile so I think I'll loosen the laces next time.

But more importantly, for the first time during a run without any walking, I felt incredible. After about 2 miles, I picked up the pace and pushed even harder for the last mile. My overall pace was 10:37 minute miles, which is just about where I want to be for the half. It felt fast to me, but until I really pushed it in the 4th mile, I felt like I could have run for days, which is encouraging for my planned 8 mile run on Sunday. My 7 miles this past Sunday were extremely slow, so I'm going to work to pick of the pace a little on my long runs. I think I'd be happy with 11-11:30 miles.

Next weekend I'm supposed to race a 10k. After searching high and low (or googling "10K Denver July 9" once) I found the only 10k in the area that weekend is right up next to Rocky Mountain National Park. I'm excited because a girlfriend and I are going to possibly camp the night before and then run but also nervous because the race is at 8,500 and the course elevation looks like a heart monitor - straight up and straight down about 3 times. If nothing else, it will give me an interesting race report to blog about!

And even with all the running, lifting, eating well (most days) and drinking lots of water (more importantly, not beer) I have not lost a single ounce. I'm about to lock my scale in my truck and say to hell with it. But, looking back, I figure at least now I can run strong miles, see bicep muscles, bike all over town, and walk up stairs without feeling like I'm having a heart attack. I guess thats enough progress for one year.