Easy as Reading a Book

Well, that was a weird run. Weird-good, though. Not weird-bad.

Last night's schedule called for an easy 3 miles. Not a problem. There were some books I wanted to pick up at the library so I adjusted my route so that I would end at the library, pick up my books, and then have a nice long cool-down walk from the library back home.

I refused to look at my Garmin during my first mile. I was just puttering along at what felt like a nice, slow speed. I wasn't huffing and puffing. I wasn't thinking about how many miles I had left. My calves were kind of tight but other than noticing that I wasn't thinking about running at all.

Let me say that again: I wasn't thinking about running.

Normally when I'm out there running I can actually tell that I'm running. I'm actively thinking about it. But for some reason last night I was just in a zone. My legs felt totally disconnected from my body and I almost felt as though I was floating along. And when I did look at my watch when it beeped at the end of mile one, I was shocked to realize I'd just done it in 9 minutes and 45 seconds. And each mile just got a little bit faster without me even realizing it or even feeling as though I was going faster at all. Check it out:



I have no idea what made last night so easy. The fact that I knew it was a short run so there was no trepidation about whether or not I could do it? That I had no time constraints? That I had a slightly new route planned? That I had an exciting goal at the end of my run (yes, picking up books at the library is exciting)? Who knows. All I know is that it was AWESOME. And that I want it to happen again.

Also, I love that I combined my running with "running" actual errands. I even ended up seeing Jason and Trinka Deu at the dog park on my walk home so I stopped to hang with them and watch Trinka Deu play with the other dogs for a bit. Maybe all my runs should end at the library!

Finally, here's an example of just what a Type A runner I am. I have a GPS-enabled watch (my Garmin). It could easily tell me when I've done 3 miles. But because I wanted to end exactly at the library, I used Gmap Pedometer to map out a 3 mile route starting near my house and ending at the library first. I'm such a nerd.

Speaking of nerdy-ness, here are the stats from the run:

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 624 ft Location: Forest Park, IL Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 06/10/09 Up/Downhill: [+42/-39] Time: 06:35 PM Difficulty: 1.9 / 5.0   Weather: Mostly Cloudy   63 F temp; 60% humidity   63 F heat index; winds NE 13 Performance Distance: 3.07 miles Time: 0:29:35 Speed: 6.2 mph Pace: 9' 38 /mi Calories: 334 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 36 -0' 02 6.2 +0.0 +4 ft 2 9' 34 -0' 04 6.3 +0.0 0 ft 3 9' 34 -0' 04 6.3 +0.0 0 ft end 10' 38 +1' 00 5.6 -0.6 0 ft Versus average of 9' 38 min/mile

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