I knew today would be extremely busy so I decided last night that I would run in the morning. Plans are all well and good, but I've found that those involving morning workouts have a very low chance (historically - dating back to the 1980s!) of being executed.
This morning was different! I got up with my wife and kids around 8 am. That was good because I didn't get to bed until about 12:30 am so I lucked out with being able to sleep in and get a solid 7 + hours of sleep.
I got dressed and headed out the door. It was wet and there was an intermittent mist coming down. I put on my ipod and ran 2.07 miles in 22 minutes and 29 seconds. That's about an 11 minute mile and I'm pleased with that.
Unlike other outside runs, this morning's run started out a bit shaky. The first leg of my route is uphill and I immediately felt tired and my mind started getting distracted by thoughts of stopping. I forced myself to think "one foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other" over and over again and that helped me get over this early hurdle.
Once I got up the hill the rest of the run was better. Still, I had a much better run on Thursday night where I did 3.27 miles in about 38 minutes. That's about the same pace as today but I was able to go a lot farther. I'm not sure how to account for the difference in performance. I'm not going to think too much about it beyond simply chalking it up to a lack of focus (or greater mental focus during the better run).
I'm actually feeling positive about running outside. That's a great milestone since, for the longest time, I've preferred treadmill running. Now I need to conquer morning runs. Once that becomes easier for me, then I'll really be making some solid progress with my fitness and running routine!
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