Saturday AM Run

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you - I actually got to run on a Saturday. In the morning!

I'm working a new schedule at work where I have Friday's off, so my goal is to get my long runs out of the way on Friday mornings after taking the kids to school. However, for the 2nd Friday in the row, I've had a sick baby and had to change my plans. This Saturday, the Hubby was actually off from work, so I got to do my 1st Saturday morning run in MONTHS! Can I just say that the cooler temps were AWESOME! I swear it was right around 80 freaking fantastic degrees, which beats my Friday night long runs at 90 degrees any day!

I toyed with the idea of heading over to The Woodlands for a change of scenery, but opted to stick to my neighborhood route. It all worked out, because I timed everything just right and got to see the most amazing sunrise. I did vary the route a little by running in the back sections our the 'hood where new homes are being built. I don't usually venture back there at dusk - it's too creepy! Apparently, I'm not the only one....when I was about to finish my 4th mile, there was a lady running past in the opposite direction toward the back section of the hood. When she noticed a white van head that way as well, she quickly turned around. She told me that she didn't like running back there when those types of vans were there - she envisioned them as scary, kidnapper-mobiles. I had to laugh, because I've thought the same thing in the past. We ran together for the next mile and I have to admit, she was faster than me. But, it made me run a little harder and my average speed went from something like 11:35 to 11:20. And, it was good to have someone to talk to...running solo is okay, but it does get old! She's training for the Houston 1/2 in November and the full in January. We have kids close in age and we agreed that we needed to check out the neighborhood running group. I eventually had to make my way back to my house to re-fill my water bottle, so that ended our conversation but I did manage to keep that same pace for my last two miles. And, I caught up with the lady I had run with as she was cooling down! My pace was approaching the under 11-minute mark when I stopped to help a kid grab his runaway dog, so I ended at an 11:05 pace. For me, that's pretty good!

All in all, my 1st 7-miler in months felt terrific. I'm sure that had a lot to do with the cooler temps and the conversation. I felt great afterwards too! The only complaint is that my left foot has been hurting, right under my ankle. It started right before the last triathlon, but sort of subsided for the past week...apparently it has decided to return! Grrrr, I hope it goes away again!

I had the rest of the day (well weekend actually) to hang out with the hubby and kiddos. Good times!

Workout Stats
7-miles, 1:18:41, 11:05 pace (yay me!)