#5 on the list of things I'll be writing about a lot: Running. Seven years into our relationship I've finally decided to get serious. Five miles a day, five days a week, til death do us part.
When I made this resolution it was 15 degrees in Chicago. No worries. Nike makes magical cold weather running clothes. And it just so happens that I drive past a Nike Factory Store every day on my way home from school. So me and my spiffy new gear have been getting it in since January.
Today I decided to time myself. The (long-term) goal has always been 5 miles in 50 minutes. I ran 10:00s Tuesday and dang near died. So today I shot for easy 11:00s. First mile (the warm-up mile) came in at 10:04. Wowness. Second mile... 10:54. Not bad. Third mile... 10:35. I am killing these miles.
So at this point I'm wondering why it is exactly I'm breezing through 10s today when the same run was murdering me 48 hours ago. Maybe my form sucks, and all that extra energy I was expending two days ago wasn't actually making me any faster. Or maybe I'm solar-powered =), and the fact that it was 78 degrees and sunny in Chicago today made my legs super efficient.
Or maybe... the fact that I set out with the wind at my back today meant that banging out 10s was no problem, while running into the wind on Tuesday made it dang near impossible. This made me think of that Affirmative Action analogy about the runner who's so used to having the wind on his side that he doesn't even notice. But let it start blowing for someone else...
Of course, this post is about running, not Affirmative Action. So I'll end on that note. Tomorrow's goal: 5 miles, 55 minutes.
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