Tempo: Five minutes easy warm up, then three sets of 10 minutes half-marathon race pace, followed by five minutes easy (I dropped the last five minutes of easy running to wrap things up)
Distance: 4.5 miles
Time: 45:55
Performance Stats (out of 5 ★)
Legs: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Gut: ★ ★ ★ ★
Energy: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Mind: ★ ★ ★ ★
Overall: ★ ★ ★ ★ .5
Soundtrack: Guns 'N Roses, Use Your Illusion I
Oh yeah, what a great run this morning. It is beautiful out there, and the fall is certainly coming. What a great time of year for running.
So this morning I was thinking of writing down all of the things that I need to do to get out the door to run. I wanted to write this down mostly for memory, because it seems like I always miss something and then have to come back in and get it.
For starters, my alarm clock goes off at 4:00 AM. A five-minutes snooze times two, and I'm out of bed at 4:10 AM. Then it's in to the bathroom to brush my teeth and the usual. I keep my running watch in the bathroom, so I have to remember to pick this up and put this on. Now if I was smart enough I have on some of my running clothes from the night before, otherwise I need to find the right socks, shorts, shoes and shirt. This morning's shirt had to be long sleeve, and as it gets cooler there will be the pants or leggings. Then I grab my phone and running shoes and head downstairs.
Here we have to get the coffee started, and I mean HAVE TO! I want to make sure I have a nice cup of joe while I write in my blog when I get back. I usually put my shoes on in the kitchen, and then fill up my water bottle. Lastly I grab my head lamp and put it over my head (this is what I forgot this morning. This little device is still new to me). Then I unlock the door, head outside and grab my headphones out of the car.
If I'm lucky I'll have all this stuff gathered, and will be putting my water bottle down on the fire hydrant before 4:30 AM. Then it's a matter of picking the music for the run, setting the stop watch, and taking those first steps up the hill around the loop that is my neighborhood. It seems like a bit of a routine, but you have to have it, because believe me, it's early!