Evening run - 5+ miles

I just couldn't get up this morning before work for a run.

Luckily the weather is cooling off, so an evening run after work isn't risking heat stroke. The temperature around 6:30 PM today was in the mid-60s and cooling off fast. I'd been snacking all day, so I decided to head out for my 5+ mile loop. 5.41 miles total, in fact.

Before I left, I familiarized myself with the approximate mileposts, as seen in Google Earth. And I used a pace calculator to see what total time I should be looking for at a 9:30, 9:45 and 10:00 pace. I intended to gauge my mile splits as I went along, but my trusty Timex watch is giving out on me and the face is not readable in low light anymore. Time for a new watch - or a battery for this one. I'm sure I can justify a new watch...

I tried to keep a nice steady-hard pace, and since my watch was acting up, I had no real idea how I was doing. For some reason, that made me keep pushing just a little bit.

The sunset was beautiful, a big orange ball dropping behind the West Hills. The weather was perfect and not even too humid. I only had to pause, briefly, twice for traffic, and otherwise kept a running pace. Somewhere between 3.5 and 4.0 miles, I kinda gained a second wind, and it just felt like I could keep going forever.

I also kept up positive self-talk, and reminded myself that I was doing this and motivating myself entirely on my own. I am my own coach, and my own cheerleader.

Even the uphill sections (three major ones) didn't give me any problems. Legs felt strong, I maintained good upright posture, and breathed hard and fast when I needed to, I kept my stride short and fast once I was warmed up, and my arms went forward and back, not crossing over my chest.

I finished in 52:33, for an average pace of 9:42! It's hard to believe that I haven't run this loop in over four weeks; the last time I logged this I finished three and a half minutes slower. That's visible improvement!