Friday morning, I had to sleep in after going to bed so late. John's dad came to pick him up around 10am so that they could spend some time together. That meant run time for me.
I had been missing my run over by Chocorua Lake since I've been injured so I decided to run over there and test myself out a bit. I was feeling pretty good injury-wise, so I had to do it. I parked by the bridge on Chocorua Lake Rd and headed out into perfect running temps that I had to miss all Fall. I was feeling stiff for the first mile but was still able to run at a good clip. I was scared to look at my watch. I felt like my effort was in the high 7s, but I was sure I'd look at my watch and see low 8s. I was warming up. It would be ok if it was; that's what I was telling myself anyway. When the watch hit 1 mile, I was psyched to see 7:21. Not what I was expecting at all. I decided this was going to be a good run. I was going to have to REALLY push myself to keep this pace, and I was going at least 10 miles. I had no idea how long I could hold this kind of pace but was thinking maybe 3-4 miles. Much to my surprise, I hung right in there. And the next two miles were all uphill, with the third mile being the steepest of the whole run. It would also be my slowest mile of the run at 7:40/mi. I was able to clock off some miles in the 6s, followed by low 7s. I couldn't believe it. And this was quite a hilly run. I ran to 113A from Fowlers Mill, then over to Old Mail Rd to Gardner Hill. This has a decent climb that I managed to run 7:19 and 7:21 for mile 8 & 9. This wouldn't have taken me much effort 3 months ago, but it was starting to hurt. I had a short downhill from 113 to Philbrook Neighborhood Rd where I hit mile 10. I hadn't run this fast, this far in 2.5 months! It hurt but felt SO fucking good. 10 is really as far as I should have gone, but I had to get back to the car, so I just kept plugging away. I hit 11.8 miles at the bridge and stopped there. 7:12/mi pace with 900ft of elevation gain. I was so impressed with myself. I think a lot of that run came from mental strength because my body felt heavy and out of shape, but still, it gave the real boost I needed. If this flabby body could pull that run off, I am definitely not in as bad of shape as I thought. I am out of shape, but, now, I see getting back more quickly. It still may take me awhile since I can't do runs like this every day like I used to, but the fact that I can run that pace on a hilly run for almost 12 miles is definitely a good sign.
I was on Cloud 9 the rest of the day. I picked up the dogs from the house, ran some errands, then took an hour walk with the dogs at Tin Mountain while I waited for John. When we got home, I grabbed a saw, and John and I headed on a Christmas tree hunt in the woods. We found a perfect pine tree that John cut down all by himself. I carried it back to the house, put it in the stand and hung the lights. Came out nicely. John hung the ornaments. I'm not big on Christmas, but when it comes to my kid, I'll do it.
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| John cutting down his Christmas tree |
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| John's tree |
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| Ornament John made me at his homeschool group. Yellow is my favorite color. |
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| Late night decision to make a fire in the woodstove and sleep by it. |
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