Lunch - easy 4 mile recovery run on the treamill at 8:00 pace. Legs were still kind of sore, but I was able to get into a good rhythm. Afterwords did planks and other ab exercises.
PM - ran 1.5 miles with Samuel, he earned his smoothie today. I talked to him throughout about running a bit faster so that he didn't have to try and book it at the very end and run the risk of not making it. He did a better job. His running form also looked better - we got him some new shoes the other day because the heels (the heels!) of his old shoes were worn down all the way through the outer rubber and into the white eva (or whatever material it was). When I mentioned this to him and asked him if it felt easier, he said "yes", and also said the shoes felt lighter. Well, good. I was a bit worried about the way he was running before - it was very much a shuffle with a lot of scuffing his feet. Anyways, he kept the pace around 10:10 for the first 1.25 miles or so, then picked up the pace, and for the last bit turned on the burners again, this time hitting about 8:15 pace or so for the last 0.1 miles. He did a great job, and I am proud of him. Even more, he sounded relaxed and was conversational throughout, even at the very end. | 