With the forecast of a storm later this morning, and the temperature around 40 this morning, I made the difficult decision to run alone in the "warm before the storm" instead of at noon with "the guys". Even as I was running I kept second guessing my decision, and even entertained the thought of maybe running at noon, too, which I knew wouldn't be wise. I was planning on 6 miles this morning, but near the end of the run I decided to detour and add another mile onto the run, reducing the temptation to run again at noon. I pushed the pace just a little this morning. I've only been averaging 9:15 to 10:00 for most of my easy runs this winter, but this morning I averaged around 8:50. I even threw in some striders to focus on my form a little. I think it's about time to gradually get my legs back accustomed to turning over a little more quickly. My next race is the Spectrum 10K in March and my leg speed is no where near where it needs to be. I don't plan on any sub-7:00 miles for at least a few more weeks, but I'd at least like to string some sub-8:00 miles together a little more often.
My plan this week is to run at least 5 or 6 miles everyday and get back to a 40 mile week. I've only been averaging 25 to 30 for most of the winter and would gradually like to build up to 50 by April. A couple of recent events have caused me to ponder on what is truly important in life and count my blessings. A good man I serve with in my church calling was just diagnosed with a brain tumor and is going in for emergency surgery today. Like many of you I also heard last night that President Hinckley passed away. I've thought that maybe a key to happiness is to be positive and to enjoy the blessings of each day, and that a successful (happy) life does not come from a few great deeds, but from a lifetime of simply trying to be a good person, do our best, and be nice to people. | 