7 miles at 6:30 pm. Splits (9:59, 10:10, 9:26, 9:07, 9:03, 8:27, 8:16)
This was a crazy run! I made a deal with my husband that I would take both kids in the double stroller for 2 miles to give him a chance to eat... Then I would go out for solo run for another 5 miles.
First mile was downhill with the stroller with baby crying and 3 year old whining about the sun. Second mile was uphill with both kids now happy and me struggling pushing it thinking this was possibly the hardest mile I have run in a long time.
So then I started solo run... was going easy just listening to my music around mile 4.5 at about a 9 min pace when all of a sudden I get passed by another runner. Thing was this guy that passed me did so on an pretty big uphill and he was about as unlikely of a person to be going faster than me that I could imagine. He was maybe 40ish with a pot belly and a strange gait and he wasn't wearing running shorts or shoes. He was thrashing his arms accross his body when he ran.
I thought he'd slow down before the top of the hill. But no. He sped up. Then I thought he'd stop at the top of the hill. But no. He kept going. I followed him for another mile or so and he kept getting faster. The gap between us got up to 150 ft. Finally, I decided I would try to catch him. I had to get up to 8:03 a mile going uphill to catch up. Then he turned one way and I went another. I guess you can't judge how fast a person is by how they look!!
Then as I was turning the other direction, I saw another runner ahead of me about 200 ft. I thought... ah well, why not. So I tried to catch this guy. He had a pretty good pace and there were some more rolling hills so it was tough... but I got within 20 ft of him before I turned to go another way.
So I guess good workout. I didn't even know my splits til I got home. One problem with running at night is my stomach was cramping the entire run. I don't seem to ever have that problem in the morning. It's just so dark and cold in the mornings now, I have been opting to sleep in and do evening runs. | 