More Running

I'm really getting back in the swing of things with my running. After much procrastinating-- and when I say much I mean it-- I finally got out yesterday at 4:30 p.m. While it is true that I should have been busy preparing Sunday dinner, I drafted my husband into the job so I could go out. I was impressed that I got out there at all, given that I like to get it over with first thing in the morning. But I knew that I wouldn't be running on Monday or Tuesday so I finally got it in gear and hit the road.

The thing I forgot about going out without my personal trainer was how simply LOVELY running alone can be. For all the times when people said to me, "Wow, pushing the buggy must be hard work," and I said, "Oh, it's not that bad, you get used to it," I take it back. While it is true that you do get used to it, I only realize how hard it is to push a 30-pound two-year-old when I'm out on my own. It was great and so much easier. Conditions were less than optimal: my Ipod ran out of juice after the first mile and it started to rain, but I still had a great time and a good run.

I'm following the Nike training schedule to get ready for RunLondon October 16. I needed to be out there for 45 minutes yesterday. I came in two minutes under that, but I was pleased to figure out after the fact that I covered about 4.5 miles, so that's good. My goal for RunLondon, like my Blog Buddy Michelle, is to finish under 1 hour. While I'm going to have to step it up to do that, at least I know I'll have to speed it up only a little for yesterday's pace to finish in that time.

The funny thing about saying that I want to finish in under an hour is that when I was in high school and running track and cross country, that time would have been EASY for me. (Doing it in under 50 mintes- or 8 minutes per mile- would have been more of a stretch, but doable.) But those times were 20 years ago, so it's probably not fair to compare. It's just funny how old age and time sneak up on you.