Running Chick

We hit 50 degrees today and I was able to run in a baseball hat & light shirt. I almost broke out the shorts, but I didn’t want to scare everybody with my alabaster legs.  Turns out, of the six runners I did see, I was the only one not wearing shorts. Maybe that means I’m old. Hrmph.

Anyhoo, my legs are feeling lots better (maybe just a smidge tight still) thanks to the yoga, stretching, icing & drug routine I’ve been following since Sunday.

I knocked off three miles on the Canal Road in 29:14 -

My first mile was slow because I got stuck waiting for traffic crossing M-26. Aside from having to slow down and/or stop a couple of times because my heart rate was heading into the stratosphere (high 180s), I felt like I was running at a pace that I could hold for three miles but I would definitely say that pace was not conversational. So, I'm starting to wonder if I should be approaching my mid-week runs in the manner that I have - one to two minutes faster than my long run pace for the given mileage. Maybe it would be better if I did some sort of interval or tempo runs on those days? Or make one day a hill day? As much as they hurt, I'm kind of enjoying running hills now that I'm in decent shape. Sure, I feel like puking when I reach the top, but that's only about half of the time now instead of all the time. I'll have to do some research I guess.

I ran a very short distance on the snowmobile trail at the end of my run. I figured it'd be all hard packed and icy but found out differently when I stepped in a spot that looked firm and I sunk up to my ankle in icy cold slush. It was at that point when learned that my shoes aren't waterproof. Oh well. Shortly after I got back on pavement, four snowmobiles slowly came through. I sort of felt bad for them, but not really.

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Almost forgot. During my Sunday run, I came around a corner and out of nowhere, two little yapping dogs charged at me. Now, even though I’ve had cats for the last several years, I consider myself a dog person. One day, when I move into a bigger house with a bigger yard, I plan on having a dog that I can take running with me. Every now and then (okay, weekly) take stroll through the Copper Country Humane Society’s website to see what dogs they have up for adoption. There’s been a couple that I came very close to going to see, but my house situation isn’t the best for a dog, so I reluctantly put my doggie plans on hold. But, one day I will have a dog. A useful dog. A dogs that isn’t meant to be an accessory. A dog that doesn’t require a sweater to take outside. A dog that does dog stuff. I will not have a little yappy dog like the ones that came after me on Sunday. Crimeny, how I hate those useless little things. No doubt, had these little furry rats been off their leash, I would have had no problem punting them back into their yard and then yelling at the owner for letting them outside without a leash. Anyway, they were on their leash so they didn’t get too close to me, but I’m surprised my ears didn’t start bleeding from the extraordinarily loud barking. Seriously, how can two little things be so blasted loud? Little rats.

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