The Hard Work You Do...

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. **Newt Gingrich**

I didn’t feel much like running this weekend. I had taken a three day break early in the week so I had only run once for 5 miles, but it was a fall back week so I wasn’t too worried. This weekend was scheduled for a 10K, according to Mr. Higdon, but lacking a real 10Kin the area, we decided to just do a 6 mile run. Saturday was Amy’s daughter’s birthday so we spent the afternoon at the skating rink and put our run off until Sunday. Unfortunately, by Sunday afternoon, Amy was miserably sick with the same crud her kids had had all week so I was left to run on my own. I had planned to hit my favorite trail, but it was already so late in the day that I knew it would be packed with walkers and I didn’t’ feel like driving an hour round trip so I just ran around my neighborhood.
We have amazing weather this week and it was in the 70’s when I ran yesterday. I carried water, which I don’t usually do when I’m only running for about an hour, but I knew I wasn’t going to be prepared for the heat so I took water with me and left the puppy home. I passed many smiling faces on foot and on bikes, working in yards, and playing in the open fields. The classic cars that people have been tinkering with all winter in the garage were cruising the streets, warming up the engines, and keeping all the parts moving. This seems to be something that only happens in places that have a real winter. Where I grew up, you could cruise in classics year round, but when we moved to Wisconsin, it was very obvious when the first nice weekend day hit and every classic car for 100 miles was tooling around town.
My run was pretty uneventful until the last mile when I sucked a bug into my mouth. I’m sure it looked like quite the funny dance, if anyone saw me. I was sputtering, spitting, and gagging, with whatever it was hanging onto my tongue for dear life. I finally managed to spit it out, never seeing what it was ( not really wanting to know), and finished my 6 mile run with a 12 mpm pace, despite a few short walking breaks. I’m using my virtual partner on my Garmin a lot more and tend to run a little faster than my set pace, and then allow myself to walk until he catches up after each mile. This week I need to stick to my schedule, be consistent about my stretches, and start back into my ab work whether or not it irritates my abdomen. My back has hit the limit of what distances it will put up with unless I improve my stomach muscles and since an over tired back hurts, and a slightly swollen tummy does not, the back wins.