Short run: 3+ miles. 34:39, AHR 156.

Wow! What a good run. I don't know whether it was the Cheerios after the long run or what, but that's a fast time for me and I felt good. PLUS that includes at least a minute taking a couple of photos of the mountain laurel and greeting the boxer and black-and-tan mutt. NRMT wants me to track the "rate of perceived exertion" for each run, with 1 very easy effort, 5 hard effort, and 10 maximal effort; this ranged from 3 to 6, I guess. Splits for the first & last mile were 10:33 and 9:16 (the "mile" in the middle is definitely more like 1.2). Go me! I was at a plateau for a long time and it feels exciting to be making progress. I'm sure I'll reach another one soon but right now it feels like running down hill--a pleasure!

I left work early and drove to the National Running Center store in Clark Summit. I've never been to a "real running store" and that's the closest one, but it was a little disappointing--I'm not sure what I was expecting, but more than just one little room. I got another pair of shoes, New Balance 856s, which are really spiffy-looking, a pair of nice blue WrightSock double-layer anti-blister socks, and a waist pack. I hoped to be able to carry my camera with me, and it worked nicely for the short run--a little heavy, but it didn't bounce around. Also got a few different kinds of gels to try when I get into the longer runs, and a pair of hi-tech underpants. AND my Garmin Forerunner 201 (wrist GPS) arrived today. Can't wait to try it (it had to charge and now is locking onto satellites). I'm going to look like a total dork (although it's smaller than I thought), but the lure of accurately tracking mileage is hard to resist. Plus, gotta face it, I love gadgets!
- posted by Hilary @ 10:58 PM