Wednesday

OK, how are you today? It's Wednesday. Already. I woke up at 3.00 with my mind racing about everything that I need to get done before Sunday. This is not a good thing to do. I managed to doze until my usual 5 a.m. get up time. I think I have plenty of time to get everything done, but in the middle of the night, somehow, perception is not the best.

I had a pretty productive day yesterday. I have mentioned a couple of times a writing project that I'm working on. Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time on it. I've been asked to write a chapter in a book in honor of one of my professors/mentors who recently died. I will tell you more about all that later on. I have really enjoyed going back into a world where I used to spend a fair amount of time: academia. My deadline is next week, and I will need to spend several more hours on the project.

In addition to writing yesterday, I had a meeting or two and a few other things going on, things that I could take care either by phone or email. I may have to shut everything off for a day or so next week to finish writing. My day ended with Tempo Tuesday! It was so much cooler than last week, though it was still around 80 degrees. I'm looking forward to running when it's 65 degrees.

Several of us gathered for our run. Lester ran over from his house and met us on the way to the tempo course. We warmed up for 2 miles, stopped at the 3 way stop on Washington Ave, stretched, lied about what we were going to do, etc. Then it was time to take off. Second pole on the right marks the beginning point. The plan last night was to do 2 miles fast.

I decided I would go for a sub-7 pace. I didn't feel that great or fresh during the warm-up, so I was unsure of what I could do. A group of 4 us ran together for the first little while. Then Rand and I separated ourselves some. Robin stayed with us for the first mile before dropping drastically. Rand rounded the mile marker a little ahead of me and continued to pull away gradually. I went through the first mile around 6:50.

The second mile is pretty tough. It begins at the bottom of the hill, where White River Lodge is. You have to climb a little before turning left onto 39th, where it flattens out. Then you get a little down hill on Washington, heading to Hillcrest Circle. After you complete the circle you have a slight up grade to the second mile mark. I finished my two miles in 13:44, which is a 6:52 pace. Good enough! Next week we will add a third mile. I hope I can hold sub 7.

After the run, we had dinner at Lester and Maddie's house. Kedra came over and we had a enjoyable time. Maddie cooked a great meal. It tasted so good after a hard run.

Today is going to be busy, so I better getting running. Literally.