Finding my kick

53:25.  It's not an official 10K PR.  I didn't sign up for a race, nor did I start the run aiming to race it.  It just sort of evolved into that.  Let me explain.

Neither I nor my running partner felt like waking up at 5 am to run in the freezing cold.  We decided to swap kids and run a little later in the day.  Perfect!

Mile 1, 9:20-
I dropped my babies off at Em's house and started my run.  I did my first mile at an easy 9:20.  I had decided to run the middle miles at a comfortably hard pace, so I moved my arms a little faster and my legs seemed to follow.

Miles 2-5 8:32, 8:22, 8:29, 8:42 (I had to stop at a light)--
 My legs just started to go.  It felt hard.  Not exactly a race pace, but definitely not easy either.  I told myself I could ease up at mile 5 and bring it home easy.  But then I changed my mind.  I haven't ever raced a 10k.  My normal runs settle somewhere around 5 or 8 miles, or are super long.  My watch chooses my records from those miles.  So they aren't exactly my fastest miles, and my previous garmin PR was around 59 minutes--taken from an 8 miler I believe.  If I kept moving, I could really see what I could do.

Mile 6 and .2, 8:19, and 1:40 (7:35 pace)--
I'll admit, mile 6 was not easy.  I wanted to slow down, but I also knew I only had eight more minutes of running to go.  I could do it.  I knew I could.  I kept my arms going and brought it home.  I wanted to jump for joy when I saw the 53:25 final time.

I can go faster.  I can see lots of room for improvement.  I always have a hard time two miles before the finish of a run.  I mean, I'm not almost there.  I'm just closer to the finish than I was in the beginning.  I need to change my thought process when I get to that point.  It will serve me well in the long run.  Running is a mental game as much as it is physical, if not more so.

Overall, I'm happy to get my running legs back.  Since Christmas my times have been steadily falling and I am so happy about that.  I don't want to push it to hard during these taper weeks, but after this marathon I can't wait to hit the track and start some hill work and see what these legs and lungs really can do.

You smell like a monkey, and you look like one, too.

My two year old is about to turn three!  Hurray!  Dutifully, I've been asking her what she wants for her birthday.  We don't want any tears on the big day.  So far her answers have been quite doable.  She wants a cake and jello.  Done and Done!  Whoo-hoo, no crazy expensive, impossible to buy presents for this little chica. (Just try to find an Elsa nightgown, it's nearly impossible.)

 Just yesterday, after I asked what she wanted for her birthday (again), she said, "I want to go to the zoo and see the animals.  I like the zoo with Daddy and the kids."  As I recited our conversation to my husband he pointed out that I was not invited to this party.  Seriously, kid?  You don't want me, your own mother, the one who gave you life, to go to the zoo with you?  Well, kid, we are done.

Happy Birthday, Rosie!  You are loved!