Saturday Long Run

...my first in quite a long time! I wasn't used to getting up at 5:15 to run! Houston Fit was doing their 21 miler Saturday morning, so I decided I would jump in and run 10 miles somewhere in the midst of the crowd. A few of the group who were also running shorter distances met at Luke's Locker beforehand and it felt great to be back in the company of my old running buddies. It didn't feel great 20 minutes into my run when my heart rate monitor was screaming at me because I couldn't even keep my heart rate down running their run 5 minutes/walk 2 minutes pattern. I had to stay with them until Rice though because it was dark and I didn't feel safe being alone. Houston Fit had aid stations setup at Luke's and at Rice, so I had "social stations" which we all know I need, especially when I'm running so much by myself these days.

The run was mostly uneventful, boring if nothing else, but a few notable things did happen. First, it was like I was a ghost out there. No one had seen me in forever and I guess they just assumed I don't exist any more. I waved and said "hi" to several people while running the opposite direction as them, and I was met mostly with blank stares. Very sad! Three people did say notable things to me during the run:

1. "You have to keep a positive attitude through all of this." Yes I do (but it isn't easy).

2. "Kathleen! (someone actually recognized me when I said "hi") Hey! You are looking great!" This was from a blog reader who knows what I have been going through. I almost cried after she ran away - not entirely sure why either, but it hit me in a weird way. I started to feel sorry for myself that I looked "great" trotting along at over a 13 minute pace, but then I remembered notable saying #1 from the day.

3. "You sure have some pretty legs" - from one of the fast yellow guys - said to me quietly as they flew by me. Hey, I'll take it. They might not work the greatest right now, but someone said they were at least pretty!

He probably thought they were pretty because I was wearing my new favorite, the City Girl:

I am anxiously awaiting the Spring line of skirts as I already have all 3 colors the city girl currently comes in! Yes, it is a skirt; yes, it is girly; yes, it is cute; but my favorite part about it is the POCKETS! I have been missing out for so long and realizing guys have had it so much easier because I haven't had pockets to run with ever! I can put all sorts of things in the pockets - including my MP3 player. There is even a little ear phone hole that comes out of the top of the pocket to keep everything all organized. Most people know where I used to store stuff (in my sports bra...there is plenty of extra room up there), but in the winter when I have a shirt on, it is harder to get to that "pocket."

Yesterday I ran a bit again, first doing a treadmill AT test then doing more of a walk than run around the park. We went at 6pm and once again I was amazed at how empty it was. No wonder Houston has been ranked fattest city in America more than once! If it gets cold outside (as in 50 degrees...common people) or if there is shopping to do (4 days before Christmas), people ditch the exercise all together.

Saturday's run was exactly 10 miles, completed in 2:11, for an avg pace of 13:06 minutes/mile. My average heart rate was 161. I did notice something weird - my legs tired for the first time long before my cardiovascular system. That is a good thing, but at the same time, my head was still completely clear because I could breathe normally and that just left me dwelling on the fact that my legs hurt!

Oh yeah, go ahead and add another "HOT, COLD" to my "hot, cold, cold hot, cold, hot" run list for the last 2 weeks. Saturday's run topped out somewhere in the muggy mid-to-upper 70s and Sunday's run was right at 50 with a windchill in the 30s (I got to wear my new nike hat with the ponytail hole and that made me happy...its the little things!).