Saturday's Run

Linear Trail: Temperature: 59 degrees; Splits 8:45; 8:51; 8:36; 8:37; 34:49 total for 4 miles; 8:42 per mile pace.

"Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup, and looking up, I noticed I was late."
The Beatles: A Day in the Life

I'm late with this, but I have a good excuse. Saturday was my 28th anniversary. How many people these days stay married for 28 years? So knowing I was going to Boston with my wife, and also knowing that I chose Happy Hour over running on Friday, I felt guilty enough to drag myself out of bed at 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning. After a cup of coffee to wake (sober?!) me up, and much procrastinating, I was off to the linear trail. The linear trail is kinda scary at 7 a.m. There was only one car there, and its owner was nowhere to be seen. I was hearing sounds that I had never heard before, and the gray, overcast sky added to the creepiness. I quickly turned on my mp3 player, and started running my first of 4 Acceleration Gliders (AG) on the nearby sidewalk. After the first 2, I noticed a peculiar looking woman parking across the street from the linear trail. More paranoia on my part. As I was completing my third AG, I noticed 2 large furballs next to peculiar lady's car. They hadn't been there when she parked. I did a "WTF," and slowly walked towards them, hoping they wouldn't attack me and leave me running for my life. "Curiosity killed the cat," but I was hoping it wouldn't kill me! The furballs turned out to be feral cats, and they were enjoying two large piles of cat food left by peculiar woman. I stupidly considered provoking them to see if they would chase me, figuring if I started my Garmin and timed it, I'd have a heck of a first mile time. I really shouldn't drink the night before a run I guess.
As far as the run, my goal was to sweat out the excessive amount of Sam Adams I drank the night before. OK, my REAL goal was the run at an 8:40 per mile pace for 4 miles. Miles 1 and 2 consisted of me thinking about how much fun I had with my co-workers drinking, and how interesting it was that even though I had stopped drinking 13 hours earlier, I was burping beer as I ran. I was also wondering if I was sweating beer. Gross, I know. Mile 1 was 8:45, 5 seconds too slow. Heck, I was impressed I was even that close! Mile 2 was 8:51 (Too much belching, not enough breathing!). I decided to push myself the best I could for the 2 miles heading back. Considering my "lead legs" and other issues, I had an 8:36 and an 8:37 split. So overall, I missed my 8:40 goal by 9 seconds over 4 miles. Overall, I'm thrilled. I completed my 4 runs for the week, and week 3 of marathon training is done. Today I'm scheduled to run 7-8 miles at a 2 minute slower than normal pace. It's going to be 75 degrees and sunny, and without the humidity problems that some of you are dealing with right now. I can't wait to get out and run....TTYL everyone! P.S. Check out Carlee's blog...she kicked ass in the Vermont City Marathon yesterday.. http://chasingfg.blogspot.com/