4-miler: the good, the bad, and the ugly

I broke away from the treadmill today, and ran outside.

After spending an unusual day at work in the operating room all day, I pulled off onto a side road in New Haven, changed into my running gear in the car (yes, in broad daylight -- I have skills!), and proceeded to run a 2-mile route out and back in 43:03. Slow, I know.

The GOOD
- I finished the 4 miles alive.
- I got a second wind during the last 2 miles that made the run feel easy.
- Funny comment from random guy: "I can do that!" Me: "Well, come on then!" Random guy stayed put and laughed.
- Smiling at fellow runners along the same street, especially when running on the treadmill gets so lonely.
- 4.07 miles is the farthest I've ever run. Today's run beat out my previous one-and-only 4-miler.

The BAD
- I had to pee from the start of the run.
- I don't know where my ipod is, so I ran to the sounds of nature.
- I didn't warmup beforehand.
- I haven't trained on hills yet, and there were a few mini-hills along this road.
- My right knee started to ache during the last mile.

The UGLY
- When I finished, my elbow creases were pale from being moist and bent the whole run.
- I started out way too fast and by 1/10th of a mile, I was already winded.
- The first 2 miles I really didn't think I was going to make it between feeling winded and having to pee. Not to mention, my limbs felt like they were moving in slow-mo (at a 10:30/minute pace, they were!)

Now it's time for a nice long soak.

Running Along The Sound

Thank God for great weather. If I had to run on a treadmill today, I think I would have bailed on my run.

I am still exhausted from running on empty, so it was much easier to convince myself to get out of the car and run alongside the Long Island Sound than to be cooped up inside a stuffy gym with no windows.

Despite the threat of rain, the weather was a perfect 65 degrees with a cooling breeze from the Sound. The trail is only about 0.55 miles (based on my runnersworld.com training log), but I ran back and forth on it 7 times. If my calculation is right, I ran 3.85 miles in 43 minutes -- which is super-duper SLOW.

I'm not that surprised by my pace though, because I never really ran out of breath. My legs just started feeling heavy during the last half-mile, and my brain was tired of entertaining itself (no ipod today). My lack of ability to know how fast I'm running outside is a great argument for buying a Garmin watch though (ahem!).

Today is my day off from work... also my kiddo's 5th birthday... So, after I finish plowing through my to-do list, my research project and a nice hot soak, it's off to Chuck E. Cheese's for some gaming and fun. Tomorrow is my monster 3-hour gym day... Wish me luck!

2 Days 'Til Next 5K
55 grams Net Carbs (so far today)
4-9 Pounds 'Til Goal Weight