Wednesday Workout: I Ran, I Ran So Far Away

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Well, if I’m honest, it wasn’t “that far away”, but it was probably double the mileage I anticipated covering tonight. The weather was fantastic again today - temperatures in the low 70’s, with no humidity and hardly any wind - perfect for a late afternoon run. It was also another chance to break in my new Brooks Glycerin 6’s and yet another experiment with a pair of earphones - this time a neon green pair by Sennheiser. I’ve spent months, if not years, searching for the perfect headphones/earbuds I can wear while I work out - today, I might have found them!

T-shirt and shorts were all that was needed for the run, and after strapping on my heart rate monitor and Garmin 305, I was on my way - motivated and looking forward to an easy 3 or 4 miles. The new shoes felt fantastic - such a comfortable ride, with great cushioning and a perfect fit. I had no intention of tracking my pace or heart rate tonight, I just wanted to run. The familiar first mile marker came and went and I continued along the road, nice and relaxed, listening to some good tunes and amazed that the ear buds were actually still in my ears.

After what I guessed to be about 20 minutes, I turned around, retraced my steps with the intention of going home. However, something made me take a left turn through a hospital parking lot and before I knew it I was jogging around lane 4 of the local high school track. Today was definitely not the day for a speed workout (I was just running remember), but I did pick up the pace on each circuit and worked my way inside to lane 1, one lap at a time. Once in the inner lane I couldn’t resist opening things up and sprinting the 400m oval - it felt great and made me look forward to future track workouts in the coming weeks.

By now I’d been out running for about 45 minutes, so I decided to make my way home in the darkness. Back at the house, I was somewhat surprised to see I’d covered 8 miles exactly, in just over an hour.

Tonight was a thoroughly enjoyable run - my legs and lungs felt great, the weather was perfect and the random tunes on my iPod Shuffle helped the time go by really fast. Also, for the first time in years, the earphones stayed in my ears, so I think I’ve found a new part time training tool.

You can view the stats for my run by clicking on the map above. I must admit I haven’t studied them at all tonight. It was just “one of those runs” where everything clicked and I really don’t need to know all the gory details.

By the way, one of the random songs that played on my Shuffle was an old 80’s track “I Ran” by The Flock Of Seagulls. How apt I’m sure you’ll agree. If you’ve never heard of it, click on the iTunes button to listen to a preview…

Happy Miles!

–Steve