Day 66: "If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on [running]."

Oh my goodness, a lot has happened since my alarm went off at 5:30 this morning. That's right, pre-dawn. Not pre-sunrise, PRE-DAWN. I had to get up extra early because it is trash day and Husband had to be at work early AND I had a job interview later in the day. As we have one car, I had to take him to work, so that I could get to the interview later.

I knew it was trash day in the sense that I factored in having to get the trash out in the timeline of the morning. However, I forgot that meant I would have to run out of my neighborhood, and I had planned on repeating my last route, with an additional block added on. At the last minute, I sat down and mapped a 2.5ish mile route, in a figure 8 around town. I'd start out with the big bottom part of the 8 out of town, then twist around to avoid the big hill by my block. The little loop could be adjusted as time allowed at the end of my run.

The weather was great, although humid, and it was lovely running at sunrise, and I took off like a bat out of hell. I knew I was in trouble right away, I mean today is a Run 27. One does not start with a sprint around the block. My route was a long straight route, instead of a zig-zag route that I had been following. I was a little worried about getting restless on this stretch, as I often do when I have no turns. However, I had a walker to say hi to, TWO separate runners to wave to, and a bunch of people smoking on their porches to scowl at as I passed. Before I knew it, I was within a couple of blocks of the turnaround - the point where I usually join up from a side street.

There was something dead near the turnaround. I didn't look around, for fear of spotting it (now I see why runners always find the dead bodies), but I did manage to hold my breath, somehow, for a hundred feet or so in each direction.

Heading back for home is such a boost for me. As long as I am pointed toward home, I know I can do it. I passed three high school age girls running, and made it to the bottom of the hill, where I turned into the twist of the 8. This street went uphill, too, and was rough, but not as bad as the other option. It was, however, pointing me away from home, so it was dreadful.

By the time I got to the top, I really didn't have much time left, so I did not make the top of the 8 at all. I was disappointed because I thought I was running pretty fast, and I got nowhere near my distance goal. If I am not running closer to 3 miles now, how am I going to do it in 4 days!?

When I got home, there was no time for rest, as I had to get the recycling out. Husband had the trash out in the kitchen, cleaning out the fridge. The trash stunk sooo bad. I thought I was going to hurl. I had to venture back by the door, hot as I was, to get some fresh air.

I recovered quickly and overall, again, this seemed to be a pretty painless run. My throat is still bothering me afterwards, but that seems to be getting better, too. My legs felt good throughout a long day that didn't revolve around sitting in a recliner for the remainder of the day!

My interview was at a rec center, for the business office. I've determined I MUST get this job, if for no other reason, to access their indoor track this winter. I fear running in the winter (ours is short, but still) in general, but especially if I go back to work. There will be weeks when I will not see the sunlight before or after work. In theory I could run at lunch, but barring a workplace with a shower, that won't happen. I guess I'll have to make my weekend runs count! Seriously, though, getting this job would be like going to work every day on the playground. It would be amazing.

I can't believe I'm almost done with the Couch to 5K! Even though it has been 101 real-time days, it feels like the time has flown! In two days, I run 30 minutes, and two days after that, I'll mark out a 5K to run. I don't see how I'll make the jump from 30 minutes to near 40 minutes in two days, but I know I do better with a finish line in mind, so maybe it'll happen.

Weather: 74, Partly Cloudy/Sunrise, No Breeze, 92% Humidity, Feels like 74 (I disagree. While it was cooler, it did not feel like 74. Why? Because there was 92% humidity. I don't understand the heat index.)
Time: 6:30am; Run 27 mins
Distance: 3.63K (2.26m)
Elevation: +60.7/-62.2/net -1.5 ft (I put in the pic to show the long straight stretch was also crazy-flat.)
5K/10K: 38:10/1:20:40 (Holy Atalanta, Batman! Fastest overall time yet! It's 5th best "just run" time, but the other 4 better times were based on run times of 16 minutes or less.)