Praise Your Fellow Runners

Dancer with a running habit?  Runner with a dancing habit?  I don’t even know anymore but I do know my run this morning was glorious!

Blue skies, morning coffee, strong legs, and new running shorts all contributed to making this 4.55 mile run a great one.  I warmed up nice and easy for the first 15 minutes then did 20 minutes of sprint intervals (45 second all-out sprint  followed by 1 minute 15 second recovery pace) and cooled down with an easy pace for the last 5 minutes.  I averaged an 8.79 minute mile but obviously my pace was all over the place with the sprinting.  The good news is that I feel like I could have maintained this for another 1.5 miles and made my MISSION:10k PR of under 55 minutes.

I have a new mission to introduce, MISSION: Praise Your Fellow Runners.  This is inspired by Caitlin and her awesome Operation Beautiful.  I am always inspired, impressed, and motivated by other runners and, although running is usually a solo activity for me, I LOVE the running community.  So here’s how it works, while I was running today I complimented any runners I crossed paths with.  The first time I was a little nervous, as she approached from the opposite direction I thought to myself, “am I going to do it?” and as she passed I managed to squeak “Nice job!”.  The second time was easier, I locked eyes and smiled as she got close and gave her an encouraging “Nice work!”.

What I would REALLY love is to start a trend of high 5’s as runners pass each other but I have yet to go for it and throw my hand up there.  Will they think I am waving “hi”?  Trying to hit them?  I need to just put it out there and see the response.  How would you respond?  Would you like it if another runner shouted a little compliment/encouragement as you passed?  I think I would do a little double take and then grin ear to ear.

Post run snack time.

Breakfast (yogurt and cereal) was 3 and a half hours ago so it was definitely time for some noshing.  I rarely go more than 4 hours without eating, I like to attribute my hearty appetite to a good metabolism :).  This egg/kale combo was served up with some roasted garlic cloves, chopped tomato, and herbed salt.  Just what I needed.  Are you still eating eggs or have you been scared away from them with all the recalls?

See how my garden grows!

If all goes as planned I will be eating these little greeny babies in the form of spinach, mustard greens, and arugula before long.  I purchased these seeds at the Vegetarian Festival a few weeks ago from South Exposure Seed Exchange, a Virginia company.

Today is a busy one, Pilates, job applications, and packing are all on the agenda.  This afternoon Tate and I are driving to his mom’s house in West Virginia to spend the weekend with family.  It’s only a 3 hour drive (one of the main reasons we moved to C’ville) so it hardly counts as a road-trip but it feels a little weird to be leaving our house for the first time since we moved in 4 1/2 weeks ago.  Strange, huh?  I was so used to living out of a backpack and sleeping in a different bed every night for 7 months but I have adapted VERY quickly to having a home!

Hasta pronto!