Toast to a Faster, Stronger Cha

Afternoon Run

8 miles Tempo Run

Road

Run home! 

We conquered this one.  

This was definitely good confirmation that I'm getting stronger and faster.  PTL!  Sometimes as I'm trailing my running buddy barely keeping up, or as I look at other runners effortlessly making their way down the street, I'm discouraged at my slow progress.  I want to be faster and I want to be faster now!  Today, the pace wasn't lightning by any stretch of the imagination but I felt like I was holding my own well enough and it felt good.

We took off from work, dressed in our fall appropriate running clothes-- praise the Lord, insane sweating season is over-- outfits complete with our hott running backpacks.  We literally turn heads running through town like this.  We took it up through Downtown Crossing, around the Commons, up Comm to Mass Ave, forever on Mass all the way to the bike path and home.  I love running over the Mass ave bridge.  I always get an extra boost of energy as it's the best/prettiest part of this route. 

The run started out slow but we steadily increased the pace until we were sprinting the last stretch on the bike path.  My heart beat was running away like "boom, badoom, boom, boom, bass".  I could literally feel it beating through my shirt but, it was all good.  I was just happy to be keeping up.  My legs felt great (even after a recent 20) and my breathing was steady most of the way.  8 miles of glory.

Midweek mileage is now 5, 8, 5. 

It has been hard to fit this much running into the work week so running home has been the best way to do it and still maintain some sort of normal life schedule. Though this is the last week of running this 5, 8, 5 sequence, this will be the first week that I will actually complete it.  Different things kept coming up during the last few weeks that kept me from completing all my scheduled runs.  Also, all this rain we've been getting has left fewer options for fitting runs in...and we know how I feel about running in the rain.  C'est la vie.  The great thing about running plans is that they aren't set in stone.  I'm still pretty confident in my progress even though I've had to move (or nix) some workouts.

5 more weeks.  Woo Philly!