New PR!!

The nice thing about adding mileage is that I hit a new PR(Personal Record) the first time I run it. Then, as I get used to the distance, in this case the very next run, I set another PR. Then, as I continue to recover from my Saturday workout, I expect that I'll set another PR!! It's almost as addictive as playing Warcrack!

I'm coming to grips with the fact that my first mile is going to be slow. My body does a lot of complaining during that mile. The legs protest, the back groans, the lungs sigh. Sometimes the feet whine, the hips grind, and the knees creak.

Once I get into the second mile, I've settled into a nice rhythm, and my various body parts have resigned themselves to the fact that I'm going to run. The second mile is by far, the nicest one to run.

The third mile brings breathing issues. Not problems, but I find myself breathing harder and sometimes developing side stitches. I try to alternate which foot I breath on, and Bad Brad taught me a trick to help with them.

The trick is to close your mouth and force your breath out through your closed mouth. I've noticed that I do not keep up my breathing/foot pattern when I do this and that may account for why it works. Regardless, it seems to help.

I'm trying to pick up the pace a bit for the last 1/2 mile and last .1 mile. I want to get in the habit of finishing strong, so while I know I need to cut time off my other miles, the last half is what I'm focusing on.

This Saturday is speed work. I was thinking about going to a track, but I have somewhere to be at 10 am, and with sunrise being at 8 am, I'd probably be better off just running my regular route around 7 am or so. The track will still be there in a couple of weeks.