I ran around RSM Lake today to give my legs a break from the hills. Unfortunately, my legs were remembering only too well the hills that I've been battling in the last week, and didn't let me forget it. I hadn't run a flat course in a while, and I can't say that it was as 'easy' as I had imagined. I think I like hills to break up the monotony of things. Plus, I love running downhill :). Anyways, since my legs were sore, I decided to take it easy, for the first lap. However, after that, I decided that instead of indulging my legs, I'd make them work, and decided to go for negative splits. Each lap got progressivly harder, and after 5 miles, I was pretty tired, but definitely wanted to push out for the end. The results were well worth it:
m1- 9:59,
m2- 9:36,
m3 - 9:24,
m4- 9:17,
m5- 9:04,
m6- 8:38
for an average of a 9:20 pace :D
Whenever I get below 9:30 pace, I'm super excited, and getting below 9:00 is a cause for celebration! Granted, I was wiped at the end and definitly couldn't have gone longer at that pace, but I'm excited that I was able to keep it up for 6 miles. I also ran at high noon, so it was warmer than I've been used to (high 70s). Getting hot in that, though, reminds me of all the heat training I need to do to be ready for this summer.
Tomorrow is an off day, which should be good in terms of doing work for my thesis, if nothing else. I did work for 2 hours this morning, and am planning on doing in for the rest of the afternoon/evening after I shower and eat, but I have so much work to do!
I think I'm going to try to suggest a family hike for Sunday up on Saddleback Mountain. I've never hiked there before, and just looking up at it today during the run made me eager to go exploring. Hopefully I can get some takers!
