I wasn't really hungry for dinner after eating that, though, so I just counted that as dinner. For some reason, some of my best runs have been after having ice cream the day before, so I just considered it as carbing up for my long run today! Yesterday's food log looks horribly unhealthy, but in keeping it real, I'm going to post it anyway:
This morning, I wasn't really looking forward to a long run, but I pepped up a little when I saw how nice the weather was. I chose do to a route I haven't done in a long time. The last time I did it, a blackbird dive-bombed my head, and it scared me away from wanting to run there anymore! But the regular long run route I do is on a busy road, and I was in the mood for some quiet, so I hoped the blackbirds wouldn't be out for blood today.
I dressed in a super bright orange shirt and yellow hat to make myself visible to cars (and protect my head from birds) and headed out at around 8:15. The weather was perfect! I took a few pictures:
There were only maybe three cars that passed by the entire length of that road, and it was definitely peaceful. But just for the fun of it, I was imagining that I was in a zombie apocalypse. When it's super quiet, and there are no cars or people anywhere, it's hard not to let my mind wander; and hey, it passed the time ;)
My target pace for my long runs is 9:53 per mile, so I was just aiming for anything between 9:45-10:00-ish. I didn't want to look at my watch over and over, so I didn't. After the first couple of miles, I started to feel really good and just felt so happy to be out there. I thought about Mark a lot, too. I really miss him! This weather would have been perfect to take him somewhere outside for a walk or a picnic.
It ended up being such a nice run today; one of those runs that just made me feel good all day!
We went to Jerry's parents' house last night to visit with them for a little bit, since Jerry had to work today. And tonight, we're going to go to my parents' house. We did Easter with the kids a couple of days ago, so today was pretty laid back. The kids are off school all week long, so I'm going to be trying to come up with some things for us to do this week!
What a great run! Glad to hear I'm not the only one with mental images of the zombie apocalypse when I go out on these runs where no one else is around. The weather was misty and grey all weekend, so there was almost no one around Friday or Saturday. I only enhanced the feeling by finally giving my Zombies, Run! app a try during Friday's run. That was a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, one of my favorite things about WW is that nothing is off limits. Foods cost the points they cost, and you can spend your points however you like. It's very empowering where so many other systems seem to focus more on restrictions and forbidding. I think I might have to plan some ice cream into my own week now...
What a commitment, i appreciate and would love to know what motivates you to go for running even on Easter morning?
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely not motivation--just determination and discipline. I hate to stray from my running schedule, because it would make it easier to skip runs, and return to my old habits.
DeleteI have to say I think its creepy when you only see three cars while running, yes im a big chicken or maybe I watch too many csi shows...
ReplyDeleteI feel like your weekend was so much like mine! My Sat tracker was terrible, but sometimes you have to have junky days. And then I had a great 8 mile run Sunday! It was the perfect weather here as well.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I totally do the zombie thing too. Doing it at night I can kind of freak myself out though... running along, having this zombie thing in your head, then in the distance an old man shuffling along... that is an old man, right? I also play the "pretend I've never run here before and appreciate things" game when I'm running the same route over and over.
ReplyDeleteReally nice job with the long run! Your splits were super consistent. Nice! I love those kinds of runs.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the zombies-- I just started the Zombies 5k app, and it's fun. You're definitely not the only one. Nothing gets you moving like a good zombie chase.
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