Week 3 Day 1

I went running this morning. I'm truly inspired by my friend Steve. He lived down the street from me the whole time we were growing up and graduated high school a year before me. He is now in North Carolina where he runs Endurance Magazine, which he founded. He is currently doing the Gore-Tex TransRockies, a grueling run. It started on the 22nd and ends today, the 27th. It is 113 miles long and, according to the website

The GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run course runs from Buena Vista to Beaver Creek, through the heart of the White River and San Isabel National Forests. The course includes a mix of singletrack and forest road with nearly 25,000 feet of elevation gain, reaching altitudes of over 12,500 ft.

How could you not be inspired by someone doing that?! And I'm tired after a 5k? Pshaw!

So I did the first day of Week 3 of the B210k program. Three 17 minute intervals with a one minute walk in between. Here's how it went:

lap    minutes     distance     pace
1        17             1.63         10:26
2        1              289 ft       walk
3        17             1.64         10:23
4        1               250 ft      walk
5        17             1.53        11:06
total    53             4.9        10:49

I got to the 5k point at 32:43, which isn't too bad, considering there was a minute walk in there.

I feel pretty good about this. Only 1.3 more miles and I'll be at the 10k distance! At my average pace, that's only another 14 minutes or so, meaning that's not even one more interval. I just may be able to do that. And the 15k Double Bridge Run in February. And maybe a half marathon in the spring ...

I feel really good. I got out when it was cool this morning. It had rained overnight so I felt like I was breathing water rather than air, but I appreciated the cloud cover. Now it is pouring out, so I'm glad I went when I did.

No traffic incidents today, either. There was only one school bus at 6:45, and she's the nice lady. She actually came to a stop because there was oncoming traffic at the same time I was going. When the car passed she moved over to give me some room and smiled and waved. I really appreciate that. Her number is either 27-07 or 07-27. Next time I'm going to have to look and then call in and let the school district know that she is a safe driver.

Tawny has trouble in thunderstorms and with loud noises. I read about a product called the Thundershirt that is supposed to ease the animal's anxiety during storms. It came in the mail yesterday and I tried it on and let her wear it for a few minutes. She doesn't seem to have any problems with having it on. There's some thunder with this storm and she started pacing, so I thought, "What better way to see if it works than to give it a go?" She's wearing it now and doesn't seem to be so anxious. But it's just my luck that there hasn't been any thunder since I put it on her!

However, I have a feeling we'll be dealing with storms all day (of course, now that the yard dried out enough to be mowed today), so I'll report back later on the success of the Thundershirt. It has a money-back guarantee, so I'm not out anything if it doesn't work, and apparently the returned ones are donated to shelters and rescue groups, which I think is great.