After (Work) Eight

8.00 miles, 1:05:19, 8:09 pace, Max HR = 149, Avg HR = 137

"After Eight" is an after dinner chocolate mint, hence the bad play on words for my eight mile after-work run. Yes, witticisms cease to be witty as soon as you have to explain them.

The story here isn't about the run so much as it is about the events around the run. First of all I was scheduled to run four this morning and four this evening. Ever since I set down a training schedule a few weeks ago, I've been pretty good about following it. I've also been very good about getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night, since fewer that than has hindered my performance in the past.

But last night I only slept about an hour before waking up at 11PM. I couldn't get to sleep until about 4:30 AM -- so I didn't run in the morning. Strangely I didn't feel that tired during the day, despite sleeping less than four hours. But I was determined to run eight today to keep on schedule, even though my tempo run tomorrow looms large.

Normally I run one of only a few routes when I start from home. But then again, normally I'm running about five or less. Since I had some slight distance scheduled for this run I decided to stretch out my geographical boundaries. I crossed I45 along the marathon route into what is considered somewhat of a ghetto. From there I headed North along N. Main and ran around the Holy Cross and Hollywood Cemeteries. Both of those areas were mostly low-rent districts, but what appealed to me was the apparent neighborhood pride. People were outside talking to each other, and the yards were fairly well maintained. This area gets a bad rap, but I think it's a nice place to live.

I ran through Moody Park where a soccer game was taking place, and dozens of families were enjoying the day. It was at that point I was "lost", so I looked at my map on my watch and determined the proper direction back home. I ran down Fulton street and into another neighborhood near Jim Hogg Park where many of the streets had biblical names. I crossed back over I-45 and came out by Dharma Cafe. At this point I figured I was right on track for an 8 mile run if I headed straight home. And indeed, 8.00 miles ticked off just in front of my house.

I enjoyed checking out my neighboring neighborhoods. It gave me the same feeling as when I was running in San Antonio recently -- just meandering around and taking in the sights.

Since I forgot to set my watch to auto-lap (I usually have it tick off half miles), my run was recorded as one big lap, so I have no easily accessible split information to report (not that it matters anyway.) Let's just hope I have some juice in the legs for tomorrow's tempo run.

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This Day Last Year (TDLY) - 7/9/07 - Kenyan Way, 10 minutes (2 hills, up fast, down slow) 5 minutes rest 10 more minutes, Max HR = 178, Avg HR = 157, 44% Z5, 46% Z4.