Sunny Day Greenway 5 Miler: 2/12/11

This winter has been cold by Raleigh's standards, but we have gotten off easy when you compare it to what most of the country has had to endure.  Seeing blogs from runners like Jeri and Morgan kind of put things in perspective and keeps me from complaining too much about running outside on what I call a "cold" day.  I know that they would kill to see 35 degrees, and other than one ice storm, the weather hasn't made running outside all that treacherous.  I need to wear my big boy pants until summer when the endless day of high 90's hit.  I know this!  But, let me tell you . . . I was one happy Frikin' camper when I saw that Saturday was going to be sunny and close to 60 degrees!  I couldn't wait to get outside in run in the sunshine!  An honest to goodness sunny day in early February reminded me why I live in Raleigh-wood!  Because at times, I have to wonder: Pollen Season , nearly all of July and August, and every time someone asks, who I pull for between UNC, Duke, or NC State (b/c I could give a Rats A$$).  But, Saturdays weather made me rejoice that I live in good old 27607.

North Carolina Museum of Art Amphitheater

I decided that I didn't want to run Umstead because my ankle is still a little tender, and I thought why take a chance and ruin this beauty of a day.  Therefore, I chose to Run the Art Park.  I could have gone somewhere else, but I wanted to run somewhere that would not require me to drive, nor did I want to have to compete with traffic, so the Museum Greenway was it.  I decided to do the 5.38 course that I have been doing over the last two months.  I wasn't really looking forward to running such a hilly course, but I also didn't want to back down from it either, so off I went. 

I did the whole course in 50:44.12, which is my best time on this course.  I didn't beat my best time by much, only around 9 seconds.  However, when I did my previous best, I felt like dog poo afterwards.  I remember that I was dizzy, out of breath, and really felt like hell for the rest of that day.  This time I didn't exactly feel fresh as a daisy afterward, but I didn't feel nearly as bad either. 

Mile 1 8:57.99
Mile 2 9:34.57
Mile 3 9:54.32
Mile 4 9:27.14
Mile 5 9:24.71
I did the last .38 in 3:25.39 which is a 8:52 min. mile