I needed a day off from running. I needed a day to just sit on the couch and read a book. I needed a long nap. However, after spending most of the morning updating this very blog and browsing Netflix, I made the mistake of looking outside and realizing that it was close to 60 degrees. Kids were playing outside, birds were chirping, and I knew that passing up a day like this would be tantamount to slapping the Running Gods right in the face! So, I laced em' up and headed out to offer tribute because I feared that otherwise the Gods would send a plague upon me: Blister, Boils, Sprains, and Strains, along with all the other nastiness that we runners fear. I wasn't really sure where I wanted to run, every time I thought of somewhere to go I came up with a good reason not to go there, so I just decided to pick a direction and let the traffic patterns guide me. If I could cross a street I did, if not I turned the corner. Quickly enough I ended up running on Hillsborough Street towards the NCSU Campus. I hit the one mile mark as I was running in front of NCSU and was doing alright considering . . . I did the first mile in 9:58.58 and felt good about it.
Shortly after passing the Library another runner started to gain on me and after about a block and a half she passed by me and I decided to let her decide my next turn. Decided to do the opposite of what ever she did at the next intersection. If she went straight I would turn and if she turned I would go straight. However, she turned at the bell tower just before we got to the traffic circle, so I decided to just stay on the side walk and run into the campus along Pullen Road. By this time, I was kind of getting into my run and enjoying the day, but it was a bit breezy, and I wished that I had warn a long sleeve shirt. Once I crossed the bridge of the railroad tracks, I turned onto Dunn, then Jeteer, and again on Cates and found myself at approaching an intersection with a different runner. He was a student and running at a much faster pace than I but he was going to get caught at the same light as I. At the light we would have the choice of either staying on Cates and running up a slight rise followed by mostly flat areas of campus, from which I could get home and make this about a three mile run, or turn onto Morrill Drive, which would go up a larger hill before I turned for home and make the run about a four mile run. I decided that I would follow the student. He of course went up Morrill Drive . . . DAMN KIDS! I did the second mile in 9:32.53
The third mile just kind of sucked. I ran up Morrill turned left through the parking lots of the Buildings facing Western Blvd., took a right on Dan Allen and right on Sullivan which I took out to Gorman St. By this time, I was starting to feel bad and not looking forward to running up the little hills around the Sullivan-Gorman intersection and the bridge going back over the railroad tracks. Iwas able to push myself to keep going because I knew if I stopped and began walking that I wouldn't be able to get myself running again. The third mile took 9:59.47, but it felt like 3 days.
The last .88 was a suck-fest and as I ran toward the Hillsborough St. intersection on Gorman, I was praying for a long red light. I would have no choice but to stop at the light if I wanted to go home. As I approached the light it was Green I feared that it would turn red before I got to the intersection. And not give me the time that I needed to rest. I figured that If I stopped for the light and only the light then I would be able to force myself to run the rest of the way home because the stop would have been forced by fate. But if I stopped by choice, my spirit would be broken and I wouldn't get going again, which would have been that bad considering how close I was to home. But, this was becoming a point of pride with me and I wanted to finish this run. Luckily the light didn't turn until just before I got to the corner and I got to enjoy on glorious cycle of the light including a green turn arrow before I started running again. I did the last .88 in 8:49.39 which is 10:00 min. mile pace. When I got home I was beat and dripping sweat. Hiroko had just arrived home from work described my aptly as Gross, which was not only how I looked but also how I felt. But, I had done my duty and paid tribute to the Gods of running by taking advantage of the bountiful day they had provided me.
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