Independence Day

I ran/walked 3 miles in 49 minutes. Not bad, not great but it does give me a new goal. I'd like to be able to do that distance in 36 minutes - which means I need to figure out how to shave 13 minutes off that time.

If you're wondering how I hauled my butt out of bed this morning to be running at 6:30, the cat decided to act as an alarm clock. She was sleeping next to me on the bed and I awoke to the sounds of her about to hack up a fur ball. I tossed her off the bed and hoped she didn't hack it up on my slippers (she's done that in the past too). Fortunately she hacked it up on the floor - so it was easy to clean up but by then I was awake and figured I might as well get the run in.

This morning was pleasant. It was 68 degrees when I left the house and about 70 by the time I was done. There was a nice, soft breeze every so often off the river and the path was quiet. I ran for just over 20 minutes without stopping - just shy of the 1.3 mile mark. I walked for about 10 minutes and then did run/walk combos as I felt like I could.

Overall I kept a 15 minute pace - there's something to be said for that. If I'm up early enough, I may try running that same distance on the road to see if there's a time difference. It seems when I run 2 miles on the street I tend to run a 12:30-13 minute pace while on the running path I tend towards a 15 minute pace. If I do the street thing, it means running up to the church and back and then a loop around the block to make the 3 mile mark. Of course I'd have to do that at like 6 in the morning before there's real traffic and people that might see me.

I'll probably try the other balance ball DVD I got from the library today. I need some good stretches right now.

Well, go off and celebrate folks as today's our nation's birthday. I'm going to a ball game (and is there anything more American than that?) - the NH Fishercats vs. the New Britian Rockcats. I guess you could say it's a cat fight. :) No matter what you call it, it's baseball and I love baseball.