Running IS NOT a fashion show!

Running the Numbers ~ Training Stats:

Training days to go: 63 (oh shit!)

Longest run to date: 9 miles 

Workout Stats:

Location: A big circle along the streets of Fort Collins

Time of day: 7:35pm

Time Running: 76 minutes

Planned Distance: 12 miles 

Actual Distance: 8 miles

But first, some thoughts on running fashion:
I like to say that I'm a runner who buys into the "hard core" or "old school" running philosophies. Those of us who follow such philosophies do not walk, we certainly don't jog, and we rarely worry about our sense of fashion in conjunction with our training. Old t-shirts, shorts that flow easily and breathe well, and shoes that have sufficient arch support and necessary cushioning are at the top of the list for workout attire. I have recently moved to wearing tank tops rather than old t-shirts, simply because they don't move around and help keep me cool. Although sports apparel and exercise shoe companies would have you believe otherwise, we "hard core" and "old school" runners are all about functionality. If it gets us from point A to point B faster than the other guy, we'll take it! 

So today, continuing with the "old school" trend and throwing fashion aside, I busted out the pigtail braids. When I wear my hair in a pony tail, it tends to loosen by the end of a long run and I'm slightly distracted by stray strands and fly-aways. When I put in the french braid pigtails, all of those fly-away strands are stuck in place and the entire braids seem to sway quite a bit less - two more things I don't have to worry about as I'm trying to pound out the last few miles of a long run. I probably look about 13, but I'm ok with it, as long as it gets me from start to finish with a more comfortable and faster run. (It's also not so goofy when worn under my running visor.)

The Run:
Fort Collins has been ridiculously hot (ok, for a Northern California girl, 85 - 90 degrees is pretty up there) and even somewhat humid, so in order to increase my chances for finishing the run I set out to do, I planned to start later in the afternoon or even early evening. I was ready to head out at 7:30pm, with no blazing sun in the sky and only a muted mugginess hanging in the air. The goal today was 12 miles, which I assumed would take about 2 hours. I started a bit late and was slightly nervous about running much in the dark, but I figured I'd get a minimum of 60 minutes in, hopefully 90, and go from there.  I figured I wouldn't concentrate on the total minutes or mileage, but instead just stay in the moment and go with the flow - something I've been trying to apply to other areas of my life lately.

Without much effort, I quickly fell into an easy pace - not too slow, not too fast - and let myself listen to the slower songs on my ipod. After about 5 minutes, I remembered that I needed to warm up and activate my hip flexors (according to my massage therapist), so I stopped quickly by a Stop sign, did a few leg swings and quick knee raises, and, before I was oggled by too many drivers slowing at the intersection (probably because of the braids!), moved on.

Overall, the run was fairly uneventful, but felt really good. (This could potentially have something to do with the extra pizza I had for dinner last night.) It felt like I kept up the same pace I set at the beginning and still felt fairly energized. I had no reason to stop. After about an hour, the sun was almost set and it was almost completely dark. In high school, I used to procrastinate on my homework by taking off for runs in the later evening, usually after dark, and ran until I couldn't run anymore. These runs would often last up to an hour and a half and usually left me more energized afterward. Around my hometown, it always seemed as though the darkness covered me with an invisibility cloak, where nobody could see me and nobody cared how fast or how long I was running. It was just me and the pavement. Tonight's run felt nostalgically similar and it seemed like as the sun set, I felt more energized, with more of a spring in my step.

I ran an entire hour without any breaks (unlike many of my previous runs), and only took a small walking break after 60 minutes when I felt my left hip start to "tweak" with every step. After a couple minutes of walking, I started up running again and felt so relaxed that I considered altering my pre-planned route to add a bit more length. After 76 minutes into the run, though, that left hip "tweak" started to get worse. This same annoying feeling was actually the culprit for barely making it to the finish line in my first marathon, so I decided that for tonight, rather than push painfully through to the end of the 2 hour mark, and probably have trouble walking for the next several days, I would end here. I figured I would also have to make sure to get in the yoga that I've been blowing off and start to make some hip strengthening exercises part of my regular weekly training schedule.

According to mapmyrun.com, my mileage for tonight's run was 8.64 miles. I'm not sure I was actually running 8:40 minutes per mile, so I would venture to estimate the total miles as closer to 8 or 8.25. Although it wasn't the full 12, it's better than putting a big old goose egg on my training log because I could have talked myself out of running after 7pm. My longest run up to now, 9 miles, was three weeks ago, so with a less than substantial training base during the week, getting in anything above 7 miles tonight was a success.

So now, I'm ready to bring on the braids, slather on the anti-chafe stuff, and run by the light of the moon.