Learning to Love 6am

So, this morning I woke up at 5:40 am to get ready for my 6am run. I am learning that the early morning running people are on to something. As I headed out into the darkness, it was cool, low humidity and a slight breeze. Candace pulled into Westchester at the same time I did and we got ready to start our run. I told her that I needed to do 3.5 miles today and she said that was fine with her. We struck out on our normal route and usually I feel crappy the first mile and a half, but I felt good this morning. Twilight was quickly upon us and the stirring of life began. We passed a lady walking her dog in her pajamas! That was too funny!! The only thing missing was her bunny slippers. There were a lot of sprinklers going (hasn't anyone heard that we are in a drought?!) and I had a blast running through the mist of the sprinklers. I guess it just takes a sprinkler to turn me into a kid again. We finished our runs strong, having to do a lap around the clubhouse to get in the 3.5. The pool looked very welcoming and I thought about just jumping in, but had to get home to get ready for work.

The Team Tiara training program was emailed yesterday. We officially begin on Monday, July 7. Mondays will be a run on our own. Tuesdays will be speed work with intervals and some tempo runs thrown in. This is probably what I need the most and am most fearful of. I mean, what if I'm the slowest and get lapped? (During a 400 meter interval, that would be embarrassing). I know I'm not the fastest person in the field, but God, I hate being last! I am hoping to get my HM down to 2:25, which would be 12 minutes off from my first HM at Tybee last year. So speed work will be a necessary evil. Wednesdays will be strength training (probably yoga for me). Thursdays will be a group run. Friday will be a rest day and Saturday will be our long, slow run days. This will be my first time running with a group and I am looking forward to the accountability and competition. The next 2 weeks, I will get in 12-15 miles. My goal is to go through the rest of this year injury free and be able to participate healthy in marathon training for a spring marathon in '09.

Getting my run completed early also means I get to relax in the evening. So tonight I'm going to watch stupid television shows (ie, Family Feud, Wipeout) and then go to bed early. Oh yeah, I'm also going to watch our incumbent County Council member go down in flames in a run off election.