Wednesday, October 30, 2013

October Recap

I turned in my final run of the month this morning. October is quickly coming to a close. Runners tend to love October and I am no exception. I LOVE October. The leaves. The cooler temps. The races. I love it all. This October, I stayed true to my workouts, cleared the hundred mile mark, and am just a few days away from half-marathon #4 with Meg and #8 overall!! I ran under the morning stars and watched the sun come up about a dozen times, and wound my way through the city's parks every Saturday afternoon.

# Workouts: 17
# Miles: 103.1

The most memorable of my runs was definitely the peak speed workout, a warm-up, 4x1 mi @ 8:15 with 800m recoveries, and a 1 m cool-down. It gave me a whole new appreciation for people who can hold that pace for 13.1 or 26.2.

This workout was also memorable because of an encounter I had during it. Everywhere else I've lived, runners greet each other, usually with a small head nod. Here, nothing. NOTHING. Except this old guy who I see walking in the park nearly every morning I run there. He almost always says "hi" or "good morning" and responds when I do the same. The morning of my mile repeats, he yelled, "you're fast!" as I went by in the opposite direction. It's such a small gesture, but was so appreciated. He said it again during this week's (taper version) speed word (5 miles, with 3 miles 15 seconds faster than race pace). The next time we passed, I told him that he wasn't doing so bad himself. It feels so nice to feel like I'm a "regular" at the park! I'm also slowly getting to know local races and am id'ing running groups I could meet up with. Running is one of my favorite ways to get to know a new city. :)

I fly out on Friday and the Raleigh City of Oaks Half-Marathon is Sunday. Wish us luck!!!

4 comments:

Suz and Allan said...

Congratulations on hitting the 100-mile mark for this month and good luck this weekend!

Jen Feeny said...

Gooooooooood luck girl!!!! You've got this!

Jodi H said...

Great month! Now go and rock that 1/2!! I can't wait to hear all about it!

Raquelita said...

Impressive mileage! You are totally ready to rock that half-marathon!