It's early, but mild success so far this week

Where does the time go? I can’t believe it’s Thursday already.

The good news is I am already at double my running mileage this week compared to last week after running Monday and Tuesday after work. Monday I went back to a path I hadn’t visited in a while. At the end of last year, there were a few attacks on female runners and I have been apprehensive about running those routes alone since then. I stuck to a well-populated area and didn’t see anything fishy, and it was nice (well, kind of) to run some of the very few hills in southeast Michigan again. My usual route’s elevation gain is something like 10-20 feet.

Tangent: It infuriates me that I have to alter my routine out of safety because I am a woman. I have been researching self-defense classes and group runs, and otherwise running close to home and/or with my dog or husband. But honestly, it’s a giant load of BS. OK, that’s a rant for another day.

Tuesday I ran what I’m going to start calling “rage runs.” My day got lousier as it went on, I didn’t find what I needed at the grocery store, etc. etc. etc. By the time I finally went out for a run my blood was boiling. I headed out a bit faster than usual and decided to sustain it as long as I could or for an hour, whichever came first.

I ended up holding pace at just faster than 9 minutes per mile, which is pretty good for me lately considering I can’t even remember the last time I did any actual speed work. I just wish that pace didn’t feel so difficult. It seems like an eternity ago I was seeing anything that began with a 7. It makes me a little sad, but this is where I’m at right now. If I keep working at it I’ll get faster. If I don’t, I won’t. It’s running, not rocket science, right?

Yesterday (Wednesday) I worked a very fun but VERY long day, so I had no time to do anything else. Tonight (Thursday) it poured rain and thunderstormed all afternoon, so I got on the trainer and played with my new bike toys again. I was dripping sweat after an hour. Whew!

It's still fun, so I'm going to go with it.

I'm hoping to run tomorrow after work, although I don't have a good track record with Fridays. Saturday I have a family event and Sunday is a friends event, but I'm hopeful I can fit in some running and riding around the gatherings. The weather will be on my side.

Let's see what the rest of the week has in store.