Start time: 04/17/06, 8:00pm
Location: Arlington Boulevard Trail
Distance: 2 miles
Average pace: 8:43min/mile

So the original plan was that I’d go running this morning when I got home from Pennsylvania, then head into work after lunch. What actually happened, though, was that I got home later than anticipated due to a number of reasons, and the temperature had dropped to 45 degrees and raining. Brrrr. So, very tired from getting up early (in fact, earlier than necessary based on the other people I was driving home and their general poking around) and then driving all the way back, I figured I wouldn’t run at all. Then two things changed my mind.

The first was that it not only stopped raining in the afternoon, but the temperature began to rise. I was walking over to pick up dinner (having no energy to cook, I’d decided) and was marvelling over how it was now 60 degrees at 7:30pm and what a great evening it was turning out to be… and then I saw him. The Perfect Runner. Seriously, folks, there’s no other way to describe him. It was a guy out for an evening run in a sleeveless white running shirt and black shorts, and an absolutely perfect body. And as he effortlessly glided by (and I tried not to trip over my own feet as I stared in awe), I suddenly felt fat and lazy and lame.

So I went home, put my dinner aside on the counter, and got dressed to go running.

Except, of course, I was still tired. So while I had 2-, 3-, and 4-mile routes mapped out, as I finished up the first mile I was already starting to feel seriously pooped. And by the time I got back to my starting point (at which point I could’ve gone out for a third or fourth mile) I was ready to drop. Good intentions and inspiration can only take you so far when you’re just plain wiped out. So I decided two miles was better than nothing and stopped. (8:15, 9:10) Now at first I was feeling a little less than thrilled, both in terms of pooping out after just two miles, as well as having a less than spectacular second mile. Then I remembered that I used to run 2-milers for my weekday runs back in 2001, only I would finish each mile in (yikes) 16:30. And I’d just run two in 17:25, and without needing to stop and walk. So while it wasn’t my best day, it was still good. And now I’m really quite happy with that indeed.

I have really got to remember to get a new battery for the watch half of the GPS unit tomorrow, though.