Running With Perseverance

1. The sky was so beautiful before sunrise this morning. I know my iPhone wouldn’t do it justice, but it was an orange-pink sherbet color like this: 

(source)

 2. I usually greet other runners when we cross paths, with a smile and a friendly “‘Morning.” Today as I started my run, a woman greeted me with the most enthusiasm I’ve ever heard on the running trail. Her simple “Good morning!” said “Isn’t it great to be alive and out running in this glorious weather!” I carried that joy throughout my run.

3. This week Carrie at Family Fitness Food wrote about how sometimes she thinks about running a route that she is driving. Since I drive over the Wilson Bridge much more often than I run across it, this morning I was enjoying the opposite change in perspective. I really like this “compass” that is embedded in the brickwork at the Virginia end of the bridge.

 4. I was going to run with a friend today, but her morning schedule was too busy to fit in a run, especially with the sunrise coming so late right now. I decided to run over the Wilson Bridge because its been a while since I’ve done that route. There must be something about the long stretch over the bridge where there’s not much to look at that let’s me clear my mind. I missed my Dad, I worried about my daughter, I wondered how I would spend the rest of the weekend.

(source)

5. My route paralleled a section of the parkway where the speed limit drops from 45 mph to 35 mph. As I started out, I saw a police car pull over a car for speeding. On my way back, I say another car pulled over. Not the best way to start your weekend!

6. In my mind, this was an 8 mile route. I even ran to the very end of the path at National Harbor to make sure I heard that mile split “beep” from my Garmin before I turned around, to make sure I got in a full 8 miles. When I finished my run and was checking my mile splits, I was confused when there were more than 8 to scroll through. I confirmed that the “activity” was for today’s date and started at 7:15 am, and that each of the splits was one full mile. I checked the actual time and realized that I really had been running for 90 minutes. I retraced my route in my head, and figured out that I had mentally skipped mile 4. So, yes, I ran 10 miles by mistake!

Garmin Data
Total Distance: 10 miles
Total Time: 1:30
Avg. Pace: 9:00 (dead on!)
Split Times: 9:14, 9:07, 9:05, 8:55, 9:01, 9:04, 9:10, 8:42, 8:55, 8:49.

Do you greet other runners?

Have you ever run longer than you planned without realizing it?