7 on the 7th

Running is one of the easiest activities to pursue...all you need is a pair of running shoes (well, may be not even that) and some time. Of course, it's nice to have cool running gear and really neat to have a supportive online community of runners to sustain you and keep you company through long, lonely runs.

Which is why I jumped at Run to the Finish's idea of 7 on the 7th Virtual Race. Run 7 miles on Feb 7th; any time, anywhere.
My plan these past few weeks has been to inch up the mileage 1/2 mile at a time, to avoid the risk of injury. But, by Thursday, I was up to 5 miles and thought, why not? I would have attempted 6 months on Saturday anyway. Why not an additional mile?

As it turns out, I felt very very lethargic on Saturday morning. I had had a week of little sleep, so I woke up at 11 am, and had I not signed up for this, I would have just gone back to sleep.

But once I got myself out of bed, I was eager to get started. This would be a stress test...I had not run 7 miles in more than 2 months. I had planned to run at a nearby park, but didn't want to waste time driving to the park. Scenic runs would have to wait. The temperature was in the low '40's and breezy...thankfully, there would be no frozen body parts today.

My target time: 1 hour 10 minutes. Relatively conservative. I started slow, and was able to increase my pace a little as I ran. I felt a little creaky, as is to be expected after an injury. But I enjoyed myself and was able to complete in 1:08:40. Not bad at all.

I clicked a few pics of my regular route. Nothing spectacular...in fact, it looks more picturesque than it really is. But I love running in the familiar comfort of my neighborhood. I took these pics this morning. Yesterday, most of the neighborhood was still covered in snow.

The local park

My favorite spot...a little brook

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend. I am off the the gym for a swim (ha, I'm a poet!)