I know that these miles are supposed to be slow. I know that today is “listen to your body” day. I also know that after the first mile I was running in the dark on a two lane road without shoulders or sidewalks, and had to jump into the grass a few times when cars came by. Still - they were slow. And I was all sweaty at the end of them, even though it was only 86 degrees outside with no direct sunlight (although there was 70 percent humidity, which sure didn’t help).

Anyway, I did a similar loop to my last five miler, changing up the last mile or so just because I felt like it.

Time: 8:50 - 9:36 - 9:34 - 9:43 - 9:39

That was slower than last time, with the exception of the first mile. I started at 4/4 for about half a mile, then varied between 3/3 and 3/4 breathing for most of it. Total time was 47:24 for five miles, for a 9:29 average pace - right about what it was last time, in worse conditions. I hope that’s a good sign, because this time out certainly didn’t feel spectacular in any way, shape or form.

Maybe I can blame it on the heat this time? Last week’s run was just as humid but ten degrees cooler, which may have helped my breathing. That’s the only theory I can come up with right now. I can blame some of my speed on the dark conditions (I should be doing 9:15 pace on these runs), but I don’t think that can explain the fact that my breathing slipped from 4/4 to 3/3 so quickly.

Still, I got the miles in, and that’s what counts at this point.

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