Long Run # 4

Such a beautiful morning to be outside, its 5 am the skies are cloudy, the ground is still wet from the previous day's monsoon rain. I parked my truck at Reid Park in front of Hi Corbett field, where the Colorado Rockies have their spring training. I thought I was early on a Sunday morning, but there was already another 4 cars. The best time to run in Arizona during the summer is early in the morning. I begin my first 3 mile loop, today's goal is to run about 20 miles. I start thinking of strategies, knowing I need to run at a slower pace, so I begin with running for 5 minutes and speed walking for 2 minutes. I tend to walk really slow, so I know I need to practice my speed walk. I finish my first loop and I continued on with the second one, the second loop was non-stop, because I felt warmed up. I knew I would be finished by 6:00 am when my running group begins to arrive. Once everyone arrived we began another loop (my third) I have noticed some improvements in some of the runners, they are getting to the point where running 3 miles looks easy, its all about taking it slow, and running to the Rhythm of your Soul. Once we finished the loop, I kept running up until 7:30 when it was still cloudy, but it was getting hotter, it felt like the temperature was in the mid 80's. I finished my morning run at 15 miles. Looking at my original plan, it looks like I am one week behind schedule, and that's alright. I am taking the time to listen to my body, and working on speeding up my recovery time.