Insanity? Maybe!

After coming off of great runs on Thursday and Friday, I decided to rest up on Saturday and run long on Sunday! I woke up without problem but was confronted with a few minor issues:

• I wanted to get started early (b/c the FL heat and humidity is brutal)
• I was running solo (nervous about starting early and the dark)
• I was having major feminine issues (sorry, I know it's TMI but it weighed heavily on my decision)
• It was raining

The normal route wouldn't work. I was already nervous about starting at 5AM b/c I was running solo .... but on top of that, the rain and "no bathroom stops" just weren't going to work. Unfortunately, this route is about 20 minutes away. I can't run near my house in the dark (not as SAFE ... I live off of a major road).

I went back to bed!

But, I couldn't go to sleep! I just laid there knowing that I needed to be running and was wanting to be running but couldn't seem to find the best solution. Waiting later really isn't an option when it's already 100 degrees at 5AM.

I got back up out of bed within 5 minutes and decided that since my scheduled actually said "Run 15 miles easy" and did NOT have any goal marathon pace miles included, that I could just suck it up and run downstairs at my little condo gym! So, that's exactly what I did.

I packed up two bottles of gatorade and headed down there! It was so nice and convenient to run that close to home.

I avoid the condo gym treadmills at all cost b/c they're not calibrated right! I don't know how off they are, but this is what I do know:

• My easy pace on the treadmill is 6.7 to 6.8mph. I usually start here for easy runs and end around 7.3mph.
• Anytime I run on this treadmill, I seriously start between 5.5mph and 6.0mph. Seriously!
• I hate running on this treadmill b/c it takes me way longer to run a mile and because I like to track all of my splits like crazy .... so I just don't do it.

So, I started ... at 5.9mph and I worked my way up to 6.9mph (which almost felt tempo-ish) but I hated the time that the treadmill was telling me AND I was actually feeling good!

I ran until the treadmill said I ran 15 miles - even though the time was only 2 minutes slower than my outside (horrific) 16 miler last week. So, even though I can't compare apples to apples, I had a great run. Dare, I even say fast since the splits don't show it.

Regardless, I ran for 2:16:48 on the TREADMILL! Not sure that I could make it a mile today. My ipod died at 52 minutes so I was entertained by Home Improvement and Sabrina the Teenage Witch! :) And, interestingly enough, no one else from my condo visited the gym during my 15 mile journey. No one! I had the place to myself!

I had a tempo on the schedule for today, but opted for a recovery run instead. I ran 7.3 miles in 1:07.