HH5210 mod: 6-3

5 miles in 48:37 (9:43/mile)

Yay! First time I've run 5 miles!

I decided to run today instead of this weekend, because I've got alt least 7 hours of driving on Saturday, to go down and help out my mom. She broke her ankle on Monday, and is not weight bearing for 3 weeks. I'm going down to check on her and bring her dog back to our place. It's hard to walk a dog on crutches, and she has no fenced yard.

Running long at work meant a new route, since I'm not sure if the trail under the Fremont bridge is open yet. I'll have to run up to the bend on Monday instead of turning right around and check it out. The new route was all sorts of interesting... :)

I don't think I've mentioned before that my work runs are around/near/beside Lake Union. This run went up the East side of the lake, up on Eastlake and Fairview to the University Bridge.

So I'm running along Eastlake, about 6 minutes in, and apparently I didn't pay enough attention to the map, because all the sudden my sidewalk goes down 15 steps to a dock a foot above the lake, goes a hundred feet, then other 15 steps back up. Nothing like creative sidewalk management to make things interesting for everyone. :)

Then as I turn onto Fairview I realize that there are essentially no sidewalks for the entire run. Ah well. About the time I realize that I run through a cloud of epoxy or paint fumes that almost takes my breath away. Mmmmmm, toxic fumes. :)

At about mile 1.5 I turn to jog up to Eastlake for a second. Holy crap, it's a hill, and not a small one, at least for me. Where did that come from? I really need to pay more attention to the map, and use that elevation map. A few blocks once I'm up on Eastlake then back down to Fairview, holy crap, I swear this is 45 degrees. Nelly, that was interesting

Finally I get to the Bridge after another small hill and the turnaround is right under the bridge operators station. I'm feeling like I've got a pretty good case of vertigo running on the edge of the bridge, and seeing water 80 feet down flashing by as I run.

I must have been hungry, because I swear I ran by 10 restaurants , and they all were pumping out amazing smells as I went by. The oddest sight had to be the 'terrorist runner' who blew by me as I was coming back down the hill after the bridge. Except for his shoes he was all in black. It was about 55 out, I was out in pants and short sleeve shirt. He had on Tights, shorts, insulated shirt, balaclava, and then one of those scarf things with everything but his eyes covered, and black gloves. Very odd. I'm hoping he was training for a hot weather run somewhere.

No aches and pains during the run, but my left calf and shin were twingy, and I'm feeling something new in the outside of my left lower leg too. Some RICE tonight, and then I'm going to make sure I go down to the Balanced Athlete and get a second opinion about my shoes next Tuesday.

splits:
(approximate only, first time I've run this route, and I missed the mile 2 marker by 350 feet or more. The button was clicked at the same place on the route each time though.)
mile1 - 9:32
mile2 - 10:15 (where did those hills come from?!?!?!)
mile3 - 9:38
mile4 - 10:08 (those damn hills again)
mile5 - 9:02 (ahhh... blessed flat ground)