Some times plans fail.. and thats a good thing!

Last night was a night of TWO runs!  My son told me he wanted to start running with me again, so he and I headed out together! (I love running with him!  Great father/son time.)



He is still battling having a side-stitch while he runs, but he ran through it - with only two walks being necessary. He kept a really nice pace throughout, and we enjoyed ourselves chatting the whole way.  (I am looking for input on ideas to give him to help with these, if anyone out there has brilliant solutions!)

He is starting middle school (5th grade), which offers clubs.  His mother was encouraging him to join the running club (I suspect because she knows how tickled I would be), but he is really favoring the chess club.  For one they said that the running club runs around the school - and he is picturing running laps around the school.. I did explain to him that he and I run "around" our neighborhood (as in we run in the area,) and then let him know that I thought the chess club would be an excellent club.  Once I explained that I wasn't all that great at chess (he really wants to consistently beat me) and that with proper training - he will be beating me in no time, well - to say he isn't excited about chess club is an understatement.

Back to the run.  He kept it up well, and asked me if I would stretch out with him.  For my training this struck me as a perfect time to stretch, as it was after a "warm-up," and before my longer run.

I then headed out, with a plan of running down to the Crofton Parkway, do two laps (I have only done one in the past), and then head home.  To my rough calculations - it would be about 9.25 miles.  (I figured i could find a way to add .75 miles,) letting me get my weekly long-run in.  With that In mind, I headed out trying to aim for 9:30 to 10 minute miles.

Before posting my time/pace info - I have to mention one thing.  Sometimes plans don't work out quite as planned, and that is a GOOD thing.



You may notice that this isn't a statistic on a 10 mile run.  I did a fantastic job of keeping my time at the 9:30 to 10:00 minute pace I was after, and to be honest the run felt great.  I felt like I could keep going for miles and miles.

Lots of runners/walkers that I saw twice (as they were going the other way), with lots of waves, smiles and head-nods.  Though, more from the men not the women (even in groups.)  I got a late start on the run, due to working late and doing another run first, so at the 5 mile mark - Dusk  was definitely up on us.  Cars had their headlights on, and I was really aware that I didn't have my head-light.   The Street-lights in Crofton are NOT designed for runners/walkers on the sidewalk!  Despite that, I'm stubborn. I had decided to do two laps, so I was going to do two laps!

And right after I started my 2nd, my phone beeped and let me know it had a low battery.  I was not going to run after dark, with no head-lamp, on the longest distance I had run in quite a while - with a dead phone.  (I'm not saying that just because of the lack of music and proof from my GPS program!)  So I turned around and headed back toward home, while picking up the pace.  The end of my run was turning into a race against my phone battery!

I had picked it up after the phone let me know my time was limited, and it was getting progressive darker.

Do you know what happens when you hurry your run in the dark, over un-even sidewalks?   You guessed it... You trip.



I want to pause here and thank Cathy Fairbanks of Fairbanks Tang Soo Do.  Before she opened her own school, I was fortunate enough to have her as a teacher when I attended a different Tang Soo Do school.  She worked very hard trying to teach the proper way to fall. I will admit, I was a miserable student.  I do not like falling, and if I TRY to fall, I get tensed up and ruin the entire process.  But with that in mind, when I went down, I did remember what I was taught, and rolled over my shoulder as I hit.  That is why I have minor scraping and nothing broken/sprained/banged/bruised.  (It is also why I had grass stuck to me!)

So, I may be a bad learner - but Thank you Cathy for trying, it helped!

After a brief pause, I got up and ran on and DID beat the phone dying! (of course, the presence of stats from my phone is a giveaway...)

Other than the wiping out, the run itself was fantastic. It was nice and easy, really enjoyed it.  Hopefully I will get my long run in this weekend!

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So, you have seen this on the bottom of my posts, and just skipped to the next thing you have to read.  Please stop and consider this thought for me.

What is $5 to you really?  2 cups of starbucks?  Not even a lunch?  Perhaps you can follow some of the healthy eating tips above – and spare 5 bucks from the money you will save.  Please consider donating to help the homeless.  We can make a difference – and your $5 donation immediately becomes 10 dollars. Donations are processed through the Fannie Mae website, and are securely made.

Please consider donating to my Help the Homeless fundraiser for Volunteers of America Chesapeake’s homeless services.

The fundraiser is through the Fannie Mae – “Help the Homeless” walk program, which means they match every dollar you donate, with a dollar. So even a $5.00 donation immediately doubles in size and makes a difference!

If you want to read more about the good works of Volunteers of America Chesapeake, you can check out their blog!