Music Mantra

Run: 9.2 miles in approximately 1:18:00 min. @ 6:08 p.m.

Pace: roughly 8:31 min./per mile avg.
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 56°F, 72% Humidity, Winds: From NW @ 6 mph; feels like 56°F
Course: a slight variation of the Hart Highland 8.16 route (loop, mixed flat & hills, roads) I found on USATF’s Map It!

Comes the morning
When I can feel
That there's nothing left to be concealed
Moving on a scene surreal
No, my heart will never
Will never be far from here.~"No Ceiling" by Eddie Vedder

Probably the slowest paced run I've done since... well, since I began keeping track. In many ways it was a conscious effort on my part to s-l-o-w down, and without a timepiece, it wasn't until about seven miles in that the increasing number of headlights on the road and diminishing amount of traffic gave me a clear indication that perhaps it was a tad later than I had thought.

During my run, three thoughts took turns floating in and out of my mind: 1) "relax and pace yourself," 2) "I am here, breathe one, breathe two, I am moving, breathe one, breathe two..., and thirdly, the lyrics at the top of this post from the new Eddie Vedder solo cd, a soundtrack to the movie Into the Wild, which I have been listening to quite a bit recently.

In two days, my training plan calls for me to run 22 miles, followed by 10 the next day. Saturday's run will be the longest to date and I am going to attempt to use what I did today--less of an emphasis on speed at a slow, even pace--all with a song in my head...

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!