Day 41 (Nov. 10)

On the training plan for today: 5K time trial. Being a super-slow runner, I wasn't terribly excited about this. But, since I'm in Kansas visiting family, friends and a Kansas State football game, I could run it on my own and suffer any humiliation internally and non-publicly.

My dad took me to a trail that I tried out the last time I was here and found to be fairly non-hilly for a Kansas trail. Yeah, everyone seems to think Kansas is flat. They are wrong.

My dad decided to ride his bike from the 1970s with me as I ran. He let me get a head start, and I started off fast (for me). Things were quiet and cool, and I felt really good (I think my mega stretching after the painful Tuesday run did wonders). After awhile, I heard a rattling behind me that I knew had to be my dad's rickety 1970s bike. It was kind of nice having him behind me – not because of the noise, but because it was a push to keep going.

I turned around when my Garmin got to 1.5 miles. I got to a good turnaround point, and I figured I'd make up the extra 0.1 mile at the other end of the trail. I was still surprised at my speed (I just feel silly using this word), but I kept it up because I felt pretty good.

I never really mention my time (because its ridiculously slow), but I'm really happy about this. My 5K time trial result: 32:04. This beats my most recent best 5K time by almost 2:30! I realize an average 10:20 pace is not really something to brag about, but it's a huge improvement for me. And for this extremely slow girl, it's actually pretty fast.

Oh, and I found out why my dad's bike was so noisy: he couldn't get the kickstand to stay up, so he rode 3.1 miles with his kickstand dragging the ground.

Day 12 (Sept. 4)

I’m still in Kansas, and I need to run 5 miles — my long run for the week. I hit the Shunga Trail, which really rocked (aside from those portions where they were replacing sections of the trail and had blockades and no trail).

It was a cool day (a breezy 70 degrees). Yes, 70 is cool for me. If you’re used to dealing with 90 degrees with 100% humidity, you’d find this almost chilly. And, this made running a breeze. I guess all those people that kept telling me that once it cooled off running would seem easy were right!

I went 2.5 miles in one direction and turned back for the remaining 2.5 miles. I walked a few portions (those mentioned portions with no trail and blockades). I also walked a few sections that had an extreme uphill portion to come up from under a road — extreme uphill could be an exaggeration, but when you’re used to flat land, any hill is extreme (or so says Jina). I tried running them, but I swore I was just making the running motion and staying in the same spot.

This trail took me through neighborhoods, soccer and baseball fields and wooded areas. It really was an enjoyable way to see the city.