In the unforgettable words of Han Solo....

Don't get cocky.

I'm in Boston and had my first run by the Charles today (yay!).  Boston is a running kind of town.  It is almost impossible to be somewhere and not see someone running, which is great.  You see all kinds of runners: ridiculously fast ones, slow ones, beginners, old people, the works.  Today I even saw a family of three.  It is inspiring.  Plus, the Charles is super nice because you can run right next to it.  Mind you, in places it is not so great since it's also right next to two major arteries (Storrow Drive and Memorial Drive) -- plus the Mass Turnpike.  But life could be worse than looking out over a river while you run, plus there are nice shady trees pretty often.  Sometimes you even see rowers (disclaimer: I used to row.  I loved it more than almost anything).

Today was four miles.  Because it is not so killer hot/humid, I really let it rip on the first mile.  This was a big mistake because while it was not *as* hot/humid, it still *was* hot/humid and I had to slow the pace down quite a bit for the remaining miles.  But the important thing was that I ran a fast mile!  Much faster than any pace I've been able to maintain for a while -- a full 2 minutes faster than those brutal runs last week.  And the moral of this story is that heat makes you run slow.

I am staying right next to the Charles by the exit for the Turnpike.  Today I made it to the MIT Bridge.  The plan tomorrow is to pass that, get to the Esplanade (that part they show sometimes on Cheers with all of the sailboats), hit the killer hill (or 'killah hill' as the locals would call it) up Beacon Street, go through Boston Common, and finally go to Commonwealth Avenue.  This is about as scenic a run as you could do in Boston, I think.  Although considering that I am from Florida and I live in a region with zero hills, this run might do me in!  Good thing that Friday is a rest day.

At the same time, I don't want to get cocky.  It still can get hot here.  So I need to pace myself better because the rest of the run was less fun than it could have been. Here's hoping that I can stay steady and not let the hill beat me.