4 miles of awesome!

Today's run had actually pretty good conditions.  It was 67F when I started.  Did you read that?  It was below 70F.  This is exciting stuff for me!  And it didn't really warm up all that much while I was running.  It was absolutely delightful, albeit still humid (85%).

I've developed some good strength in my legs.  Unfortunately, I don't think that I'm using it to its full potential most days because I'm worried about overheating.  Even today, it was a challenge to get myself to run faster because I think that my body was concerned about what was coming up next.  I once read an article in Runner's World that showed how people who trained with running had bodies that would adapt to conditions and figure out the best pace.  Your body does this automatically after some training.  Isn't that amazing?  Anyway, I think that my brain is now convinced that it needs to hold back the pace because it will inevitably heat up by 5F while I am out.  That's okay, but on days like today, when it is cooler, it would be nice to just fly.  However, I'm also trying to remember that in the big picture, it is not about flying, it is about finishing.  Slow doesn't matter.  If I want to work on speed, then I should aim for a smaller distance.  I will say, though, that in the last 0.1 mile, I was pretty amazed by just how much power I had.  Pretty awesome.

I had a 9:30 appointment, so I had to go relatively early.  Today's run was supposed to be -- and I am quoting from my schedule here -- '4M, 3 x 2:00 AI.'  The problem is that I forgot what 'AI' stands for in this situation (although I would imagine stepping up the pace).  Before heading out, I meant to check in the book that I am using to train, but I forgot and decided instead to just go and run four miles.  Thursday's run was supposed to be 4M, so I shall just substitute.

I circled around my neighborhood, which is not the same as the golf course neighborhood located across the street.  However, it still has its nice points.  For instance, there is the Big Pond and the Little Pond.  Both are connected to the Hillsborough River, which is the main waterway around these parts.  The Big Pond was especially nice this morning as the sun was just rising and the sky was pinkish.  I didn't get a picture of this, but I did get one later of the pond:

Now imagine this with wisps of mist and a pinkish sky, and that's pretty much what I saw this morning.

If you are not from Florida, then you are probably wondering if there are alligators in this pond.  If you are from Florida, then you are probably wondering where the alligators are in this pond.  There are plenty of them, including some pretty big ones.  However, I did not see any today.  Here is a stock photo (taken from my personal collection) of an alligator in the Big Pond from earlier this year:

Actual alligator in Big Pond.

The Little Pond is actually attached to the Big Pond.  It is linked with tunnels that go under the road (the road bifurcates the Big and Little Ponds).  What I especially like about the Little Pond is that I can see it from my window when I am working from home.  Pretty sweet view!  Anyway, here is the Little Pond:

The Little Pond.  Still not bad.

If you're curious, yes there are also alligators in the Little Pond.  This was the pond in which I saw one a couple of weeks ago.