(The) Joy of Man's Desiring..

The uncertainty of recent weather conditions puts me a bit on edge.
I usually run 3-4 times a week. I prefer to run in the morning.  In comfortable temperatures. Without precipitation.  Now, I work anywhere from 7-10 in the morning until 5 pm, depending on the day of the week and my patient load. Thank goodness business is picking up. That means, hopefully, I remain employed. (Medicare cuts have made my position tenuous, at best) That also means less time in the morning to run.

This morning, my usual run day, temps soared into the high 30's. I needed to get out there TODAY. But, as it would be, I stayed in bed a little later this morning. I usually wake up to WQXR, a NYC classical station. Currently, they are honoring J.S. Bach. I found that this particular morning, I needed the extra time in bed to revel in some cantatas, minuets and such. 
My first appointment, however, was at 9:00am - about a 15 minute drive away. I was also supposed to be someplace at 11:00am to deliver a short presentation in a Senior Center to extol the virtues of proper posture. (Point: I REALLY had to shower today.) 
I think the expedient nature of all this is what provided an unusual yet surprisingly amazing run for me this morning. 
Yes, with the impending fear that I would not make my first appointment on time, nor wash my stinky self   -  I ran my ass off.

It was at my 5k race pace.

Once on the road, I decided that I needed to take advantage of this higher level of anxiety and 'run with it', so to speak. Usually, I dislike having to cram a run in because of time limitations. That's why I love my weekend runs so much. I can go long all afternoon if I want.
But today, not knowing what the weather for my next run day would be, I knew I had to get out there, despite my tight schedule - and my love of Bach.

Everything seemed to fall into place - my new breathing rhythm, my foot strike - and even though I took a short walk break, I found that I was able to maintain a decent pace while 'resting' in between the: "OMG; I have to hurry up and finish this 5k" pace.

I did not reach nirvana afterwards. Nope, no runners high for me today. But I did feel my heart rate was increased for most of the morning. It's only now, blogging this, that I sense things are back to normal.

I was surprised by the results, including some of the desirous sub 8:00 pace times that Runmeter claims I hit. But I hadn't thought too much about it until my DailyMile buddies and virtual blogger friends commented on how fast I had run. 

And it's an even greater experience that people you just (kinda) met through the internet and through this great sport of running, actually know how you run and when you do something wondrous. 
And that, in itself is a beautiful, joyful thing.

Silly, silly Magellan. I did not run nor swim there.

Runmeter Data

Magellan Data