Bah

After an unintentional rest day yesterday I had a satisfying workout with the Look Better Naked crew this afternoon.  Lots of squats, lunges, full press ups and crunches.  After work I ran a blisteringly fast (like, holy heck fast) Kelburn loop.  A tall, athletic guy passed me on the flat through Kelburn and I made a mental note to keep an eye out for him on the downhill.  He was a bit faster with his road crossings and I lost sight of him until he ran out in front of me by the university.  He must have stopped for some reason.  It was game on by that point.  

I didn't get past him but I sat on his tail about five metres behind right until he crossed the road again and I lost him on the Terrace. He may have turned down Boulcott Street.  Now he was about six foot and was loping down that hill pretty easily.  I felt like a demented chihuahua running after him.  My feet were turning over incredibly quickly and in my mind my ears were flapping behind me and my tongue was dangling out the side of my mouth, just like an over-stimulated little dog attempting to chase a car.  Ironic really, because I'd nearly tripped over a similarly sized dog in Kelburn when it decided it wanted to sniff at a tree to my right. It was a close call whether I was going to trip over the dog or its leash.  Thankfully I managed to slam on the brakes quickly enough to avoid doing either.  The dog's owners were more than a little embarrassed, poor things. 

Anyway, there I was going too fast down the hill to check the Garmin. It was all I could do to remain upright, but it felt good to be letting loose and I gave myself permission to be reckless just this once.  I think at one point I may have noticed something in the low four minute km's, but I didn't get a really good look so can't be certain.  All I know was that I raced up Glenmore and that my overall pace was excellent.   

I kicked it just a little more as I headed up the last slight rise to the Terrace gym.  I'm not going to lie, it felt fantastic to be running at speed again.  It gave me hope of running a couple of fast half marathons this year!  

Afterwards I was telling Dave that I wanted to run another marathon in the first half of next year, and he suggested the Mountain to Surf in New Plymouth.  It's fast, the timing's right and I can stay with my parents in Stratford.  Sounds perfect!  Anyone else care to join me?  

Oh, and I think I'm getting a cold.  Crud.  Definitely getting a cold.  Ironic really, when I was so careful to stay away from sick people after the race.  Looks like I let my guard down too soon ...