An inspiring birthday present

My new inspiration board

Wednesday's run (treadmill): 15 minutes
Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

This has been quite a week, especially the last three days, and I'm truly thinking: TGIF. I was proud to receive a nice industry award on Wednesday night and my wife and kids came into the city for the event. That, combined with an all day meeting, made for a very long day. In anticipation of that, I limited my Wednesday morning workout to 15 minutes, so I could get some additional rest that morning.

Yesterday was my birthday and my wife surprised me when I got home, with a board displaying a selection of my race bibs from over the past three years. She included some finish line pictures as well. I'm going to put it up in the guest room next to the treadmill for inspiration. What a great present!

This morning I returned to the road and covered my usual route, taking about the same amount of time as I normally do. I didn't push myself too hard, but the run felt faster than the actual elapsed time. I plan to go out for 12 miles tomorrow so I was careful not to strain anything today. Two more weekends to train for the LI Half. This Saturday should be my longest run prior to that race. I'm hoping for clear skies and cool temps in the morning.

Three cheers

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles at 9:38 per mile

It has been an interesting week already. Two of my colleagues have left my office floor, one permanently and the other for a few months. My friend Sedentary Man is moving to another division located three floors down from mine. Happily our paths should continue to cross and while I'll miss my neighbor I benefit by having a great new neighbor (and dedicated cyclist/runner), FS, who will be taking over Sedentary Man's department. Also leaving this week is Adventure Girl who is doing graduate school research in the northwest this summer. I'll miss SM and AG but I'm excited for their new opportunities and experiences. The other big news is that last night Mrs. Emerging Runner was honored to receive a national PTA award as a life member of the New York State Congress of Parents and Teachers. This was a big surprise and our kids were very excited to go up with her as she received the award. Even after that late night she was back on the treadmill this morning at 6:00 AM!

Speaking of early mornings, I somehow made my way outside at 4:00 AM for my daily run. I was also tired from the long day and evening's activities but I used my sleep-like state to ease me through the workout. Halfway through my 2.5 mile run I started putting a little more speed into my stride but my overall pace was, well, sleepy. I'm not sure whether I'll run or elliptical tomorrow, I'll see how I feel in the morning. I'm hoping to do a noontime run in the city with my friend Steve on Friday to end the week. Next week I'm traveling again which presents another chance to run in a different city. My schedule will be very tight on that trip so a run is unlikely but you never know.