fastest run EVER!!!!

I didn't run yesterday.  We are having some plumbing problems at my house, and showering wasn't an option before work, so running was out of the question.  

I can't be skipping runs, this close to the race.  So this morning I got up and out there to make up for that missed one.  This is more or less against my personal policy, as I don't run on weekends.  Weekends are for bike riding!  But I decided to make this one exception, for the sake of my upcoming Bix race.

I wanted to run the fastest 5 or 6 miles I have ever run.  So I drove down to the bike path, where there are no sidewalks, no curbs, no potholes, no traffic.  When I got there, I found the "coaching" function on my Map My Run app and told it I wanted to maintain a 16 minute mile pace.  Actually I wanted to run a little faster than that, but I didn't want to overwhelm myself.  And I figured, as long as she tells me when I'm lagging to slower than 16 minutes, it will all work out.  

I just ran the fastest 6 miles I have ever run.  This makes me feel like the QUEEN OF THE KNOWN UNIVERSE! 

• Mile 2, I did in 13:19.  Truth:  I YELLED ALOUD when she called out that split time to me, and I ran with a big stupid smile on my face for maybe 200 yards (unlike my usual running face, which generally communicates either "I am zoned out" or "I am dying.")  I ran faster than that in high school - I think I ran mostly 12 minute miles and once ran in 10 something - but I was also something like 75 pounds lighter then than I am now.  That is for sure my fastest run in adulthood. 
• Miles 1, 3, 4, and 5 were all 15 something.  This pleases me greatly.  Especially mile 5, because by that point I was dying.  My hips hurt.  I just felt like I COULD NOT DO THIS.  You're wondering why, since I run 5 miles all the time now?  Probably a combination of the faster pace for the entire race..and the simple fact that I started out when the sun was already up.  It was blasted HOT out there.  
• Mile 6 was exactly 17 minutes, and I'm not gonna apologize for that. I had literally given everything I had to give.  Had pushed and pushed and pushed some more, and I just flat did not have anything faster to offer.  

I realize what I'm reporting here would not be impressive to the long-legged, skinny people out there running twice as fast as me and more.  I realize there are people out there running marathons and triathlons and Iron Man competitions.  I realize I'm not impressive, compared to them.  But compared to ME...DUDE, I AM AWESOME!!!

And:  I gotta wonder, if those people strapped an extra 50 pounds to their butt (like I carry around every minute of my life) and maybe added some nice prosthetics to their thighs to ensure they rub together, like mine do, almost all the way down to the knees, with every step they take...what would their pace be THEN?  I think I'm not doing too badly at all, with what I've got at this time.  

Here's how I really know I gave all:  I got home, got in the shower, and tried to pass out.  Seriously.  Got dizzy and then dizzier.   Got black spots in my vision.  Had my hearing go all distant and fuzzy like it does right before a faint.  I was hustling to get out of the shower and onto my bed, before I could fall and hurt my head and then die of embarrassment when someone found me like that.

But no worries.  I've been resting, drinking water, eating breakfast, and I'm now ready to get on with the rest of my day.  

Still feeling like a rock star.

HAPPY SATURDAY, ALL!!!