Eight

I can already see I'm going to have trouble keeping up with this countdown theme I've got going on here. Reporting a nine-mile run Wednesday on the "Nine" day was rather serendipitous.

Yesterday I did an abbreviated tempo run. It wasn't on the schedule – I was supposed to run three easy miles – but I was so fired up about running a mile in less than 10 minutes that I wondered if I could set another personal record.

I drove down to the two-mile flat road [a four-mile loop], walked half a mile to warm up and took off. I punched the stopwatch when I started and then put it in my pocket until I finished three miles. I'd hoped to do it in 33 minutes, something I'd never done before. Instead, it read:

28:35:50

Get outta here! I was pumped all day. In case you're interested, here's the pace:

[I'm so grateful for those webmasters who put these running calculators on their websites. I'm also proud to say that before I thought to look for one, I was doing just fine with the calculator widget on my computer.]

I don't run today. I understand the need for a rest day before a long run, but I really feel like running today. It'll be hard to not go. Weight training just doesn't give me the same sense of satisfaction that running does, although I know it's necessary. A side note: I've been doing 30 pliés each time I brush my teeth, instead of 15 twice or 30 once. It just doesn't seem right to brush without throwing in those deep knee bends. That was a quick habit to form.

Can't think of a segue from pump-you-up running to calm-you-down knitting. So here's the knitting report.

As you can imagine, I've had quite a bit of sitting-around time at the hospital lately. Being a [mostly] one-project-at-a-time kinda gal, I've made great progress on the Sailing Pullover I started on Oscar night. All that's left to do is to pick up stitches around the lower edge and do an inch [maybe an inch and a half] of garter stitch. I tried it on this morning and it fits beautifully – not too loose, not too tight, and the sleeves are the perfect length. I'm anxious to begin knitting for our expected granddaughter, who will be making her appearance in about three months. Tempus is fugiting!

And it's fugiting right along toward race day, as well. Any ideas for the number seven?

Eight days until race day.