On Today's Installment of Running with the Wilderness...

• I waved to a deer.  It didn't wave back.  Whenever an animal becomes aware of me, I always feel the need to wave to say hi.  The beauty of running when everyone else is still in bed, is that I get to wave to the animals without looking like a looney tune.
• I heard an obnoxious cyclist yell, "left, left, left, left..."  Since I was as far over on the trail as I could go without running in the ditch, I looked over my shoulder to see a goose honking instead of a cyclist yelling.  I'm beginning to think I'm not completely "awake" on my morning runs.
• I almost stepped on a toad.  Kudos to nature for making that puppy camouflaged to the fullest.  In this instance, it was almost NOT in the toad's best interest to be camoed.
• I think I may have been incorrect in my previous ostrich siting.  On closer review, I think it might be an emu.  Boring.

Today I had an easy 4 miles to do.  First run of my 1/2 marathon training.  WHOO!  I did 4 in 36:50 for a pace of 9:13.  

1.  9:25

2.  9:10

3.  9:18

4.  8:57

My legs were still REALLY tight, and I finally figured out why.

I thought that I was just really sore from the race, but couldn't figure out why that would be.  Then I remembered that on the walk home from the bar on Saturday to her hotel, one of Taylor's friends challenged me to a race.  Not to be one to turn down a challenge, I took off sprinting.  Of course, the hotel was much farther than we thought it was going to be, so that didn't help either.  Well apparently I haven't all out sprinted in, well, forever.  Even my "sprint" at the end of runs is really just a harder run.  I kind of wish I would've been wearing my garmin so I knew my pace, because I felt like I was flying.  I won by the way.  :)  It pays to not be a girly girl and wear chuck taylor's on a regular basis, although I am lucky that I didn't split my jeans, because those puppies are TIGHT.  Hah.

Some pics from the tourney this weekend.  This was pre-sprint to your death.  And pre-multitude of celebratory spirits.  :)