FAST! and slow

I had a fantastic run today. Amazing. Brilliant. Stellar. Freaking awesome. It was just a "slow" 4 miles with the group. The grey skies kept away half the regulars, but the 5 of us who ran barely even felt the few raindrops that fell. Since our coach was home sick, that left me as the leader of the pack, and we set off with me in the lead for an "easy" 4 miles. 

Turns out my easy has gotten much faster. We dropped one guy from our lead group of 3 (don't worry, the other 2 have similar paces and always hang back- I did't abandon anyone) after 2 miles, and I dropped the other guy after 3 (neither of them finished the last mile because they got too worn out trying to keep up with me. ME!). 

I can't even explain how foreign being called too fast is. 

And, to top it off, I checked my Garmin at the end (I'll be honest- I was going to tell them they were whiny and I didn't run that fast).... and was surprised to see the splits: 9:16, 8:56, 8:47, 8:47. This may not be fast to some, but when my easy were all in the 10:30-12:00 pace last year, well HOLY MOLY!

I guess I was just feeling good after Tuesday's date night with the Husbeast, and doing yard work together yesterday (the garden is halfway in!).

And, now that I scroll back through my Garmin, my easy 3.12 miles after Monday's ab class and yoga averaged an 8:55 pace, so I guess I shouldn't be so surprised. Whose legs are these, though?

My runner's prayer right now: Please, Lord, don't let me lose all this speed because of surgery! 

Tonight, I'll be whiling away the evening working on this:

Yes, our house has multiple cross stitch pieces framed as art. What can I say, I'm a little old lady at heart.

Cross stitch takes forever to finish. I kind of love how tedious it is, since it means I get to work on a fun project for a long time (and keep my hands busy, my mind content, and myself from mindless eating). It's not for everyone, but I love it.

It also makes a great quiet hobby to keep me busy while the Husbeast sleeps. I hate his new work schedule... but at least my stitchy projects give me something quiet to do while he sleeps!