Woot.
So last week I applied the winnings I got from summer bowling league to buying a new Timex ironman watch. Not really winnings so much, since it's kind of a refund of weekly dues, although I did get a $14 prize for having the 2nd highest handicap score game. I took the watch with me to the short run I did at the township park that's near where I work and has a paved loop that covers .82 miles. Because of that, I've done lots of loops there back in 2007 to 2010. The loop has posts set every tenth of a mile, so today I looked down at the watch as I loped by easy-like since it was hot and I wanted to run easy, looked down and saw that the first tenth of a mile had been covered with 51 seconds showing on the watch face. Yikes. In the past, I've only run that fast when it's wonderfully cool and I've been fully trained and cranking up for a speedier sort of loop.
But there I was, running easy, and the first tenth of a mile had clocked in somewhere under 52 seconds. It's a little downhill, so it's not really 8:40 pace, probably something like 9:00 pace. And so I cranked along and was rewarded with covering the loop in 7:21.75 or 9 mm pace. Easy. I wasn't stressed for breathing or legs, although I could feel the heat. I'd imagine if it had been cooler today I probably would have shaved some time off that. Then I ran a half-loop more and said that was good after doing 3.5 miles yesterday and the fact that I was already dripping sweat after 10.5 minutes of easy-paced running.
My running log tells me that I've had very few loops covered under 7:21.75. And I've only ever had one sub 7-minute loop. I could have run one today.
I earnestly believe that barefoot running has been teaching me proper form and building springiness into my legs. It's making me faster. That's pretty damn cool. Now bring on the fall weather.
Then all drunk on my new running awesomeness, I pulled off the Xeros (still waiting for that nick to fully heal) and walked back to my car. I tossed them on the car roof while I got the door open. After starting the car and AC and cooling it off some, I headed for home.
Headed for home until about 2 miles away I realized I had left the Xeros on top of the car. At a stoplight, I quickly rolled down the window, reached up and felt nothing there. I pulled into a parking lot and turned around and then watched the road carefully as I traced my way back.
When I got back to the park, still hadn't seen them off in the road or anything. But I'm thinking, shit, they're gone, I was stupid and they're gone.
But nope. Fortune smiled on me again today and they were laying in the parking lot, just a short distance from where I had been parked. I picked them up and went home.