Training Run 9 - High 5

There are a couple of meanings behind my title today.

First, this was the first "official" 5 mile run of my training schedule. I like 5 miles almost as much as I like 6 - it's a good distance that can be completed at a faster pace and I felt satisfied as I pushed to the end of today's route.

Second has to do with something I read in The Stranger's ever-entertaining "I Saw U" section. Or maybe it was "I, Anonymous." In any case, this person wrote about running around Lake Union and sharing a high five with a random stranger as they ran past each other. This stuck with me - one of my favorite aspects of athletics is team-building. I enjoy the chance to play cheerleader to friends, strangers, opponents, and even myself. Something about that high five embodied all of this, and as I hit the approximate 4.5 mile marker of my run, I went past a group of three runners, all smiling, and all friendly. I held my hand up and received a high five from all of them. It rejuvenated me - I was admittedly on the tired side, as I'd spent the first half of my run battling a mighty wind and the entirety of my run battling my own expectations for pace, etc. Because of that shared encouragement, the exchanged smiles, I found it in me to keep running. Cheesy as hell, and don't I know it, but still fun and still noteworthy.

I enjoyed today's route. Since picking up this cycling habit that I love so fervently, I've come to find that running up hills and/or against a headwind isn't nearly as bad as it used to be. I think this can be attributed entirely to how much more difficult both of those actions are on bicycle. So, though I could see the wind blowing and though the sound still bothers me as much as ever, running into it didn't feel nearly as terrible as it used to. I also enjoy running along the water, especially by Golden Gardens. The sky looked like a magnificent watercolor - the clouds played with my perception, continually moving and fading to different colors, revealing something entirely new and beautiful with each change. I also debuted a new playlist, based entirely on my adoration of 1960s - 1970s (even a little bit of 1980s) classic rock. It still needs some work, but it helped me zone out a little bit, forget that I was running, and drift into my own rhythm and thought process. So, without further ado, here it is. The beginnings to my new running playlist:

1) Queen Bitch (David Bowie)
2) Jumping Jack Flash (THe Rolling Stones)
3) Be (Shim)
4) I Can See For Miles (The Who)
5) Your Time is Gonna Come (Led Zeppelin)
6) All of the Day and All of the NIght (The Kinks)
7) Rebel Rebel (David Bowie)
8) More than a Feeling (Boston)
9) Dancing With Myself (Billy Idol)
10) Tell Me Your Name (Shim)
11) Won't Get FOoled Again (The Who)
12) Get Off of My Cloud (The Rolling Stones)
13) Something In The Air (Thunderclap Newman)
14) Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie)
15) Separate Ways (Journey)
16) Foreplay/Long Time (Boston)
17) Oh! You Pretty Things (David Bowie)
18) Burnin' For You (Blue Oyster Cult)
19) Rebel Yell (Billy Idol)