So I set out to do three miles easy at about 9 min/mile pace to get good and warmed up although the third mile was faster than planned at 8:36. I then started in on 800 intervals. Not my favorite but it had to be done.
I did the first one pretty slow and kept it around 7:15 pace. I think I was worried about burning up all my energy too early. It felt good though, so I kicked the next couple up to 7 min/mile pace and those felt good. I took each one progressively a little faster until I ran the last two at 6:40 pace and while I was sucking wind at the end I felt great!
I didn't have my Garmin officially set up in interval mode so I didn't get an official breakdown, but I did 8x800 with 400 rest recovery in between and then a mile "cool down" at 7:57 pace. My legs were kicked into fast mode and didn't want to slow down.
The run was a great confidence booster.
The worst, most shocking thing about my run. (Sorry no pictures of the actual event)I routinely see deer and lots of them on my runs. I see them jump fences all they time. They are pro fence jumpers. They do it all the time.
Yesterday I witnessed a jump gone bad. The deer, a doe, jumped the fence but something went terribly wrong. She mistimed it, miscalculated I don't know. One minute she was in the air and the next struggling on the ground.
I thought maybe she got tangled in the wire and started to call my husband to come help cut her out of the wire. Then I noticed it was worse. Her back legs were no longer functioning. She broke her back in the fall. She was there struggling on the ground trying to get away from me and my dog, but unable to.
She finally put her head down. I couldn't help but take a moment to savor my own legs. Healthy. Strong. Functional. Scary how fast life can change. One minute soaring, the next struggling, confused, and in pain. She was later put out of her misery. :(
What is the worst thing you have ever seen on a run?
Sounds like your actual run was great. That is terrible about seeing the deer. I suppose the one good thing about having witnessed it hopefully her suffering did not have to go on for too long. :(
ReplyDeletethis brakes my heart...I would have lost it.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, that is awful! I have never seen anything like that, thank Goodness.
ReplyDeleteI did see a squirrel fall about 15 feet to the ground trying to make a jump from one tree to another, but he got up and ran away so it wasn't too bad a result.
Oh man! A great run and then that! That's awful!! I would have gone home crying.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I've seen anything bad on a run. Knock on wood!
Oh no, that makes my heart hurt just thinking about having to see something like that. I am just glad someone took care of her, because who knows how long she could have laid there like that.
ReplyDeleteI'm such an animal lover I probably would have started crying if I saw that. I haven't seen anything like that on a run.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your speediness!
What a great run and then what a sad sight! I would melt into a puddle of sad goo if I'd seen that. I am sorry you had to see it, but glad you did since it probably got her put out of her misery more quickly.
ReplyDeleteI agree with cynthia, probably would have started crying if i witnessed that too. i guess the positive is that you were more appreciative of your own body
ReplyDeleteI would have run home crying. I feel more compassion for animals than people at times. :( sorry you had to witness that.
ReplyDeleteCanadian geese take over the path I run on and sometimes I don't know if I should turn around or go around them. They can be very aggressive...
Way to go on a great run. I was seriously chocked up thinking about that poor deer. So sad!
ReplyDeleteOh, I am so sorry you had to see that. So sad:( I don't usually see anything too bad on a run. About a month ago I heard a big crunch sound and saw that someone had closed their garage before their car was all the way in. That's about as bad as it gets for me.
ReplyDeleteOh, what a terrible thing to see on a run :(
ReplyDeleteI would have run home crying and not left bed all day. I know it's nature but seeing something like that would be hard on me!
ReplyDeleteAwesome run by the way! You've got some speedy legs!
Ug, I hate it when stuff like that happens. I mean, it's better to put her out but...silly deer! I am glad you had a good run otherwise. Isn't it nice when it all comes together and just feels good!?
ReplyDeletedid your hubby shot her?!?!? poor doe :(
ReplyDeleteshoot.* one time I saw a squirrel like that on the road (only back legs run over) and while everyone went around ti - I did the right but gross thing and drive right over him :(
DeleteOh that breaks my heart. I'm thankful she was put out of her misery.
ReplyDeleteGlad your speed is there and the run was a success despite what you saw :(
So sad. I had a very similar experience years ago on a bike ride. I came across a doe on the side of the road that had been hit by a car and was paralyzed. Same thing--she was trying to get away from me. I called animal control and they had to put her down. I was riding away on my bike sobbing!
ReplyDeleteAwesome 800x Christy!! I think you are right on track with your training and I am excited for you to start adding speed to the routine. So so sad about the deer. I have such a soft spot for animals and that just truly breaks my heart.
ReplyDeletethat is so terrible about the deer! it would have been so tough for me to watch her suffer :( a very great run though friend! good job pushing yourself!
ReplyDeleteGreat run- so sad about the deer, though :(. I have never seen anything too bad on a run luckily.
ReplyDeleteSo sad about the deer. All I ever see are things like dead squirrels. It's pretty urban here.
ReplyDeleteNice job on the speedy run! I'd love a "cool down" mile that was sub 8...
that poor deer. i can't stand watching animals suffer!
ReplyDeletemy heart is breaking for that deer...
ReplyDeleteBut so happy that you can go so fast!! I see your run times and I am amazed!! I have only been running for about a year and my pace is pretty slow still. I average about 12 minutes when I run a half marathon. So I would love to be able to run around an 8 minute pace.
That breaks my heart about the deer. I saw something similar once. I was on my way to work and one ran across the road in front of me. She went to jump over the barbed fence, but her leg caught on one of the barbs. She was pulled with all her might and couldn't pull her flesh from it. :( I was afraid she was going to break her hip she was pulling so hard. I tried to get close enough to see if there was anything I could do, but she was kicking wildly with her other back leg. I couldn't do anything, and I didn't have anything in my truck to cut the wire with. I did the only thing I knew to do--I called law enforcement and asked them to get in touch with Wildlife Management for help. I'm not sure what ever came of the situation. They either freed her or put her out of her misery. When I came back by on my lunch hour she was gone. I felt so bad... I kept thinking, "If I hadn't come this way, I wouldn't have scared her and she wouldn't have jumped that fence." But I'm glad I saw it happen. It's a low-traffic road and even if anyone passed by, they probably wouldn't have seen her for the brush. She would have just laid there until she died of thirst or until the coyotes got her. :(
ReplyDeleteOh poor dear. This breaks my heart as well. I see tons of deer on my runs. They do outrageously graceful jumps and stand on their hind legs to pull apples from trees. What a sad freak accident.
ReplyDeleteVery nice speed work. A confidence builder for sure.
Oh what a poor creature!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those moments that reminds me how much of my running is urban/coastal. I've seen plenty of whales and dolphins. Eagles and ospreys... but not many deer and no animal catastrophes (unless you count seeing osprey eating fish -- that's a bad day for the fish). Most of the bad things I've seen have been people-oriented (like bike accidents).
Oh, no!!! That's terrible! Did you put her out of her misery? What does one do in a situation like that?
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your speediness! Your "recovery pace" is "MAXISPEED PACE" for me. :)
ReplyDeleteSorry about that deer. I am out in the country too and see quite a lot of deer activity. Once, a doe was grazing with its head poked through a fence. When I came closer, it got nervous and tried to run away from me. It kept yanking its head out through the fence and it just won't happen. I was so worried that it is gonna strangled itself. So, I just ran back in the other direction and hoped that would calm her down and she can get her head through the fence. I watched from afar to make sure it happened. And yes. She got loose and went about her happy way.
Love nature.
What a hard thing to witness! I'm glad you made sure it was taken care of later!
ReplyDeleteMan you are sooo speedy!! Congrats on a killer speed set!
ReplyDeleteSo bad it had to end in such a horrible way. That is a tough thing to witness. So Sad.
Oh Christy, that is horrifying!!!!!!!! So sorry that you had to see that :(
ReplyDeleteAbout a month ago I was on a bike ride and there was a herd of deer jumping from a horse farm that was on my left to a corn field on my right and the last deer miscalculated the jump and completed flipped herself over and landed on her back. She was so confused when she got up that she took of running after the others and almost ran into my bike. It was crazy!!
ReplyDeleteI see a lot of deer too, but I haven't ever seen a horrible jump gone wrong like that. Poor thing! She's in deer heaven now.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you've had a lot of great runs in the last few days (I've been a slacker on reading blogs). Your race is going to be awesome!
oh, that's so sad : ( I once came across a deer that was lying dead on the side of the road after it was hit, luckily a car stopped to take care of it.
ReplyDeleteoh that made me so sad, but glad you had a great run otherwise.
ReplyDeleteSo sad. Maybe the bright side is that you were around to make sure she didn't suffer too long. So sad.
ReplyDeleteThat is horrible to hear about the deer, but I agree with others - I am glad she did not have to suffer as long as she may have. Still, how sad and odd that a deer would miss a jump like that.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your run! Seeing that happen would really make me grateful as well - I can relate!
oh no! That story about the doe just horrified me. I have such a heart for animals. I used to think I should work with them, but I'm too sensitive to their pain. I don't know if I've ever seen anything bad on a run...thank GOD!
ReplyDeleteI've seen that happen too. Well not actually saw it, but i've walked up on a dead deer laying by the fence and knew that something went wrong. The worst was last year we say a dead coyote caught on the fence. like he tried to jump it and got caught. it must have been horrible. I'm not a coyote lover, and you know we're big hunters, but I hate it when any animal suffers like that!
ReplyDelete