6 miles of fun in Boise!

I wasn't sure if I'd get a run in while on my trip but I had brought my running gear anyway. This bag is just the perfect size to keep all your gear in.

On Saturday I woke up and drove to the Boise Greenbelt. (From my house there it looks like it's a 10 min drive away). I wore my running tights and a short sleeve with a long sleeve over it. I got hot during the run so actually had to take off the long sleeve! The sun was out and it was beautiful. The Boise Greenbelt is 23 miles long and runs parallel to the Boise River; on both sides, with bridges along the way so you can cross over to each side. There is also multiple parks connected to it and as well as the Boise Zoo. I used to live right off the greenbelt and I would ride my bike with my little guy in one of those baby bike seats. When he was older he would ride his bike and I would walk the dog so we could go play at the park. The greenbelt is also along the Boise State University campus so when I was going to school and working there I would walk or ride my bike from one end where I worked to the other end where all my Health Science classes were (about a mile apart).

Here's some of the pics I took of the run....

You can see a runner on the far left of the pic. I saw lots of runners, a few with their dogs and they were all friendly and said hi as I ran by!

BSU campus along the greenbelt

The blue turf and BSU Stadium. Can't wait to go to a game it's been too long!

I crossed over the bridge to run on the other side.

View from the top of the bridge

I ran with no music.. well the music was these guys all along the belt making whatever noise it is they make. I was just hoping they didn't attack me as I was running by like a cat did as I ran down 30th last time. Which I can't believe I forgot to mention in my 10 Miles of Awesomeness post! Well the cat didn't really attack me but it was sitting by a fence opening and as I ran by it reached out it's paws and whacked my leg as if it was trying to trip me!

Overall the run was great! I only took pics during the first two miles when I was warming up then put the camera away and just enjoyed the run. I wanted to stay at a 9:05 to 9:10 pace. Mile 1 was at a 10:08 pace and mile 2 was at a 9:16 pace. Miles 3 and 4 were at 9:06 and 9:08 pace. I felt good so I didn't pay attention to my watch until it beeped at the next mile and said my average pace for that mile was 8:37!! I was very surprised because I still thought I was running somewhere at a 9 min pace! I decided to speed up a little to see how I felt and finished mile 6 with an average pace of 8:25!! I still felt great and not winded or like I was running fast at all. This makes me want to run a 5k and set a new PR!

My overall pace was 9:07 and my time was 55:09 for 6.05 miles. I guess I need to start pushing myself a little more to see what kind of speed I am capable of! But I give credit to the speed and hill workouts I've been doing the last couple of weeks. That and the majority of my runs lately have been without music for part of the run if not for the entire run so I can focus more on my form and breathing. I also figure it's good training to go without music since at the Portland Marathon my ipod died on me cause of the rain somewhere after mile 16.

The sun came out at the end of the run and I stretched then headed back to the house to get ready and spend the rest of the day with my family who lives about 25 min away from Boise.