I don't have a solid explanation. I did not expect it to happen. I only have a guess. But it seems plausible.
After 4 weeks of average and far less than average performances, today we ran well, not a PR, but close, and in retrospect, I think had I tried, I may have beat the record by a few seconds.
Let me back up. The week was busy and stress filled. Number 3 daughter, Jenny, was married last night. Dottie and I have been making arrangements and attending to them for the past 6 or 7 months. But last weekend, last minute chores were being assigned to me by my women folk. Every day there was something. Something I believed was to be handled by others, or I ignorantly thought a few minutes would suffice in settling the need, starting eating up every available moment and lay upon me like shiny lead necklaces I dutifully adorned.
Each chore held its secret like Matryoshka dolls, opening one to find yet another. "Can you print a little program to handout?" "Sure," I say, "send it to me." "Well, I don't have it. You'll have to just make one on your computer." "OK. send me the info then." "There isn't that much info yet." This morphed by last Monday into to me listening to 100's of pieces of music, studying the requirements and allowable variations in the order of business of a Catholic wedding, and painfully requesting the names and spelling of bridal party members, etc. By Thursday evening, I had a draft of a program and was being told by venders to give them 24 hours to get them printed, folded, and ready. Dottie and I printed them at Office Depot Friday morning and I personally hand folded a zillion card stock programs. This was just one of eleven "By the ways" I inherited!
Added on top of this was some kind of natural emotional thing which can manifest into a physical burden. By yesterday morning, I had completed all of my tasks. But I had been bled dry of emotional strength. My daughter was getting married. I cannot explain my state except, perhaps, with a knowing glance to another daughters father who has gone through the same passage.
The wedding was beautiful, fun, magical, near perfect - all went well. I awoke this morning a new man, feeling fairly darn good. Steve and I were scheduled to run at 7, like normal. I walked out the front door precisely on the hour, finding my brother Tim sitting on the porch reading my paper. (He had made arrangements with Steve last evening, unbeknownst to me.)
We enjoined with Steve, jogging down the street, and proceeded to pound the pavement at a brisk pace. From the get-go I knew it was the fastest we had run since our PR 4 weeks ago. I was delighted to feel it. I did not have the overall systemic fatigue-like feeling dragging me down. For several weeks prior, I was beginning to believe my physical state had devolved permanently to a new low. Now, I theorize, I may have been carrying a wedding on my shoulders which in turn slowed me a bit. Weddings can be heavy.
I suspect that if my brother had not popped in on the run, Steve and I just might have PR'd again today. But the run stayed relaxed and did not reach that level of intensity until we hit the last mile.
So we ran our second best ever. Didn't expect to. Don't know why. But I think it is because I woke up this morning having a new son-in-law.
https://maps.google.com/?q=http://share.abvio.com/...