Garbage Train

I was hoping to run the Belmont cross country course, but that changed because it rained last night. I knew the grass and trails would be wet. I instead elected to run the Schuykill Banks from Lloyd Hall and then add on a short out and back to the Art Museum.

For once, I did a good job of taking it easy. I went out nice and slow and maintained that pace. Oddly, there weren't as many runners out as usual. One guy that was walking, did start running right before I got to him. I think he might've been trying to push himself. I paid him no attention though and didn't pass him before the turnaround. I easily could have though.

One thing that really sucked was that there was a train filled with cars full of garbage next to the trail. The smell was pretty bad. It's bad enough that we have to breathe the usual city air, but then you add the smell of garbage to that.

Running a slower pace than usual really did help my legs recover. The muscles worked in a different way than they are used to and thus weren't sore. It was actually kind of hot so that was a bit of an issue.

I've been drinking tea too close to bedtime lately and haven't been able to get to sleep easily the last two nights. I guess I need to drink it earlier. This problem caused me to get up later the last two days and thus battle some more heat than I'm used to.

After the run, I decided to run hill sprints on Lemon Hill. I did 5 repeats on the short, but steeper hill. The only thing I don't like about it is that the hills curve. The hill is basically U-shaped so it puts odd stresses on the legs. To counter it, I'll run the other side of the hill in the opposite direction on some days.

It is really nice because there are few cars. The hills were certainly challenging and I actually pushed hard, but not as hard as I could've. On the last one, I kicked it into another gear. I'll have to do it at that rate next time around. They definitely seemed more productive than the Art Museum hills. It would still be nice to have a straight hill though.

For awhile now, I've been weighing myself after runs. Obviously after losing water, this is the lightest that I'll be. Just for fun, I kept watching to see if my weight would drop under 160 lbs. It finally did last week. After the intensity of this week and last, it has now stayed under 160, even after eating.

Initially, I was hoping to get down to 155 lbs, thus losing 25 lbs. I'm really surprised with how fat I still am though at 160. I actually have to get under 150 lbs now and maybe even under 140. That'll happen over time obviously. I'm happy with what I've lost, but disappointed with how much fat still remains.

Tomorrow is an off day and Saturday morning will be my longest run to date. Hopefully my knees recover for the 15 miler. I'm going to try to do the final 14 or 15 miles of the marathon course. This time, I'm heading to Manayunk with a water bottle and GU gel though. I'll be more prepared than my last long trek into that town.

4.1 miles - 34:45 (8:29 pace)