Originally, I was going to run early in the morning before leaving for Massachusetts. I decided it would be wiser to run when I got there. I knew my legs would be sore after 18 miles and driving for 5+ hours would be tough.
I got into Worcester around 2 in the afternoon. I asked the hotel clerk where to run at. He suggested a nearby park. When I got there, it I could tell it was way too small. I saw a sign for what looked like a much bigger park a few miles away.
I decided to run out of town. It was a beautiful start to the route, with some very big and obviously expensive houses. Some of them even had gates. I started off mostly by climbing. There were a lot of rolling hills. Most of the hills were uphill on the way out though. They seemed never ending and became very frustrating.
I continued to press on though, mile after mile. I kept hoping that things would eventually change or I'd wind up getting to the park. I passed Assumption College and plenty of housing complexes and woods. One complex was actually named Salisbury Hill. I didn't see how it got that name since all of Salisbury Road was a hill!
Finally after a little over 5 miles, I gave up my quest for the lake. I still don't know where it is actually at or if I was even close to it. The turnaround was a huge relief though. It was almost all downhill and my time was cut dramatically. I cruised with little effort. That was fun. It was also a lot like my marathon run will be in a few weeks.
I finally got back into town. I tried to loop around the park that the clerk told me about. The trail ended shortly though and I wound up in an apartment complex. I then headed back into town.
I needed some fluids pretty badly by this point. I came prepared and brought money with me to pickup a drink. I had only eaten some Sport Beans and salt packets up to that point. I got a Gatorade at the local market and continued on my way. After drinking about 2/3 of it, I tried running with it. It was too cold and heavy to carry though, so I threw it away.
I was hoping to run to the College of Holy Cross. Instead, I just ended up running 1 mile to 1 1/2 miles into the dumpy southern section of town. I passed by two strip clubs and a lot of run down buildings. I turned around and headed home.
By this point, my legs were really starting to bother me. Today was supposed to be an easier long run than the last couple weeks. It was a way to cut back. Instead, I ran on a lot of sidewalks and my legs to a real pounding.
Despite the soreness, I was determined to finish. As I was heading back out of town, a girl passed me on her route. I ran behind her for a bit and then passed her. She turned one way and I went the other. The path I chose, climbed uphill again. I sputtered and just focused on getting to mile 16. I finally did that and turned around. When I got back to the hotel, I still had about .7 miles to go.
I ran around downtown a little more and then finished up. My legs were unbelievably sore. They haven't taken a pounding like this in awhile. I think running on the softer Forbidden Drive surface back in Philly has been a big plus to savings my legs. I made sure to massage them quite a bit after the run. I didn't bring my foam roller along, but I did use the Stick.
Tomorrow, I'm going to head out for an easy 6 miler. It was supposed to include hill sprints, but I think I'll just run on the hills of Salisbury again. I might loop around Assumption College too. I have to get up early and get my run in. After it, I'm heading to the Boston Marathon. I plan on staking out a place around the midway point in Wellesley. I'm about a half an hour from the start. It should take be another 15 minutes or so to get to Wellesley.
18 miles - 2:22:15 (7:54 pace)
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