Back in the Burg

After a great and surprising mile night run on Wednesday, I decided to head out to Jacobsburg for some more.  It was great weather and I really looked forward to running the trail.  I was hoping to run a mile and a half, but managed to stretch it even further to two miles.

I ran a mile out and back.  I started across the road from the parking lot and slightly uphill.  I was feeling good and knew I'd be able to run over a mile.  Since I was feeling so great, I kept going.  My pace was good and I wasn't breathing too hard.

Coming back was certainly tougher.  There were some very difficult hills, but luckily they were all short.  I hit one at a mile and a third and just pushed through.  There was another one at 1.6 miles.  I almost quit at that point, but I knew the rest was downhill.  I definitely didn't have another hill in me.  I cruised through to the finish.

It took me a long time in my comeback last year to hit two miles.  When I first went to Jacobsburg, I could only run 12 minutes straight, now I ran two miles straight through.  As long as I don't have any health complications, I should make much greater progress this time out.  I might even actually be able to run the Quadzilla.  That is a long way off though.  For now, I'll be happy to take it run by run.

I am definitely going to run more trails as I start up this time.  They provide the hills that I need to get stronger and my legs won't take as much of a pounding either.  I'll probably run in Jacobsburg a lot it.  The hills aren't as challenging as a lot of the trails around here, but it is a good way to start.  The hills did make my hamstrings very tight, so I'm glad I didn't run too much. 

I'm very happy and surprised with my progress.  I can't wait to run more.  I might run tomorrow, but more likely I'll take a couple days off.

2 miles - 21:19 (10:40 pace)