The last few weeks, I've been putting it off on my Friday runs. Finally, today I headed to Louise Moore Park for this short 4 miler. I said I was going to go there in previous weeks, but I wound up elsewhere. My mom wants to lose weight and I convinced her to walk there while I ran.
I just hate running there because I don't enjoy doing multiple loops. One loop is a little less than a mile, so even doing just 4 miles is over 4 loops around. There isn't anything wrong with the park per say, it is just so repetitive.
As I got out of the car, I realized I didn't pack any socks. I meant to get them, but never pulled them out of the drawer. I figured this couldn't be too much of a problem with only a short 4 mile run. I was very wrong though.
The weather was nice again. It was in the low 80s just before noon. The problem is that most of this loop is in the sun. I'd estimate 95% of it. Even without a shirt on, I was still sweating a lot by the end. That's the norm these days.
I was excited when I started because a young girl was running. I like having someone to chase down. That doesn't happen too often now that I'm not in Philly. It used to be a daily occurrence down there. She was probably a good 50 to 100 yards ahead.
Because of the girl, I started off at a pace faster than I would've liked. My legs had not bounced back yet from Thursday evening's run. They were screaming at me early. It did appear that I was gaining some ground on her, but not as much as I would've like. I was running around an 8 minute pace and I'm guessing she was at like 8:10. She was quite speedy.
I knew if I laid down a very fast half lap or so, I'd be able to catch her. I didn't want to do that though. I was just hoping I'd be able to slowly reel her in. It became clear that that wouldn't happen on the first lap. It would take a few loops.
The finish to this loop is always tough. There is a short uphill, but making it worse are wood chips that they use for the trail. That's one of the main things I don't like about the path. They use wood chips at the end and small pieces of rubber at the beginning. The surfaces are great for preventing the knees from taking a pounding, but it stinks for trying to run on. It feels like running in quicksand (I am sure that would actually be worse).
I was disappointed early in the second lap. I still wasn't gaining too much ground on the girl. It got worse though because she stopped and began walking. Suddenly my chase was over and now it was back to thinking about these awful loops.
Some time around this point, my foot began to bother me. The upper of my right shoe was rubbing against it. I began feeling sore. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal for the next two miles or so. I figured I could deal with it.
As I was finishing up the 3rd lap, I looked back to make sure the girl wasn't sneaking up from behind on me. She must've run some more because she wasn't too far behind. She was walking again though. I actually would've said something as I passed her the first time, but she had headphones on. Her walking behind me was the last I saw of her.
By the time I finished up the 3rd loop, I was starting to die. The fast early pace took a lot out of me. So did the heat. The blistering foot was becoming more of a problem too. Finally, I gave in to the foot. I stopped and adjusted the tongue on the shoe at the beginning of the last lap. That helped bring some relief, but it didn't completely solve the problem. It just got worse and worse over the remainder of the run.
Finishing up was great. I untied my shoe right away to give the blister some relief. I had a small one developing on the back of my left heel too. I've been trying to tie my shoes tighter lately to give my ankle more stability. Without socks though, maybe I should've put them on looser. Either way, I learned my lesson and won't forget my socks again (I hope anyway). If I do, I'll go back home and run later.
I'm glad the blister is just a small red spot. It didn't open up or anything. I'm thinking it should be fine by tomorrow. I am sure hoping so anyway. I have 13 miles to run then. It did burn like crazy when I took a shower after the run. I'm going to apply cream throughout the rest of the day.
Much as I suspected, this run was brutal. I can do laps at a track, but even that is a struggle. One mile loops just bore me to death. Even 4 measly miles were torture. There are 12 hour and 24 hour endurance runs on loop courses like this. I know a friend who did one. God bless him. I could never do something like that. I think I can run 50 to 100 miles, but not on the same short course over and over again. I'd just go crazy. He has a military background and you'd need that type of discipline to do something like that. Maybe you just completely turn your brain off. I have no idea.
Tomorrow will be another group run with the BCR. I'm planning on getting there early again. This time we are running the Lehigh Canal from south of Easton. A lot of it is the same path that we ran last week. I'm hoping to do 13 miles. Kelley said she'd be there this week and I'm hoping she will come early. I'm not sure if Flo will be there or not. It looks like Mertz might be coming as well. That would be great to have all those fast folks.
4 miles - 31:41 (7:55 pace)
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