After a comfortable run last night, it was another fairly easy run this morning. It was supposed to rain all day with some thunderstorms, so I had to be creative when I ran. I looked at the weather map and it appeared that the rain would be slowing down right before noon. Originally, I was thinking of going to Louise Moore Park for this 4 miler. I didn't like the idea of running over 4 loops though. Instead, I opted for fairly close Mill Race Park and the paved trail along the Bushkill.
I wasn't sure what to wear. I brought all my shoes, but actually elected to run in my Karhu shoes. They are too narrow, so I usually just walk in them. Since it was raining, I was afraid that my shoes might not dry out in time for tomorrow's long run. I'd like to wear one or maybe even both pair of my good shoes then, so I needed them to be dry.
I was also unsure of what type of shirt to wear. It wasn't cool enough for a jacket. I thought about going shirtless, but I think it was too cool for that. I opted for a singlet and that worked out well. I actually wish I had a hat to keep the water out of my face.
I started off heading south toward Penn Pump Park. This is a nice path along the water with some trees all around too. I should run here more often. The main reason I don't is that it is short. The whole path makes for 5 miles of out and back. That's not bad for an easy day though. There are usually a lot of people walking, running and biking on this path. Today, I was all alone. I guess we found out who really wanted to workout. The only person I saw at all was a guy walking in what looked like work clothes.
I was wasn't completely alone. Around 1.25 miles into the run, I spotted something on the trail. At first, I thought it was a big dog, but I didn't see any people. As I got closer, I realized that it was a baby deer with its mother. They were right in the middle of the paved path. It was odd because the area is fairly populated. There are some small wooded sections, but not much. It is certainly not where you'd expect to see a deer.
I got pretty close and they just stared me down and didn't move. They could've ran the direction I was running, but there were rails on the side that I'm not sure they could've got around. I'm sure if I got closer, they would've just run off. I didn't want to mess with a mother and its young though, especially in a section where it could've been cornered. I turned around at that point. After a little while, I turned back toward the deer again.
When I went back through that section, I never spotted the deer. I doubt they went far, but they probably were hiding pretty well in the brush. I ran through there cautiously. Before I knew it, I was at Penn Pump Park and the turn around point. They are putting in a nice pedestrian bridge there right now. I hope they will eventually extend the trail south from Penn Pump Park as they have been planning for years.
My legs felt fairly good. Going easy yesterday helped them recover well I guess. There was still a little soreness and my right foot bothered me some. I think that I was more due to the shoes that I'm not used to wearing. My hips seem a little tight lately, so I need to work on those before it becomes a problem.
I didn't really intend for this to be a progression run, but it sort of turned out that way. Every mile was faster than the previous one, with the last mile fairly quick. For that one, I didn't work any harder. I just concentrated on keeping good form. That caused me to go under 8 minutes to finish up. I tried relaxing throughout the run, with some success. I could feel my cheeks flap when I was really relaxed at one point. I need to work on keeping less tension in my face while running. That's what the best runners are able to do.
This was a decent run. I like the Friday runs because I have a short recovery from the previous run. That allows me to work on bouncing back. I had just run 18 hours earlier. It should also prepare me for two a days that I plan on running in the near future.
Tomorrow, I'm going to run 11 miles with the BCR. I can't decide if I want to go early or run later. I'm hoping to run with the faster folks in the main group and hang on as long as I can. If I go early, I'll have a nice warmup before doing that. The downside is that I might have to wait around a few minutes before they start. I hate stopping once I started a long run. Of course the other downside is that I'll have to get up 45 minutes earlier too. Getting up for a 7:30 run is difficult enough for me, especially after not sleeping much last night. If I add miles after the main group run, then I won't be warmed up and will have to start out fast. I also will definitely have to miss breakfast in that scenario. I probably won't make a decision until tomorrow.
4 miles - 34:18 (8:35 pace)
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