I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do today. I was actually leaning towards a trail run at Jacobsburg. At some point, either today or tomorrow, I wanted to run hard. My plans were cemented when I got a message last night from Mertz on facebook asking me if I wanted to run with him in the AM.
I wanted to get done in the morning because the LVC Cross Country Championships were at 1 PM. We agreed to meet up at 8:30 AM on the Plainfield Recreational Trail. My plan was to run 7 miles and his plan was to get 5 done. He ran the Chicago Marathon under 2:50 a week ago and ran for the first time again on Monday.
This was perfect for me for several reasons. First, my weekday solo runs are getting to be kind of repetitive and stale. It isn't to the point where I dread them yet, but I'm not enjoying them as much as I once did. Plus, with Mertz there, I knew the pace would at least be somewhat fast for me. It was an easy day for him.
He told me he overslept and almost didn't make it. When we started out, it wasn't cold, but it sure was windy. I'm don't know what bothered my legs so much, but they were quite sore and dead at the beginning of the run. Maybe it was being in minimal shoes yesterday. I was back to my normal shoes today. As usual, my legs got better once I warmed up. The first mile wasn't easy though.
We ran along at what was a brisk pace for me. It was still slow enough that I could chat though. I was definitely breathing a bit hard. We discussed marathons, other races and the upcoming cross country meets among other things. Most of the way out, it was into the headwind. That didn't make it easy, but the miles were quite fast.
We were out to 2.5 miles before I knew it. I'm not a huge fan of this trail, partly because it is paved, but it sure does fly by when you are running with someone. I still checked my watch fairly frequently.
On the way back, we lost the wind and were really starting to cruise. Miles 3, 4, and 5 were between a 7:10-7:13 pace. That's not quite tempo pace for me, but it is close. I was definitely feeling it toward the end.
One thing that was annoying was the sun. It kept going in and out among the trees. Another problem I had was my new compression sleeves. This is only the second time that I've worn them. They fall right down my calves. That is quite annoying and they won't get much more use from this point on.
Getting to the last mile before the parking lot was tough, but a little after the 4 mile mark, it seemed much easier. I think that finish is downhill. I tripped on something as I was wiping my face. Luckily, I didn't twist an ankle.
I went to 5 miles and Mertz left. I continued on back out. It was one more mile out and one more mile back. That was brutal because I was no longer going downhill. My legs were beat and I dropped my pace off dramatically when Mertz left. That 6th mile slid to 7:49.
I turned around and the final mile was much better and easy. At one point, a dog without a leash was on the path. Lucky for me, it obeyed its owner's commands. That final mile was a solid 7:24.
I couldn't believe how sore my legs were after the run, especially around my kneecaps. This was a hard run, but not that hard. I'm trying to back off now. I may need to back off even more. I stretched and used the foam roller. That was some relief. Running around the cross country meet was good recovery too. I'm still so beat though.
Tomorrow, I'm not 100% sure, but I think I will go to Jacbosburg. I haven't been there in awhile or been on a trail at all for some time in fact. I'll probably do around 6 miles. Hopefully the softness of the dirt will help my sore knees. I'm also planning on attending the Colonial League Championship meet in the afternoon.
7 miles - 52:00 (7:26 pace)
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