Today was my usual Friday run. I've said it a million times already, but I really hate these short easy runs at the end of the week. I dread Fridays so much. Today, the plan was just an easy 4 miler.
To try to make these runs better, I often look to go to more enjoyable locations. That's what I tried today, but it failed. I decided to head to Merrill Creek, just north of Phillipsburg. It is basically a trail around the lake. I figured I'd do an easy out and back there. The whole loop is around 5.5 miles. I didn't want to go that far.
Today was much better weather than we've had lately. I didn't need multiple layers. I was debating going without arm sleeves, but then I could feel the breeze off the lake as I changed. I decided that arm sleeves, a short sleeve shirt and shorts would be enough.
My quads were awful in the beginning as usual. Compounding the problem was the fact that the big stones on the trail make running uneven. I started off very slow. I had to try running in the tire tracks from the park vehicles for better traction.
There is a short clear section. Then it is into the woods for a bit. I could already feel a breeze in the woods, even with all the trees blocking me. My pace picked up, but I was still slow and not feeling good. I think the hard running last night took its toll.
After coming out of the woods, it is the best part of this run. You run on top of a dam overlooking the lake. That is great in the summer, today it was horrible. The wind was whipping right off the lake, making running very uncomfortable and tough. I couldn't wait to be done with this section. There are some bigger rocks there too. I saw the trail also went down below the dam. Even though that would be a climb back up, it at least looked like a good wind blocker.
Things didn't get much better when I got back into another set of woods after the dam. This was windier than the last section of woods and there were leaves, twigs and other debris everywhere. That made for slow and uneven running. Something I wasn't looking to do today. At least they cleared the fallen trees off the path.
I decided that when hit the first mile, I'd just turn around and head back. I thought I'd head down the trail below the dam and see where it takes me. I figured that if I was lucky, I could add another mile there. Maybe I could run around the roads into the parking area too.
When I got back to the dam, I went down the grass to the trail. It turned into a woods dirt trail with plenty of roots and rocks. The bigger problem was that it kept descending. I didn't want to have to climb all the way back up there. After a short while, I decided to head back. I think a downed tree was blocking the trail up ahead anyway.
Going back uphill was tough. I have my insole in my left foot, but haven't tried one in the right foot. The problem with my right foot is that my arch gets sore when I go uphill. It doesn't seem to be a problem on flat or downhill sections. It really started to bother me as I made the climb. There was quite a bit of wind too.
I hit the 2 mile point before getting back to the parking area. I just decided to cut my losses and end this terrible run there. There was no point in battling hard on an easy day, just to say that I did 2 more miles. In hindsight, taking a second day off this week probably would've been a good idea after the half marathon.
I was glad I didn't try running on the road out of the parking area. It was quite a little climb there too. I guess I need to start massaging my foot as well as my quads. The Run for the Diamonds race has a huge hill in it and my foot can't be acting up for that race.
I wish I could be patient. I did try backing off the last few weeks and that helped my quads for the race, but they are back to bothering me now that I ramped up my mileage again. I think I have to be more aggressive with my massaging and strengthening. I had problems with my leg early in the summer and that went away after my body adapted. I'm hoping the quad issue will too, but I'm not sure. It is tough because it only bothering me when a begin a run. Otherwise, I'm fine. It's more like I'm stiff than I am sore.
Over the summer, I wrote an article for the Lehigh Valley Running Scene about being patient when you come back. I wish I could be that way. I know what my comebacks have been in the past and I'm trying to push this one even more. Hopefully, I don't go over the edge. There's really no reason for me to trying to PR in everything in less than a year, trying to get up to 80 miles in my peak week and trying to break 3 hours in the marathon. It's kind of tough for me to not push though because with my health situation, I just don't know if I'll ever have problems again. Whenever I'm feeling healthy and not having Crohn's related issues, I have to take advantage.
Tomorrow, I am going to run 10 miles. The first 4 will be alone, unless someone else shows up at 7. I told Mertz that I'd like to run some fast miles with him. He suggested some splits for the 6 miles that we would do together. The final 3 miles would be 20:30. That would be a great challenge, since that's about my 5K ability right now. That is what I'm looking for. I'll just have to see what my body feels like after today's run though. Maybe that will be too much. Tomorrow morning, I'll decide what I can handle.
2 miles - 19:55 (9:58 pace)
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