Today, it was difficult to fit in my run. I wanted to go out early in the morning and just run in the neighborhood near my house. That would've allowed me to get done before work. The problem was that I couldn't fall asleep last night.
I worked at lunch and then the NCAA Tournament was starting shortly after that. Add on top of that that my sister was bringing her cat over in the early afternoon and I was heading to a Drexel women's basketball game later in the evening and I didn't have too many options for when to run.
I really wanted to see at least a good portion of Bucknell's game. Since I was working near home, I was able to come straight home after work. That gave me some time to rush out the door and squeeze in 4 or 5 miles.
When I was standing outside before the run, I thought it was warm. I threw on just shorts and a short sleeve shirt. It wasn't quite that warm and I should've actually had on a long sleeve shirt. I managed to survive though. It was more of the typical weather you would expect on an early spring day. There was some sun and decent temperatures, but still wind too.
I started almost immediately and began running through the other neighborhood. There aren't any killer hills, but there are a lot of rolling hills that aren't easy. Almost immediately, I was into a headwind and freezing. I had to just battle through it.
The first mile was tough. My legs were still quite sore from yesterday's run. My calves continue to bother me. The biggest concern is my foot began acting up. It almost caused me to consider quitting. I definitely need watch how much time I spend on pavement.
Most of the way out was into the headwind. It got a little better after I warmed up. Still, it wasn't fun and I had to work too hard. It was a double whammy whenever I had the wind in my face and was going over a hill. That happened a few times. The first mile was a slow 8:23.
My legs slowly started coming around with each passing mile. I did sort of enjoyed this run because I don't run the route very often anymore. It used to be a staple in my early running days after high school. Now, I just don't want to have to deal with dogs. Thankfully, there weren't any of them today. The second mile was a faster 8:01.
Between miles 2 and 3 were some of the toughest hills. The steepest one occurs in another neighborhood after crossing a main road. This one is quite tough. It is short though. Going back over the road was another gradual one. There seemed to be a lot of wind going this direction too. I think there was a lot of wind coming from the side, not just head on.
I went up a very long hill and continued to feel stronger and better. Mile 3 and 4 mile each got faster at, 7:55 and 7:46 respectively. I got done with mile 4 almost exactly at the same location as mile 2 on the Blue Eagle 5K course. That meant that I would have about a mile back to the elementary school next to my house.
The last mile flew by and I felt alright. My calf was getting sore again, but I wasn't about to stop at this point. I finished up with my fastest mile yet at 7:34. Every mile throughout the run was progressively faster. I was back in time to take on the rest of my day.
I did have to stretch and massage my calf a lot afterward. I do have to keep an eye on it. Maybe I'll have to back off a little bit soon. While I'm grateful that I don't have major injuries, all these minor problems that I seem to get are annoying.
Tomorrow, I'll have to figure out my schedule again. I want to run at Trexler. I'm definitely not going that far out early in the morning. I'll be there at some point in the afternoon. It might depend on what the NCAA games are on. On Saturday, the BCR is running nearby at the Nor-Bath Trail. Hopefully I can make it there.
5 miles - 39:37 (7:56 pace)
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