I took a rare rest day on Wednesday. With the snow and a beat up body, it was a good choice. It was much needed. I was going to run with Emily on Thursday, but it was too cold for her in the morning. That worked out well because I basically got no sleep the night before. It took me all day and night to recover from that, so I ended up taking a second day off. A lot of rest isn't such a bad thing right now.
After those two days off, I had to get out there today. I was going to try Riverview, then my friend Melissa said she was running Ironton in the afternoon. I figured that I might as well have company. I never actually met her, but we've been discussing snowshoe running on Facebook.
She was planning on coming at 3:15. I figured that I would do one loop with her. That meant I'd get out there earlier and run a loop and more on my own. I was hoping for 8 miles then, if I felt good. I parked in Coplay near the caboose.
The weather wasn't bad. It was almost at the freezing point and the sun was out. However, there was more wind than I anticipated. Still, I was fine with a the usual gear. I didn't even wear my headband all that much in the first loop.
I decided to run it in a counterclockwise direction. The start would be downhill either way. This way, I'd go through the neighborhoods first. The boring section would come later. I cruised along pretty easy.
The first mile wasn't too bad. Right around mile 2, things got interesting. There was a very icy stretch. I managed to make it over, but it wasn't easy. This would be a theme of what was to come. We've had a lot of snow and a lot of cold days, but not as much ice as I encountered today.
My pace continued to drop. I was running easy and going well under 8 minute pace. I was breathing a little heavier than normal because of the wind. I saw a guy with a Boston Marathon jacket on. He didn't look like he could qualify for it, but what do I know. He was running for quite awhile. I saw him 2 more times.
The ice was off and on. Some stretches were very clear and runnable. Others were tricky. I think my trail running experience is a huge asset on ice. I run on my toes and take choppy steps. I don't give myself much of an opportunity to slip. Even if I do, I'm hoping I will be able to catch myself.
There was one really bad section that must get no sun. It was quite long. I had to carefully navigate through there. What made it tricky too is that the ice had melted in spots and it was actually wet as well. I made it through everywhere.
Most of the trail is paved, but there is a gravel section. This wasn't too icy, but it was very sloppy. It was a lot like a normal trail run. Coming up past the kilns, it was uphill to the end of the trail. The loop is 5.5 miles.
I continued on for a second loop. I passed some walkers and they told me to be careful. I told them I was already through that section. I had a nice downhill now. I continued out for about another mile. I figured I had time to get in 8 miles total.
I headed back and finished the loop with a slow uphill. The pace was under 7:40 overall, so it was pretty solid. I had about half a mile to go when I was at the end of the path, so I ran to my car and a little farther out on the road. I stopped at 8 miles and grabbed some water.
I timed it fairly well and had about 15 minutes until I met up with Melissa. I was just hoping that I wouldn't get cold standing around. It wasn't too bad. I was looking the other way when she came from behind me.
We took off in the other direction. She was planning on 10 miles. I was looking to do 1 loop and finish up with 6 more miles, for 14 total.
Again, there was a nice downhill start. It wasn't long until we got to the kilns. Around there, it was pretty icy. I was used to the ice, but she wasn't and she fell down. From then on, she was more cautious. I was still kind of careless.
I was running about 2 minutes per mile slower than earlier, but that was fine by me. I was enjoying the company and conversation. It makes things fly by. She's had some knee surgeries, so she can't put in crazy mileage like I do, but it is good she is out there running. She is training for a half marathon.
Other than trying to navigate the ice and having some conversations, there wasn't too much eventful with the rest of the run. In the very icy sections, she would walk and I'd run ahead and then loop back. Before I knew it, we were heading up the hill and nearly done with the loop. I ran a short out and back to finish up and Melissa continued on on the roads.
After 2 days off, today was a great, productive day. I got in some quality miles and had some good conversation with a new friend. I'm happy with that, as I run alone too much.
Tomorrow, I'm going to help my friend Heather get faster. It will be a cold morning, so I'll have to watch to see how she handles some hard running. It will be fun working with her. I think she has a lot of potential. It shouldn't take too much out of me, so I'll run some extra miles later. I wouldn't mine running 13 more miles total to get to 50 for the week, but I'm not going to force it. I'll see what I have.
First Part 8 miles - 1:01:11 (7:39 pace)
Second Part 6 miles - 57:41 (9:37 pace)
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