Super Tired

I didn't sleep much the night before the Indy 500.  Then, last night we drove overnight and only slept for 3 hours or less.  I got some sleep in the afternoon, but I am still very tired.

I would've loved to run 20+ miles today, but I just knew that that wasn't going to happen.  I'll have to try that tomorrow.  Since I didn't run on Sunday, I had to get some running done today.  I figured that 7 miles in the evening would be manageable.

I had trouble deciding where to run at.  I wasn't up for Nor-Bath.  I didn't want to go far.  I rarely go to Plainfield, because I don't like it there.  However, I figured I could give it another chance.  I thought about napping and then running after dark.  Instead, I arrived a little after 6:30.

It was quite hot today.  It was in the mid 80s.  By the time I started running, it wasn't too bad.  The sun was peaking out from behind the trees.  I wore shorts and a short sleeve shirt.

The parking lot was fairly crowded.  I guess that's because there aren't many access points.  The trail itself wasn't all that crowded.  I mostly just saw bikers.  I guess it is a good place to casually ride, since it is sort of paved.

I started off and felt terrible.  I was just tired and sluggish.  At least most of my quads' soreness is gone.  I had both the good and bad of this trail in the beginning.  The scenery is beautiful.  Purple and white flowers were in bloom.  However, the surface just seems awful.  It is paved, but it isn't smooth.  It is kind of like a chip and seal.

I certainly couldn't complain about the setting.  In addition to the flowers, the trail goes along the creek and often crosses under it.  With the setting sun, it was nice too.

The surface just continued to bug me.  It feels like I have to work a lot harder on it.  I was running easy and glad that I wasn't pushing it.  After about a mile, it changed to smooth pavement.  I was happy about that.

I continued to cruise along.  I passed a few bikes that were heading the other way.  I awoke little by little.  Around mile 2, the trail goes under a bridge.  I saw a decent sized snake slither off of the path there.  That was a neat distraction.

At 2.5 miles, it was back onto the crappy surface.  I was looking forward to the turn around at 3.5 miles.  A cute girl that parked next to me biked past in the other direction.  She seemed pretty young.

I turned around and headed back.  The first mile was an 8:22, but every mile after that was a sub 8.  For the most part, they got faster and faster.  I was happy to get to mile 5.

I didn't have my shorts tied tight enough and they kept falling down a bit as I ran.  That was kind of annoying, but I didn't feel like stopping.  I never did fix the problem.  I passed a guy whose dog barked at me earlier.  Thankfully, now it was silent.

I continued to go easy.  I felt slightly better and better.  I tried to enjoy the scenery and block out the annoying trail.  It was a perfect evening.  I was happy to get back to mile 7 and finish up the run.

I guess I should go to this trail more often.  It certainly isn't good for me to do speedwork at, but it is fine for an easy and short run like this evening.  I will never be a regular there though.

After the run, I headed to the high school track.  Before the sun set, I got some drills done.  I'm starting to do them fairly consistently and I hope they will pay off.  I'm hoping to do some core work before bed.  I need to improve my eating and drop some weight too.

I'm now less than 2 months out from the marathon.  I need to adapt to heat in addition to all of the other things.  I want to get quite a few 20+ mile runs in.  Hopefully that will start tomorrow.  It is supposed to rain off and on, so I'd be thrilled if I can get that many miles in.

7 miles - 54:34 (7:48 pace)