Since I didn't finish the marathon on Friday night, I could jump back into running fairly quickly. I traveled and took Saturday off. On Sunday, I found a new trail in Phillipsburg. I just hiked that one, but since it was long, I ran here and there.
I decided to go for my first run after the marathon attempt. I was busy looking up trails to run for later in the week, so I didn't get out the door until the evening. It poured right at dinner time. Luckily, it was dry and the sun came out before my run began.
The rain did cool things off. I wore a sleeveless shirt. It became hot eventually and I took it off during the run. Really, I couldn't complain about the weather though.
I decided to just head to Riverview for a short 4 mile run. I actually ended up starting from Hugh Moore Park instead. I'd go out 2 miles toward Easton and the come back.
The legs felt crappy in the first mile. I thought maybe they'd be a little sharper. I did push fairly hard on Friday night I guess. Maybe I could've used more time off. The opening mile was a slow 8:52.
I had no care about pace anyway. The legs began to slowly come around, as I headed out. It was nice to see the canal full again and equally nice to not see any geese. Although I looked at my watch too often, it was still a relaxing run. That's exactly what I intended it to be.
There were a few bikers out on this normally quiet section. I saw a few walkers as well and even another runner. Shortly after the overhead train bridge, I was at mile 2 and the turnaround point. I ran that mile at 8:12.
I was slowly getting faster with each passing mile. I heard a dog bark from across the river. That was weird because there don't seem to be any houses over there. I just cruised along and enjoyed the nice and relaxing and uneventful run. Mile 3 was an 8:03.
At one point, I looked down and couldn't believe how much the pace had dropped. It was well under 8:30 overall. I thought maybe the satellites got messed up with the cloudy weather, but when I finished, it was at least very close to where I started.
I came back into Hugh Moore Park. The park had a few people, but was kind of quiet. That final mile was under 8 minutes (7:48).
I was happy with this short and simple run. Although I can bounce right back from training now, I want somewhat of a break. For the next two weeks, I decided that I'll run when I want and take off when I don't want to. I'm setting no distance/mileage goals. I want to mentally refresh and reset myself in time for fall. If it's nice weather, like this week is supposed to be, I'll probably run more. If not, I'll just rest. I would like to get a short, fast effort this week.
Tomorrow, I don't have a plan of course. However, I'm leaning toward traveling to some trails. I might go to the Scranton area or maybe even New Jersey. I want to enjoy the run if I do run. That probably means that I'll be on more trails these next two weeks.
4 miles - 32:56 (8:14 pace)
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