Slow Six

Another run, another muggy day.  I went out for a short run at 2 PM.  I decided to run 6 miles.  I headed to the D&L Trail and parked on Farmersville Road.  I've never parked there before, but I have run that section many times.

Since it was super hot, I went shirtless.  I was running mostly in shade, so that part of it was nice.  I figured this was about a good halfway point between Freemansburg and the Route 33 Boat Launch.  Normally, I park at either one of those ends.  Now, I could run out and back in each direction.

I started off heading toward Freemansburg.  I wasn't really sore or anything.  The legs just felt kind of dead and my desire to run is pretty low these days.  I started off very slow on the stone trail.

At least I was kind of relaxed.  The first mile was over 9 minutes.  I got faster after that, but not a lot faster.  There were branches all over the trail.  I guess the storm last night was pretty nasty.

There were a few people out walking and biking.  I was to Freemansburg pretty shortly.  It was very hot there, because I was in the sun.  There was at least a breeze again.  I was happy that the geese were on the other side of the canal.  I ran to 1.5 miles and headed back.

I was glad to be 1/4 of the way done.  Going back seemed kind of slow.  It was nice to get back into the shade.  I cruised along.  It seemed awhile, but I was back at my car at mile 3. 

This next part of the run was the worst.  It was very short going, out 1.5 miles, but it seemed so long.  Sometimes, I find that short runs can be harder than longer ones.  This section always seems to be a struggle for me.  I feel like I'm going slowly through here.  It might be slightly uphill.

I was so thrilled to finally make it to mile 4.5 and turn around.  At that point, I was right near the Boat Launch.  I did plan out this run great.  It was pretty much a perfect location for a 6 miler.

I headed back and it was a little better once I finally made it to mile 5.  I passed a woman that was running earlier.  I had nearly caught her before she started walking.  It was great to get to mile 6 and be done.  This run was shorter than most, but it actually seemed much longer.  The final mile (7:52) was the only one under 8 minutes.

I'm so frustrated now.  I was hoping backing off and tapering would be good for me.  Instead, I feel awful.  My body never feels fresh when I do this.  Maybe it will be better of the next 2 weeks.  I guess I'll find out.  This week is still sort of high mileage.

A short evening or night run would've been nice.  I had no energy for it though.  Tomorrow, I'll need to put in a double digit day.  Maybe I'll feel better.  I'll probably go to Riverview.  I talked to Melissa about possibly running with her on Friday morning.  She's been struggling too.

6 miles - 49:45 (8:18 pace)