Yesterday was a terrible 8 miles. Although it was hilly and that slowed me a little, I just felt like shit. The legs were awful, and even though it wasn't hot, I didn't feel great. I've backed off this month and haven't felt any better. It's been frustrating, but things changed today.
I considered running in between lunch and dinner orders. However, I didn't want to be rushing to get it done. I decided to do it after the last order. That ended up being after 6 PM. I had not eaten dinner myself. I had a couple bars to get some calories in me.
I decided to head to the D&L in Cementon. I haven't run there in awhile. It's also often nice and soft after we get rain (which we did). I thought it would help my legs.
The weather was pretty nice as the sun was setting. I still ran shirtless and was sweating at mile 1. However, I can't complain at all. I'll take this weather in the summer any time. Since it was an evening run, it got cooler as I ran along.
I started off and was very disappointed in the first mile. I felt like crap again. The legs weren't sharp at all. I was thinking this trail wasn't helping much. Still, mile 1 was an okay 8:27.
I just moved nice and easy and tried to enjoy the run. I actually had not looked at my watch until I heard it click after the first mile. The next time I looked at it was after that second mile. My pace was picking up by then and I was feeling better. That mile was 7:50.
I was trying to figure out where the turn around would be. At first, I was remembering the 4 mile point as way out by the horses. Then I became much happier when I realized that that must be 4 miles from Cove Road. I didn't have to go out that far. In fact, I wouldn't be going too much farther than Cove Road.
A lot of people were out biking and walking. There were quite a few runners too. At the first trailhead, I passed a family that was walking. Shortly after that, a guy on a bike went by. He said something like, "you are moving pretty good." I didn't think I was, because I was going easy. That was a big boost though. I guess my pace wasn't too bad, since mile 3 ended up being a 7:25.
Overall, I was getting faster. I just tried to be consistent though. I didn't even notice the house with the dogs. I was in such a relaxed state. I came to Cove Road near mile 4. These early miles were just zipping by. Mile 4 was a 7:19.
Now, I had some gradual ascending. I didn't lose much time though. I felt sharp and still was only going slightly faster than easy. I wasn't breathing hard at all. I was only slightly labored. I came to mile 5 and turned around right before a bike passed me. That mile was a 7:22.
Right after turning around and before the biker went by, I noticed something running at me up ahead. It was coming up the trail and then darted into the woods, before the biker got there. I'm not sure he even noticed it. I couldn't tell what it was, but it was about the size of a medium dog. I thought maybe it was a fox, but it was too far up ahead to tell. Needless to say, I gave it plenty of room when I went passed that section of the woods.
I continued to cruise along. I went downhill to Cove Road. Mile 6 was a slower 7:26. My overall pace was 7:41 at the turnaround. It would continue to drop and drop.
I felt good and counted down the miles. I was looking forward to getting to mile 7 and then of course 8. I passed the family again. Mile 7 was a 7:12 and mile 8 was a 7:06.
I was feeling good and so happy. A very attractive, slightly older lady ran by the other way about this time. That didn't hurt either. I watched the overall pace go under 7:30. I never planned to run that fast for this run, but I was running well with my planned effort.
I ran mile 9 at a solid 7 minutes flat. I guess maybe I was pushing slightly at this point. I wasn't trying to, but it was probably happening naturally. I was thrilled to almost be done. It was nice to be completely in the shade too. There was some sun earlier in the run.
Someone smashed a computer monitor on the trail. That was kind of disappointing to see. I cruised on in and finished up with a 7:05 final mile. I was very happy.
I hope I can have more runs like this as it gets nicer. I can't wait for the fall. I hope to be even faster. It would be nice to feel good again. If it doesn't continue, at least I had one good run this week.
Tomorrow, I'm definitely going to pick up Bill's camera. I'll run some trails at the South Mountain Reservation around there. I'm also hoping to head to the track for a bit of a track workout in the morning. That would be a great day.
10 miles - 1:14:11 (7:25 pace)
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