Track and Trails

First, the track. Tuesday both Clagget and the high school were in use and we didn't want to drive to Root to check there, so we headed home. Mrs. P went out for a run and I tried to get caught up on stuff. Bummer. Wednesday I was able to meet up with a small group for some 800 repeats. They were doing 9, but started before I arrived so I only managed 5. I was worried about what kind of times I would be able to maintain after a long vacation and was pleasantly surprised to land 3 out of 5 under three minutes. My splits were: 3:14 / 2:55 / 2:58 / 3:05 / and 2:53. Not bad at all considering the time I had taken off and how hot and humid it was that night. I plan on getting in a longer workout next week.

After speed work was over, we met up at Fiesta Jalapenos for dinner and margaritas. I can't say no to margaritas right now. They're my new favorite drink. These were tasty, but a little too sweet. I might need to try the next level up next time. I can do without the sweet-and-sour mix. A good margarita shouldn't need any mix at all. Just juice and alcohol.

Last night was trail night and I was all ready to head up to Hinckley to run for a couple hours. The problem came in the afternoon when the line of storms finally arrived. I was watching it approach for a couple hours, but it really sped up around 5:30. It hit us pretty hard with driving rain and gusty winds. Fortunately not much lightning and no hail. Still, I was glad to be in the house and not caught outside in it.

So a change of plans was in order. Ladd and I decided to meet in town at Reagan Park and run the mountain bike trails there. I knew of their existence but never considered running them before. I'm glad I tried them out on foot first before hitting them with my bike. They are very advanced trails and have more ups, downs, and turns than the single track in Hinckley. They were also pretty slick in spots, making planting a foot in the turns hazardous at times.

I ran for about 20 minutes before Ladd arrived, getting in only about a mile and a half. Then we ran for over an hour and a half on both sides of Reagan Parkway, getting in a little over 9 miles. All told I had 10.8 miles in 2:02. Those were some hot, humid, and tough miles. My right foot began giving me some problems about an hour and a half in. I don't know if it was the socks, the shoes, or just not running on trails in a while. I also noticed my ankles were bothering me. Those trails were so rutty and hard, maybe I was just getting beat up a bit. Although, I'm not terribly fond of the Brooks Cascadias above a certain amount of mileage, so I may have to look into finding some trail shoes that feel more like my road shoes. And I'll need to do that before the Bobcat Marathon.