Double Dog Dare Ya

Total: 11.2 miles

Morning:
Ran 5.7 miles @ 7:54/mile pace
Paved and dirt roads.
Very hilly.
Weather: temps in lower 30s

Afternoon:
Ran 5.5 miles @ 7:26/mile pace.
Paved roads.
Slightly hilly.
Weather: temps in lower 40s

Morning details:
Today was scheduled to be a rest day, but after seeing the weather looked good for today and not-so-good for tomorrow, I opted to postpone the rest day until then. I was out the door at 4:45am under a soft but bright blanket of moonlight diffused by a thick layer of clouds. The temperature was relatively warm and I got off to a good start.

A scary moment occurred when I encountered a large German Shepard that wasn't very happy to seem me. He barked and charged me a few times, and I quickly turned my headlamp to it's highest setting (which is extremely bright) and tried to keep the light directly in the dog's eyes. I hoped that if the dog couldn't see me well, it'd be hesitant to charge. That seemed to be case, as the dog only approached closer when he dodged my light a little and I guess could see me better. All the while, I shouted loudly but calmly "it's okay" to the dog, hoping both to calm it down and also hoping someone would hear me. Eventually I heard a voice out of view call and the dog ran towards it. Whew. Next time I run this route in the early morning, I'll carry along a can of mace that I have, just in case. I really don't want to use it, but I also really don't want to get bit! I imagine that the dog's owner was simply letting their dog out to use the bathroom, and wasn't expecting someone to be out running at that time. I've run the same route several dozen times in the past and never even seen this pooch before.

Anyway, the run went very well other than that. I also heard some coyotes yipping about a mile before the dog encounter, which is always neat to hear.

Afternoon details:
I had a meeting at one of the "sending schools" down in North Berwick and opted to run from there once the meeting was out to take advantage of the remaining daylight. I just opted to do an out and back route to get in 5.5 miles, and did so at a light pace. Legs felt a little tired but not bad. Good workout.

Though tomorrow could be a rest day, I may opt to do something very light and small, like 2-3 miles. I'll see how I feel in the afternoon and go from there.