A good number of the other Trail Monster gang opted for a Halloween race last night, so the group was relatively small. Stephen, Mindy, Tim and Lilly were present though, and we had a great time.
I don't know what it was exactly, but fortunately I felt really "on" during the run. I'm not sure if it was because I'm still more trained for this type of terrain and pace than I am the roads, or if I was simply having a good day. Perhaps a little of both? Regardless, it was nice to have all cylinders firing. Granted, we didn't go very far or were running very fast (a pretty normal pace for me for these trails), but still, I felt I could have kept going strong with no problem.
The heart rate verifies the good feeling. It was on par with previous runs here (post-edit: was still a little on the high side, but not to the same degree as the previous two days). Nice to see that happening. Now the key is not to push it, like I did post-Vermont 100. Today perhaps was a sign that I'm recovering, but I'm likely still far from recovered.
And if the run going well wasn't enough, the company was even more awesome. At the risk of sounding conceded, I swear that if we recorded our conversations during our weekend runs, we'd have a hit podcast on our hands. I feel lucky to run with such an entertaining and intelligent group.
Great to see Mindy out there who is ramping her mileage back up after an injury, and she looked very strong out there today. And looking ahead a bit, Stephen has agreed to be my pacer again at the Western States 100. I have also agreed to be his pacer for the Massanutten 100, should he get picked in the lottery (knock on wood that he does). Lot's of great stuff to look forward to!
Run was followed up by all of us having a huge breakfast afterwards at Stone's Cafe, along with Stephen's wife Kelly and their two kids.
Ran 8.2 miles @ 9:26/mile pace.
AHR/MHR - 145/166
Trails.
Very hilly.
Upper 30s to lower 40s, mostly sunny.
Shorts, long sleeved shirt, short sleeved shirt.
3 comments:
Ian, Jim and I decided to run at 10:00 instead of 8:00, but we couldn't do the river valley loop or oak hill side of the trails since there was a dry land dog sled race and a college cross country race going on. Still fun, got 15 miles in.
It's hunting season already? Arg. Glad to hear that you are feeling strong out there.
What a fantastic run today. Glad to hear that you were feeling great and the recovery is going well. I am still on cloud 9 from my short run today and finally being back on the trails with friends.
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