Three's Good Company

What a great day to run at East End Park. The tranquility of the San Jacinto River, the winter foliage, and the lack of urban life was exactly what I needed.

I’ve not been in a talkative mood today, which is often mistaken for being in a ‘bad mood’. Seven magical miles through the forest squeezed the silence out of me. Before the run was over I found myself being chatty. I love the way running always heightens my mood in a positive way.

Tonight’s crew included me, Tom, and Andrea. The 40-degree temperatures kept most of the dog owners at home, but a few still made their way to the park to let their dogs roam free without a leash. Early in the run I saw four large dogs ahead of us. In a last minute decision, I picked up a long four-foot stick… just in case the dogs were not friendly. Two dogs were off leash, but they were friendly, although they wanted us to stop and pet them. Tom nearly tripped as one of the dogs was looking for his attention. When the dog came to me, I GENTALLY used to stick to push him aside. The stick worked well and I ended up running with it the entire time. I probably looked like a weirdo, but I don’t care anymore. It didn’t bother me to run with the stick and I felt safe.

We started at 4:30 and enjoyed the opportunity to log some quality nighttime trail running. This will come in handily in future races.

Andrea and I left the park and grabbed a sandwich a few miles from the house. Thirty-minutes of cardio still remained to be completed, so I decided to run home and let her drive the truck.

It’s been a good day to be a runner. I ran three more miles than scheduled and I would have liked to done more.

Run:
9.05 miles
1:38:04
10:50 pace

Walk:
1.16 miles
20:29
17:39 pace

Body Weight:
196.0

I skipped the gym workout. I’ll double up tomorrow, because I want to add more back exercises. Yes, my back still aches when I run.

I’m not sure what I was thinking, but today I registered for the Rocky Raccoon 50-miler. I’ve been contemplating my ability to cover the distance for a few days. Instead of fretting over it for days, I decided to treat the registration like a band-aid and “just do it real quick”.

Wish me luck. I’ll need it, plus some!