MID-WEEK RUNNING UPDATE

Today's 10k

I felt pretty good after my sixteen mile run on Saturday. On Monday I did an easy 5.3 miles at running group at 8:59/mile. I was feeling pretty good at the turnaround for five miles and most of the group went onward to the seven mile turnaround, but I made myself stop at five. That was really hard to do so I am proud of myself for taking it easy!

Wednesday run group I was feeling so good I decided to turn it into a speed run. The attendance at this run was pretty sparse, probably 14 people or so, and none of the fast people. So I ended up "winning" this group run. Not really as impressive as it sounds, I averaged 8:05, but I took off during the last two miles and knocked out a 7:43 and then a 7:26 final mile.

Today's run was an adventure. I decided I was going to run a new 10k route, so I browsed around my house on Google Maps. A park marked with trails I hadn't been to caught my eye and it was only a mile away. Hyland Forest Park. Then, I found a pedestrian trail right nearby the park that was 1/3 of a mile long (kind of just wandered between people's backyards (all fenced). So I could run the length of that and back for 2/3rds of a mile. Combine that with a lap at the park (.75 miles) and you can add the distance up pretty quick.

Hyland Forest Park

The way there was all uphill, so that first mile was killer, but a good way to warm up if you just took it easy. Once I hit the park I was very surprised with how much I liked it. Reminded me a lot of Little Woodrose Nature Park by the house I grew up in. Nice narrow dirt/gravel trails through a beautiful woodsy area. Will be great for sunny days as an option to get out of the heat.

I ended up doing two laps of the park and that pedestrian trail. Wandered my way home and hit a 10k. Averaged 8:56/mile but hit a 8:22 on the last mile. Trail running always is a bit slower and I felt like I was running faster than what my time reflected. Really enjoyed this run!

On an unrelated topic, as a huge Trader Joe's fan, I found this website (www.whatsgoodattraderjoes.com) and had a ton of fun browsing the products. I think it will come in handy when I find something there and am iffy about buying it (aka every single time).