Conflicting Thoughts.

05/07/09
Thursday

I didn't run yesterday and didn't plan to but felt like I should have. I ran today, I planned to but I wasn't sure where I should put the intensity or milage.
I want to run friday because the weather is supposed to be sunny, yet if I do, should I run again Saturday (which I originally planned a long run of 1.5 - 2 hours.)

That is why I hate tapering.....too many decisions and too much to think about. Should I, shouldn't I? What is the best to guaranty the freshest mind and body for the 50k?

Problem, is there is no right or wrong answer, only variations of each.....

On the way home, I thought about what my run should be. I wished I had brought my stuff and stopped at Pineland for a trail run.....but I didn't. I wanted to do about 6 or 7 miles and planned a pretty easy pace (even though I knew I would not be happy with the pace when I logged it on my running log)

It had stopped raining but looked like it could still drop some moisture from the sky at any moment. When I got home I dressed for the run and remembering Tuesday night I decided to layer up to be sure I was warm enough.

Well, of course I over dressed as the temps were a lot warmer than Tuesday. Not so bad that I had to strip some layers but enough that I felt the heat building. I left the house with no real battle plan other than to start slow and just run whatever I felt until I decided to stop.

That is surely a dangerous way to go for a run when in taper because one can easily fall into a run that becomes more of a workout. I started up the road at just under 10 minute pace and actually enjoyed the easyness of it.

I cut off the road to the "pit loop" which is one of my favorite trail close to my house. As I ran up the pit road, I glanced to the left at a fairly large gravel bank. It seems everytime I run by there, I look at that bank and the same thought crosses my mind ...."I would like to climb that some day"...yet I never do as I don't want to interfere with the pace I have settled into.

Today, I suddenly veered left and started climbing the steep soft gravel wall. It was harder than I imagined and my feet were slipping in the soft material. I finally made it to the top and sitting right there in front of me was a trail.

This was amazing, what a find! It is hard to believe I have been running here for years, I have spent many runs exploring and looking for new trails yet I did not come across this one. I followed it to the right first to see if it connected with the trails I normally run.

I was suprised to find it dumping right onto my normal trail. That is unbelievable, why have I never noticed this trail. I turned around and ran back up it to explore the other direction. This trail was not very wide and aparantly was a deer trail, but was quite prominent and easy to follow.

As I followed I came across a fork and decided on going right as that was the direction of my original trail with the hope that it intersected somewhere which would allow me to incorporate this trail into my normal loop. I like this loop as it is a bit more technical, has more obstructions and changes up the mix a bit. Well it did! I was so suprised as this was a second spot where this trail connected and I never noticed.

What a great run today! Though I was noticable tired the whole time, I got in a pretty good trail workout and found a new trail at the same time.

5.5 miles (mostly trail)
53:23 (9:42 pace)
Splits: Reverse tempo???
9:20
9:44
11:08
11:20
9:54
7:20 (probably pushed a bit too hard at the end with a kick of 7:01 and 11mph)
.5 mile cooldown walk
Total for the day 6 miles