Had a nice, easy run on Wednesday. Legs felt pretty good—a touch sluggish—after the previous day's run, which aside from Mt. Washington, had been my longest run since Pineland. That's kind of lame, but it was necessary. As I continued my search for mojo, I also decided on Wednesday to avoid what has become an all too familiar loop and ran out and back on the powerlines. Nice change.
Yesterday was the final week of the Trail Running Series at Great Glen Trails. I needed to run in order to qualify for the prize raffle (6 of 8 weeks), but I was raring to go, anyway. I wanted to put in one last hard effort. It was raining...hard. I warmed up and felt fairly crappy. Well, not crappy, just not sharp. The rain lessened slightly as I started my "race," but increased in intensity as I ran. I was very pleased with 80% of my effort. The mud and the puddles made it treacherous in places...and by treacherous, I mean fun. Since I was soaked instantly, I barely noticed the rain, and generally had a great time just working it! I didn't back off on a single uphill, which was really what I was looking for. I took chances on the downhills and covered a lot of ground. However, the 20% I wasn't thrilled with are the flats. It's pretty clear that I haven't done any speed work. I really just couldn't get up to any kind of "top speed." Well, I did have a "top pace," but it was no where close to "speed." I finished in 27:39, which is only a couple seconds slower than my fastest on that course, which is a pretty tough 3.5 or 3.6 or 3.7 miles. Had the conditions been drier/firmer, I'm certain I would have been about a minute faster...ah trail running. But, I'm not complaining, it was a good run, and I'm pleased with the effort.
I'm thinking about one more 5k workout next week before the Bradbury Scuffle next Sunday. I'm looking forward to the race, but I wish I had more speed under my belt. Oh well, it will just make it hurt more.
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