start of monday the 9th -12 mile run

gail called before 6am and after that call i headed out. was warm enough already and i headed north on the trail. decided to let my legs and the weather dictate the day's run, but wanted to go easy enough to get some low level speedwork in on tuesday. today could be a bit of a test for the right kneecap. still not sure what happened unless the pace and longevity of the 5k race pace over stretched it somehow. it started the run feeling stiff, but no pain while running.

went up the trail until the 5 mile water fountain which wasn't working and turned south. down by the three mile marker i ran into my friend barbara and ran back to her house with her. then turned and ran the streets doing the long alden road loop and over to ft hunt park. ran a loop there and tried to get water but no fountains were working and the bathrooms were locked up. all strange for this time of year. down to the trail i went and the fountain there wasn't working either.

turned south on the trail towards mt vernon. ran down until i knew i could turn and have 12 miles in when i gt home. was really pretty warm by now and i wasn't at all tired though i was thirsty. still i plugged along trying to keep the heart rate down. as every runner knows the heat and length of the run thickens your blood and drives the heart rate up if you stay out long enough. know as heart rate creep, it can be fun if you are trying to keep your heart rate at a certain percentage- on days like this that would typically be 70% or a little lower. i was able to do that mostly except on any hill. that seemed to drive the heart rate up even if i slowed down.

still it went ok. not many runners out but loads of bike riders. i saw two woman walkers carrying two water bottles each and doing curls with them as they walked. i ran a few quicker striders to stretch out the legs a bit and used the shade spots on the trail as my markers, a shady sort of fartlek.

and then finally home ran a little down west blvd to make sure i had the distance in and then at home rode 10 miles on the lifecycle as a cooldown. not a bad workout given the heat, lack of water and the 10 mmiles i ran yesterday. and noticed that i got stronger as i went, a good sign.

back later for more. will be interesting coming back home. not sure exactly how yet but i know i am coming back a different person than i left. not sure if that is good or bad yet. will be interesting to see how this plays out.