Running with Jack

My uncle always used to take out his old Lincoln Towncar about once a month and barrow down the N.Y. Thruway at speeds that would make your knees weak! He would always say, "Yep, gotta clean all that carbon out of the exhaust!"

So as I headed out the door to run my 14K/8.7M loop, I decided to burn out some carbon, or rather burn out the congestion that I’ve been hit with the last day or two. I didn't have any fever, wasn't coughing much, so decided that I wasn't in too bad of shape.

I cranked out the first kilometer, at a 5:30/K (8:51/M) pace. The second kilometer, ditto. The third kilometer about 5:00/K (8:03/M), whoa where’s the fire! By then I was heading over a muddy path separating some fields, then on to a dirt path following the edge of a forest – I stopped looking at my watch and started watching the trail so I don’t twist and ankle or fall over a tree root.

I made my way along the edge of the forest, eventually turning and coming back through the forest on the other side. Shortly before exiting the forest I passed the 10K point, 51:34!

I was getting a little winded, but then I felt the first raindrops splattering on my face, so kept going, finishing with an average pace of 5:10/K (8:19/M) for the 14K/8.7M run! It definitely cleared the sinuses out :-)

So I'm feeling pretty good as I write, but we'll see how I feel in the morning. I’ve already decided to move tomorrow night’s run to Thursday to give my legs a chance to recover. Tonight I want to get to bed early – sleep is the ultimate healer.

So Thursday, same route, but at a slower pace. On Saturday I want to run 2 – 2 ½ hours at marathon pace, but only if I manage to keep this cold on the run ;-)

Oh, Saturday it’s supposed to snow again, can you believe this?