Running with Jack

In preparation for my 50K race next Thursday (25th) I decided to do my Saturday morning run last night. When I arrived home from work at 4 p.m. last night it was 20C/68F and the sky was turning black, I thought for sure a thunderstorm would soon be upon us. I quickly changed and drove to Weingarten, two town’s southeast of us, where I would run my hilly route. My goal was one loop, which normally takes 1:16:00, or around 11-12K (7M).

As I warmed up the sky started to clear and the sun came out, no rain. As I started running the clouds pretty much dissipated, leaving a clear blue sky, cool temperatures, and sunshine. After a 5 minute warm-up on a relatively flat dirt road, I turned and headed up the mountain. I felt fresh and strong, fly up the twisting road and gravel paths like a mountain goat. I flew over the top of the mountain, feeling powerful and energized - when I think back to the first time I ran this route in the Spring, the huffing, puffing and gasping – I’ve come a long way!

I continued my loop, over the rolling hills, down the mountain and up the second major climb – again tackling this with relative ease. From here it was another mile or two of rolling hills, then downhill all the way. The last mile was a gentle downhill stretch, approx. a mile long, I remembered my promise to Rae and flew down this joyful, dirt-covered stretch for Brent – Happy Birthday man!

I finished the loop 9 minutes faster than normal, partly because I didn’t take the two 3-minute walk breaks that I normally do, and mostly because I was just hyped and full of energy.

On Sunday I want to run a 8K/5M loop and Tuesday a gentle 20 minute jog around the fields. We are driving to Rengsdorf, just above Koblenz, where the race is held after work on Wednesday. Thursday is Ascension Day in Germany, a holiday. We are also taking a vacation day on Friday and staying an extra night.

Have a great weekend!