Yesterday I ran a fast paced five miles on the Ossipee River Trails with Kevin following on his mountain bike. I normally run alone, so company on the trail is always a treat. I really enjoyed the run and ran faster than usual. We spent the afternoon pricing things for home repair projects and then went to the pub for a few beers and some nachos.
Today, I ran loops on the Ossipee River Trails for about 18 miles. The conditions were perfect for running, mid fifties with a light drizzle. Kevin was working on trail maintenance down there and I passed him several times, asking "what time is it?" each time because I felt like I was moving fast today and wanted to confirm it. I also took a few sips out of his water bottle each time I met him on the trail. I have come full circle as far as running gear goes. Up until about ten years ago I ran my long runs with a cheap Casio watch. Suddenly I felt the need to complicate things. I upgraded to better and better watches, added an MP3 player to my long run gear, exchanged my hand held water bottles for expensive hydration packs, added a heart rate monitor, traded watch and heart rate monitor for a Garmen, bought a better Garmen, then just as suddenly decided I didn't need all that crap. I traded the Garmen back for a watch and heart rate monitor, later put the heart rate monitor away, lost the MP3 player, started stowing water bottles in the bushes or carrying the hand held bottles instead of wearing a pack, put the watch away, and stopped carrying anything on runs shorter than 20 miles. Next thing you know, I'll be running naked. But I'll still insist on wearing shoes.
Mid run today I was supposed to do three miles at "marathon pace." This always puzzles me because it has been about eight years since I have run a marathon and I could run one at 7 minute pace back then. Now I'd be hard pressed to put two back to back 7 minute miles together. Plus (remember) I don't wear a watch and I don't know the mile markers on the trail. So for marathon pace I just pick up the pace to what I call, "on the verge of uncomfortable" for about three miles and call it good. And today I get bonus points because I picked up the pace to "beyond uncomfortable" for a couple of miles at the end of my run so I could catch Kevin and get a ride home instead of having to run home on the road.
I was pretty depleted by the time we got home and needed a two hour nap on the couch with the cat. Overall, it was a pretty nice weekend.
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