I went out for an easy 1
mile hike to see how everything felt and decided I felt good enough to
run.
I started at the very back and was the last person to cross the
starting line. I figured that’d give me some incentive and also keep me
from trying to go to fast.
It was a lot of fun (after a half-mile of
being a little nervous as people slowed or walked right in front of me).
It took me about 4:30 to get through the first half mile and 8:25 to the
mile. I felt fine, just some tightness none of the pain I’d been feeling
last week. At that point I figured I could run 8’s the whole way and that
was now my goal. Of course I kept seeing people ahead (like the guy with
his number on his back) and wanted to catch everyone. I reached 2 miles
in 16:12 (7:47) and knew I’d be passing a lot more people as we turned into the
wind and climbed the only hill on the course.
I felt good and even felt
like I was working it a bit with a 7:22 third mile. I did not “kick it
in” but my final mile was the quickest at 7:14. I think two people who
I’d passed went back by me in the final 200 meters but I wasn’t there to race
just to get out there and move. It felt good to make it through.
After
a couple of quick pics with Jim I switched into bike gear and headed off to
check out the bike paths. I was a bit tired from 71 mile ride early in
the morning (4:30-7:30 am) but again it was just nice to be outside. The
Salem path was short but there were also bike lanes on the road which was
nice. The Marblehead trail was a packed dirt trail which was a lot of fun
although the icy and muddy parts were a bit dangerous.
It was great to
see so many people out there hiking and running (I was the only one
biking). All in all not a bad way to start out the new year.
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