Notes
Run with PatPeters, Chris, David, Andrew, and Dan Murphy in KK. A great day for a run, considering it's late December! The warmer weather (which necessitated only shorts and a long t-shirt) meant that the woods were pretty sloppy. We ran the River Trail (with it's 911-like partner -- I fell onto my knees very briefly here, also stopped for a piss and had to catch up) out to the Prairie section, and finished up into the Woodloop, then doing the 411 trail in reverse. The last part of the 411, along the river, was so muddy that we cut off through the old bowl area, where there is now a trail. Giving up on the sloppiness of the woods, we went out and did the 1200 loop finish, then carried on and did the old warmup loop. Along the way, first Dan, then David, then Chris dropped off. Pat, Andrew, and I finished out that loop, then Andrew and I did the the 1200 loop one more time. We did the last 1200 or so at 6:15 pace, and the last couple miles were probably average under 7 minute pace.
As far as pacing and distance of the run, I took it really easy during the muddy sections, because a few people in the group were struggling more than I was. I felt better as the run went on, too, but some of those sections were probably like 9 minute pace. I came up with a distance that mixed fairly the actual pace with the effort required from some of the muddier sections.
Felt my shins a bit, especially when crossing harder terrain or a bit of concrete, but I didn't feel much in the way of pain. Stride felt good and strong right up until the end, and the bit of opening up at the end felt great. Didn't finished feeling winded or tired, and it gives me an idea of how much more I'd actually have to be running to up my fitness, since this wasn't much of a challenge. Oh well! We'll see how the shins feel tomorrow. It was great to run with so many alumni today, and to talk with Pat and Chris a bit about doing the marathon. Feb 1st -- Registration opens!