Notes
Finally! I got to go on the Apple Run!!! It was beautiful and quite picturesque, especially with the leaves turning red. It was also much nicer than last year when it rained and, according to Tanu, water was up to people's knees. The change of scenery and trails was also probably good for the old legs, although my calves were really getting a workout from all that dodging of rocks and mud. It was quite hilly for the first two miles and there was one place where puddles just dotted the trail. After that there was an uphill part of the trail that was so slick and muddy, my shoe almost got stuck in the clay-like mud. It was scary running up that - I thought I'd fall any second. Oh, and then there was a rickety old bridge. As Coach would put it, we ran through the Forbidden Forest, over the Stream of Doom, and up the Embankment of No Return.
Anyhow, I felt pretty good although I did not expect to run this much. Coach told us it was 6 miles. It was probably more like 7.5 to 8. Laura says 8-9, but her group ran, supposedly, a mile more. I'm going with a conservative estimate, even though we ran that pretty fast. The difficult parts of the run were slower due to getting through mud and such, but overall, it could not have been as slow as 9:44 because we were going pretty strong most of the way. I got tired halfway through, but not deathly so.
I will say that my calves, knees, and quads have suffered from the rocky terrain. Other than that, I loved this run. Especially with the apple goods at the end.