Off The Well-Paved Path

On Friday I stopped by the athletic gear store (I wanted to write sporting goods store, but all I was interested in were the clothes) and I found a windbreaker that was 42% off the original price, which seemed like a good deal to me. So, of course, I had to try it out today.

The weather this morning was 35, but felt like 31. I wore running tights, tank top, long sleeved shirt, wind breaker, gloves and an ear-band (I couldn't find my running hat). I briefly considered that I probably was wearing one too many layers, but I figured I should just wear what I had on and figure out how I was feeling once I got going. It's a lot easier to take stuff off than it is to put it on when you're not at home.

I jogged to the park (without a whole lot of traffic stops) and right when I got there, I realized that there was some sort of race (a half-marathon, it turns out) going on in the park. That meant that I wouldn't be running on the road and I'd have to figure out some sort of other plan. I didn't really mind. I was just aiming for something between 3-4 miles and figured if I ran around for 40 minutes I'd most likely reach that goal, so that's exactly what I did.

I ran along the bridle path and I really had to guesstimate my mileage since the path not on Gmap Pedometer but I'd guess that I ended up running about 3.70 miles. Maybe it's a little bit more or maybe it's a little bit less, but that seems like a pretty good guess in my mind. The path was filled with people walking their dogs, which was sort-of fun watching all the dogs having fun playing with each other and also sort-of scary.

In the mornings, people don't have to keep their dogs on leashes, which is fine with me for the most part. It just gets a little bit scary when bigger dogs are running around (or straight towards you) and you don't know why. I definitely stopped to walk more than once when I wasn't sure what a dog was doing and I didn't want to aggravate it or surprise it. I've been bitten twice before (nothing serious, thank goodness), but once was when I was running and I'd prefer not to repeat that again!

I basically ran up to the Reservoir then around the bottom of the Reservoir and then back home again. Once I reached the end of the park, I did some stretching to keep my legs happy and then I headed home. I had a lot more traffic on the way home than I did on the way there, so that's why it took me that much longer. I don't think I was running any slower.

My new jacket worked out really well. I was a tiny bit too warm, but nothing that was unbearable, so now I know I probably only need one layer underneath the coat at this temperature, which would have been my guess anyway. Live and learn!

Run To Park
Time: 5:15
Distance: 0.50 miles
Pace: 10:30/mile

Run In Park (Bridle Path)
Time: 39:40
Distance ~3.70 miles
Pace: 10:43/mile

Run Home From Park
Time: 6:07
Distance: 0.50 miles
Pace: 12:13/mile