Back on Track

Just got back from a lovely 15k easy run through Shubie with Alex. I especially love Shubie this time of year – the forest is full and lush, the fern fronds are unrolling, and the early blossoms are perfuming the air. Apple, cherry, lilac, and wild rose are all in bloom right now – it’s a feast for the nose. And there are even some lady slipper flowers blooming on the forest floor (and they do, improbably, look like slippers or moccasins).

Alex and I run the same route at least once a week, and it never gets old. There’s always something new to see or smell when you run through the woods. Shubie is one of the great gems of Dartmouth.

As for yesterday evening’s track workout, everything went great. I got to see a lot of people I hadn’t seen in over a month, and I got to open up the pace a bit. As usual, Cliff changed the workout once we were there and warmed up. He’d initially told Ray that we’d be doing 400s, but he switched it to 6x800. Thankfully, he cut the pace back a bit to 82s/lap, which is 3:25/k pace, and allowed plenty of rest between intervals.

Man, it felt so good to get the legs moving a bit faster – and the pace came easily. I had no problems from start to finish. I even felt like I had another gear. I was able to simply go without pushing. Granted, the workout shouldn’t have been too tough for me, but after a month and a half without any V02 workouts, I was happy that my fitness hadn’t slipped too much. And I was overjoyed that my fatigue-y legs didn’t poop out on me. It may be that I’m mistaking tight facia (the bag-like, skin-like stuff that covers muscles) for tired muscles. Perhaps a massage is in order!

I’m also able to catch a lift to Lunenburg with Ray, so I’m going to run the 5k after all. I really don’t know how well I’m going to run, but I’m not overly concerned about it either – my initial plan is to go out at 5:30/mile pace for the first half and then see how I feel. I doubt I’m in shape to go under 17, but I should be able to get under 17:30. I guess we’ll see!