Another Four

Since I committed to blogging about each of my runs, I’ve discovered that no two outings are alike. Even if I run the same path over and over, every run seems to have a peculiar combination of elements. The most obvious variables are meteorological, but there are physiological and psychological variables as well. If I were to stop running as soon as I began to repeat myself, I don’t think I’d ever stop.

Today’s run, however, did take me on a different path. When I arrived at Valley Green this morning around 8:30, I noticed a sign by the 2-1/2 mile marker: this was the turn-around point for a five-mile run along the portion of Forbidden Drive that I usually run. Not to worry: I’d run the other direction, away from instead of towards Northwestern Ave.

I had some initial trepidation about running on this section of the path. There are more hills, and I had planned to run four miles today. Would I make it?

Once again, the key was pacing. The run begins with a hill, and it was a little rough. After I got going, though, I was feeling good. I did worry, though, about missing mile markers. This part of the Drive is unfamiliar to me, so I wasn’t sure if the markers would be there. When I was confident that I’d run a half mile and began to close in on the first mile, I wondered where the 3-mile marker was. Would there be no more markers? But I did come upon the 3-1/2 mile marker and realized that I’d missed the 3-mile marker.

I continued, of course, to the 4-1/2 mile marker. This segment of the run took me down a slightly steeper hill, so I was concerned about running out of energy. Not to worry: I made it back up hill with no problems and finished feeling good. In fact, I felt good through most of this run: it was one of those runs that, especially in retrospect, made me glad I am running.