Things are Back on Track

Thursday night was an easy 7-8 with the normal crew. We didn't take the normal route however. After a trip down Pennsylvania avenue and then winding through the top of north Philly we ended up crossing railroad tracks that led to single track. At this point I was totally turned around and figured I was in a secret little area of park in North Philly. The trail suddenly stopped and I was face to face with the Girard ave bridge where it crosses the Schuylkill. I quickly realized we were standing on top the the "Rock Climbers Rock" where Kelly Drive goes through a tunnel in the rock. A nice surprise. It made me wonder why all these people are trying to climb up there. You can just run around a bit and end up on top.

The remainder of the run was on a more normal route in the confines of Fairmount Park. I didn't have a watch but I am guessing about 7.5 miles in an hour.

Friday night I went out for 5 with Heather on the trails in the Wissahickon. We had gone about 2 leisurely miles when that damn pain in my foot struck again. A sharp pain right behind my toes that quickly gets worse if I keep running. I decided to stop as soon as I felt it and hoped that it wouldn't hinder the 18 miles I had planned for the following morning.

Saturday morning I headed out a little apprehensive of the pain I was sure would pop up once I started running. One step, two steps, 300 steps, and all was fine not even a twinge. I don't think I will ever figure this one out. I counted my blessings and kept moving.

The first 6.5 were at about 7:40 pace and I was really feeling great. The weather was cool, I had my iPod, and the park was crowded. I got to the end and the plan was to pick up the pace to sub 7:30 for the following 5 miles. I hit about 7:15-7:25 miles the entire way. I was cruising and found myself having to hold back my pace to keep it where I wanted it.

The next 5 I was shooting for marathon pace (about 7:10) or better. I hit the 5 miles in 34 minutes, the last one came in at 6:36. I was really pushing at the end but I was ecstatic when I saw my time, sub 7:00 for the 5 miles. The remaining 1.5 miles I dialed back to about 7:45 pace. I was totally spent by the time I finished but I was very happy with the run. 18 miles in 2hr 15min.