A Good Workout

I was very undecided about last night's run. How many miles? How fast? Trail or path? I ended up on a very familiar route, Forbidden Drive to Valley Green and back.

It was hot but not horribly humid keeping the temps manageable. I started things off around 7:30 pace and slowly increased as I moved along. I reached Valley Green in 29 minutes. If I am not pressing the pace and I get to Valley Green in under 30 minutes than I am having a good day.

I sucked down some water at the fountain and stretched. Should I take the trails on the way back? Stick to Forbidden Drive? Steal a bike and ride home? I was feeling good and slightly fast, despite the heat, and I decided to run Forbidden drive home with a couple mile intervals thrown in.

First mile in 6:10 and it felt good, not rushed, like I could have kept it up for a few more miles. I rested for a half mile and then hit it again. Only the first half of this mile was measured and it went by in 3:08, I kept running until my watch read 6:30 for what was probably a little more than a mile.

I ran easy the last 1/2 mile or so back towards my house. A majority of my runs in the Wissahickon Park start and end on a large old set of steps. It consists of 100 steps made from slabs of granite, bordered by a heavily painted, dark green railings. I was in the habit of finishing my workouts by running up these steps but in the past year I'd stopped. This summer I made a pact with myself to always run the steps after my workouts.

Last night I ran up the hill to the base of my steps and stopped my watch, forgetting my rule. Two seconds later I said, "Oh damn", started my watch and ran up the steps. 8 miles in 57 minutes.

I haven't run fast in a few weeks and this workout was a good way to get back in that groove. It wasn't especially hard but it left me feeling like I wanted more. The best run I've had in the past month.