Wednesday night - 4 miles with 6 x 100 meters strides. My legs were tired and I didn’t have to much oomph.

Thursday morning – 5.5 miles around Chestnut Hill. It was nice to get out early as the temps were in the upper 60s and the run was enjoyable. The plan called for 4 miles at half marathon pace which at first seemed impossible the way my legs were feeling but I hit the gas after the first mile and settled in. I just tried to run by feel and not push too hard. There obviously are no mile markers on the street so I just ran for 25+ minutes which if I ran at my goal pace of 6:20 would give me four miles. I stopped the tempo portion after 25:17, feeling like I was in good control and could actually run the pace for a half marathon on more rested legs. It turned out to be 3.9 miles and 6:25 pace, a little off my goal but altogether encouraging given the way I felt, it was a rolling course and I completed the workout before 7:00 am on tired legs.

My legs are now started to feel beat up and have been tight all day especially my right calf. Tomorrow is an off day and Saturday calls for a 5K. I can’t find one in the area. The closest one I did see was in Asbury Park, NJ. I actually though about taking a trip up there with Heather to check the place out and run the race but I am doubting it will happen. I’ll either bag it or try to run a hard 5K on my own which really will be no approximation of a race.

On a sad note, a young woman was killed by a falling tree limb in the Wissahickon Park on Wednesday evening. Apparently it was a 30 foot limb and had fallen from a tree 50 feet above. Oddly it was a calm evening. I saw a lot of police activity in the park that night and was hoping it was nothing bad, unfortunately it was. What a freak accident. The police say she was wearing an iPod which was still playing when they found her and it is likely she never knew what happened because the limb broke her neck. This is my second encounter with a falling limb hurting someone and makes me even more nervous about running in there on a windy day or in a storm. My thoughts definitely go out to the family.