Monday May 8, 2006 - my traditional rest day.
Andrea wrapped me up in a burlap sack, drove out to the country and tossed me along the roadside to find my way home. She very conveniently tossed me out of the car at Mile Post 10 on the trail. You could just imagine her shock when I straggled in the door after running the 9 miles home. Okay, so maybe there was no burlap sack, but everything else is true.
Drove to MP 10
MP 10 to MP 9: 10:20 There was a huge hill at Seibert creek so I got off my pace and started too fast again. Or is that PHast?
MP 9 to MP 8: 11:29 This was recovery from the up hill and just general warming up.
MP 8 to MP 7: 10:56
MP 7 to MP 6: 10:05 + 2:00 I walked up the hill for 2 minutes. I have included a link to the profile of the race. I think this is in Bagley creek. (My parents had a cat named Bagley)
MP 6 to MP 5: 11:12
MP 5 to MP 4: 11:01
MP 4 to MP 3: 12:16 Can you tell that this is where I hit the wall of wind? It was like wearing one of those resistance belts.
MP 3 to MP 2: 11:54
MP 2 to MP 1: 11:31
So these are some concerns I have. Tell me again why I am doing this? I was getting to the point where running 6 miles was not a big deal. 6 miles isn't 9 miles. 9 miles was difficult. This Half-Marathon I am running is more than 4 miles longer than the 9 mile run I just did. And it is on the same course, meaning the same huge hills. I am really glad that I went on the course. It was interesting to be running along in totally unfamiliar territory knowing that I would get to my regular route, and then I would be almost home. I used to think my old route had some hills. I have revised that to slight inclines. Even the big hill from MP 5 to MP 6 isn't as steep as the creeks I encountered today.

I didn't have water with me on this run. What do you do about water on your long runs? During the race it shouldn't be a problem. (Actually, one of the reasons for my race on Saturday was to practice drinking my water while walking. I wanted to see if I could resume the jog after slowing down.) I was wanting some water after about 6 miles and if I do an even longer run it may become important. But I really don't want to carry anything with me. If I have Andrea meet me part way with some water that might work.

Did I say that I enjoyed the new terrain? For the most part it was picturesque with nice rolling berms. On top of that, today was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a run. Until I got to Bobcat Hollow. How do you suppose that got its name? I remembered someone talking about having a cougar in the neighborhood. Cougars are common in this area. All of a sudden my idyllic landscape was a menacing obstacle course with silent and unseen dangers lurking in the overhanging boughs. And I thought it was bad when I was afraid of the ticks in Maryland. Do you think that if I am attacked my a huge cat, I would have time to dial 911 on my cell phone? Of course I would have to quick run home and get the cell phone first. Maybe I could fashion a quick heiroglyph with the cord from my ipod as a clue.