10 Miles of Asphalt

When I got home from work tonight I definitely didn't feel like I had the energy to go for a run, but I had already told my friend Derek earlier in the day that I would. Plus the weather was perfect for a run (upper 60s and sunny with some wind) It definitely felt like fall was in the air. So.. around 6:15 I headed out the door and met up with him down the road. We started off easy for the first mile until we got warmed up and then locked ourselves into an 8:00 pace. Not too fast, not too slow. With the sun and the nice cool breeze it didn't take me long to get feeling better about the run.

Our original plan was just to do about 4 or 5 miles, but once we got back to where we started we decided that we were feeling good and would keep on going. We ended up doing about the same route that we started out with, heading mainly uphill for about 2-3 miles and then turning around and heading back downhill to where we live. This is a great route to get in both hills and some speed. Plus it is always nice to finish downhill!

I felt really good tonight and hope that I can keep increasing my weekly mileage like I have been lately. It was nice to be able to run 10 miles at an 8:00 pace tonight and still feel like I had a lot left in the bank. My plan is to get in some more trail running leading up to the YUT-C 50K, which is next Sat. the 22nd. Then rest up and do some long road runs to prepare for the Columbus Marathon on Oct. 21st. Tomorrow I will be heading over to Mill Creek Park again in Youngstown for a run with Bob, John, and whoever else shows up. For details on the run click here. Looking forward to it! Happy trails...