With Jeff out for the week due to a mysterious ankle injury, I’m no longer referring to these mini-runs as part of the Couch to 5K plan. Instead I call them the ‘getting my flabby out-of-shape body back up to speed’ plan.
Today’s conditions can be summed up in two images:
And at China Creek Park:
I should point out that this isn’t as bad as it’s been, as here is the same view from a previous run:
However, the latter shot is from December 2009. When it’s, you know, winter. If the trees weren’t in bloom it could have passed as a day in February today.
The trail is eroding even worse now. The southern part has always been a bit dodgy when it rains, with large puddles and muddy stretches being typical. However, even the higher northern ground is getting soft and much of the mulch (say that three times fast) has been swept away by the numerous rivulets. It is a mess.
And it was part of the reason I fell back two seconds on my previous pace, coming it at 5:31/km. A couple of times I nearly lost my footing and my first lap was a bit slow as I staked out a path that would not leave me face down in the mud. No doubt only having a day off between runs also knocked me down a notch. I’m very much rebuilding my stamina at this point.
The run otherwise went well, though. I have managed to get past the mental hurdle of ‘oh god how much more before this ends?’, which is an important step! Here’s hoping Friday’s run is a little drier and warmer.
