the Way of the Turtle

LONG RUN TURNS SHORT...
5 Mile Run in the Pine Bush
Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Gorgeous afternoon/evening for a run today. Warm, sunny... what a great day to do my 19 miler in preparation for NIPMUCK. So I ducked out of work a bit early and headed over to Willow Street for a long evening of running in the woods.

You know what they say about the best-laid plans... everything was perfect for the long run except, apparently, my body. About 40 minutes in, it became increasingly clear that my body just wasn't cooperating... I was tired and my legs were host to a variety of aches and pains. While I'm used to that during my warm-up periods, this just didn't get any better as the run progressed. So, just under an hour into the run, I decided to listen to my body and headed back to the trailhead for an early finish. It just didn't seem worth risking getting injured or sick just for the sake of doing a long run that night.

Of course, this leaves me seriously concerned about my ability to complete NIPMUCK, with time left for only one 18+ mile run before I head into the rest period. But that's how it goes, I guess... if I DNF again at NIPMUCK this year, it just means I'll have to look to next year as the one where I finally finish the race.

After the run I drove over to Tawasentha Park, just to scope it out... looks like a nice place, and I hope to do a little running there this summer.

JMH