i run here when i want to get significant mileage in because i can do an out and back straight from my house. it's about 2ish miles to the trail from my front door and then pick the trail up in wales and proceed to run west towards dousman and back. it is a beautiful stretch of trail but the section in delafield is pavement so if you prefer softer terrain picking the trail up in downtown dousman is key because that's where it turns from pavement to crushed limestone.
today was low 60's when i left for the run. it felt great to run in the crisp morning air. i was cold at first but i knew i'd warm up in a matter of miles. the neighborhoods were empty of life so it was just me and the birds until i got into what is considered "downtown" wales. i stopped in the (cute as a button) café to use their bathroom before there would not be another opportunity and then i was on my way.
as soon as i hopped on the trail i encountered several cyclists... they are always plentiful on this trail and i say hello & good morning to each and every one of them.
i ran at a comfortable pace for awhile and then checked my garmin for speed. turns out i was running a pretty good clip and it didn't even feel like it! about 7-8 miles in i started to lose some steam and stretched out my stride. turns out when i stretch my stride i don't feel as tho' i'm putting in any extra effort but my speed picks up considerably. i'm guessing that my short strides are not a good use of my energy so that was a nice thing to learn on today's run. now i just have to remember to run with longer strides all the time on roads... easier said than done considering i had to keep adjusting my stride throughout the remainder of the run.
i stopped to have my gels at miles 4 and 8. additionally i walked a few times for .5 of a mile which didn't seem to do any harm. it seemed to allow me to run faster for the majority of the run.
in fact, this training run was faster than both of the 1/2 marathons i ran in so far this summer.
summerfest rock 'n sole = 1:48:17
badgerland striders = 1:51:02
today's training run = 1:47:26
this is exciting because i've got another 1/2 marathon coming up in 2 weeks. i'm hoping for a PR at this one. i was hoping to beat the summerfest time with the badgerland but obviously that didn't happen.
i've been running a lot in lapham peak and i really believe that running all those hills on the moraine ridge trail is making me faster. they are super challenging!
the pain in my leg from last tuesday was truly awful on the second 1/2 of today's run. it was a challenge to run through it but i managed to do so. took some ibuprofen when i got home and stretched and it feels pretty good now. i just hope it heals up for my upcoming races. i hate running on an injury.
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