A clydesdale no more!

Trying to think of something exciting to report about today's run but it was pretty uneventful.  Typical GA run.  I'm noticing that it is taking a little longer to get into a groove because of the cold and increased mileage. 

My motivation for running was very low this morning.  I really was not looking forward to 2 hours on the road.  Despite my poor attitude, I headed out the door and put one foot in front of the other for a couple of hours.  My pace was much slower than it should have been and the effort was not even close to what I would have wanted but it is done.  

I'm really starting to appreciate recovery runs.  Nice and easy pace.

Spent 10 minutes looking for my Garmin this morning to no avail.  I didn't need it for mileage tracking but really wanted to use it to make sure that I kept my pace honest.  Started out with a good pace (I think) and maintained it for the first 8 miles.  There was just enough moisture in the air and it was just cold enough that the road had a layer of ice for the last 3 miles.  I had to back off the pace so I could maintain my footing.  Felt really good during the run and wish that I could have run harder for the last few miles.  Got home and found my Garmin sitting exactly where it was supposed to be even though I checked there 5 times.

Recovery run.  My left knee and right ankle are a little sore.  Nothing to worry about just making note of it.

Drove to the Kaysville Poop Trail (KPT).  Don't know what it is really called but it seems like a fitting name considering the aroma from the surrounding pastures and the amount of horse and dog stuff I had to dodge on the trail.  It's actually a really nice trail and a great place to run.  It was nice to run someplace new.  I was planning on getting 10-11 miles before the club met.  Started out and for the first 3 miles I was very light headed and was seeing spots.  Could not figure out what the problem was and thought it was going to be a long 2.5 hours if this kept up.  I only ate half my lunch and half my dinner yesterday and I realized that I was very hungry.  Started having lots of cravings: Dunford chocolate donuts, a big stack of blueberry pancakes, eggs, sausage. Thinking about the food that I wanted help distract me but my pace was very slow.  After 4.25 miles the paved trail ends and it was loose gravel (I missed the turn I was supposed to make).  Ran a mile on the loose gravel then turned and headed back.  Was able to pick the pace up a little on the way back and started feeling good.  Turned out that running 10 super slow miles was a smart move.  Met the club and Jim wanted to run 9 miles and push the pace.  A little faster and a little more than I was planning but thought I would try to hang with him.  We ran at or below 7:00/mile pace for 8 miles then ran the last mile at 7:30/mile pace.  It was a good pace and, while it took a lot of work, it didn't kill me.  There were a few times that I started to drift back but convinced myself that I wasn't tired, just having a mental lapse.  Despite the poor start, it turned out to be a good run.