I drove out to the next access point after where I stopped on the DPR yesterday. However, looking at the new snow on the trails and thinking of my “skating” expeditions the last two days I decided to run on the road. There is a park at about the 19 mile mark. It has a rolling, curvy, PLOWED, 1.5 mile loop. I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of 10 laps but it is much better than the track or a treadmill… The first three loops I took easy (7:35 to 7:02). The feel of the loop was easy. However, during the whole run there was a total of 1400 ft ascent and descent each. The make-up of the topology turned out that clockwise was significantly easier. Unfortunately, I didn’t figure this out until after loop 6. The first three loops I was more or less on my own. There were 5 deer and one guy walking. By the 6th loop there were about 16 other people, mostly walking (three were running). After I changed directions I started to pick up the pace with more or less each of the 15 miles being a negative split and the last mile in 5:39. It is amazing what a difference sure footing makes, despite 23F with a good 10mph headwind for a half mile stretch of the loop (more wind coverage for the last four loops). Overall, the run felt good. Avg. 6:44 HR 148 |