7:30 PM - Windy and cold. Clear skies. Lots of stars out. I think temperature was 41 at the start, about 39 at the finish. Supposed to be in the low 50s for the whole week. A little cooler than usual. Got dressed and headed ot the track after getting my lessons done. It's my last 8 days at Galway and I'm going to really miss these 8th graders after next Friday. I start right in on my second placement the following Monday before Halloween. Oii. Got a note today from an 8th grader that said "I am really going to miss you Mr. Griffin. I hope that you will miss us (me) too." I don't think you ever truly forget anyone you meet, especially kiddos that you spend 8 weeks teaching. I just hope they don't forget me, the old bearded guy!
Got to the track, and was expecting to see the "Ghost Runner" but no truck driver tonight. Warmed up on the track. Was wearing a fleece on top, but shorts on the bottom. The first mile is always the toughest. I struggled in the wind but got warmed up, doing 2.18 miles warmup (9:04, 9:04, 1:43(9:25pace)). After the warmup I stretched out my quads and calves and hammys, which were all a bit sore from the race. It's kind of funny but for some reason, unlike road races, with trail races I seem to get more sore the second day after a race. Anyone know why this is? Another runner, Laura that I know who runs trail races affirmed the same is true for her. After the stretching for a minute or two, I hit the inside lane for 4 x 800m with 200m recoverys. My splits for them were:
- .51: 3:23 (6:41 pace); .13 recovery in 1:09 (9:08pace)
- .50: 3:22 (6:42 pace); .13 recovery in 1:13 (9:45 pace)
- .50: 3:16 (6:32 pace); .13 recovery in 1:12 (9:22 pace)
- .51: 3:12 (6:18 pace); .12 recovery in 1:12 (9:40 pace)
After the 800s, I jogged .29 in 2:44 (9:25 pace) and then hit the lap button at 5 miles to be back on track. Cooled down another 2.7 miles. Splits for the cooldown were 8:52, 8:45, and the .7 in 6:00 (8:36). About 1.5 miles from the finish my "Ghost Runner" pulled up in his 18-wheeler. I saw him twice. We said hey and asked how the week was going. He told me to keep on plugging away. I told him to do the same and we agreed it was quite the crisp, cool autumn night and that we were indeed crazy for running out here in the dark without any lights. But then again, I am the Howling "Crazy" Commando! HoOHaAA!!
Note: I really had to push to do the 800s. My quads were numb from the cold and a bit sore from Spruce Mountain two days ago. However, I felt relaxed and completely at ease on the easy recovery and cool down paces. I think this indicates my aerobic fitness level is getting along nicely. It's just I haven't really done much work on speed. Should I even worry about the speed since I want to concentrate on the longer races?
Total Time: 1:04:18 Total Distance: 7.70 miles Average Pace: 8:21 | 
