Chasing my Dreams

I wanted to take today easy just so that my body could gain the benefits of recovering. I would have hit up some dirt, but my headlight isn't very bright right now. My hips and quads were a little tight, but for the most part I felt good. 6:59 average.

I woke up feeling surprisingly rested and energetic for the day, which was nice. The weather was probably my favorite kind of running weather -- low to mid thirties. I hit up the Hyde Park Canal and then on my way back did a little bit on the Lundstrom Park trail. Changing things up with the dirt was fun, and my legs felt amazing after the first couple of miles. 6:38 average, but the last half was all sub 6:30s. 

The bowels weren't in cooperation initially this morning, so I got out the door later than I would have liked. I felt a little tired the first couple miles, but then I was able to pick it up. I also picked it up because I knew I didn't have a ton of time. Stopped at the 7 mile porta potty. 6:33 average. 

I was a little slow getting out the door with pooping, but felt fine once out the door. I probably ran the first mile a little harder than I should have, but I felt like I was running pretty easy the whole time. 6:53 average. Around mile 10 or 10.5 I felt my left ball/toes slightly, which is the first time I've felt it all week. Planning on another nice and easy run tomorrow.

It was an easy effort day today. I could feel my foot when I woke up, but after half a mile I felt fine. I hit up the Lundstrom Park trail and there were tons of deer out on the golf course. I felt great, but then at about 8.5 miles my foot started to hurt out of nowhere. I'll have to try and ice a lot today, because I think it's probably some inflamation more than anything. 7:03 average

Hit up Mantua for a number of reasons. The biggest was because it was on my way home, but the dirt and being at 5200 feet were some nice bonuses. The first 8 miles I unintentionally did as a progression down to 5:45, but then I didn't think I could keep that pace going, so I backed off and did the next 8 miles as a steady state around 6-6:10 pace. I felt much better in that zone, but by the end my legs were still getting tired. My left foot started hurting around 7.5 miles, but it never got really bad. I'm thinking I should probably have a lower mileage week and some cross training next week to try and get it back to 100 percent. The first half of this run was also really challenging mentally. 6:10 overall average, the last mile was a cooldown.