Positive Running

Ran 15.2 miles in 2:02:20 (8:05/mile) along the south side of the Arkansas River Trail on a nice day for running.  Averaged 7:55/mile with an 8-10 mph wind to my back and 8:15/mile running against a 10-12 mph.  Saw Jacob Wells in the trail, organizer of yesterday's 3B26 Inaugural Marathon, which was a terrific success, thanks in part to good running weather.  There were a lot of people on the Arkansas River Trail today.

I switched between forefoot and midfoot plants for miles 2 and 3, and my average pace for those miles was 7:42/mile.  But the forefoot plants were straining my sprained left foot, so I didn't do any forefoot running until the last .2 mile, which I ran at a 7:16/mile pace.

Ran 10.3 miles on the Arkansas River Trail.  Groin muscles felt very tight to start, so started slow.  Ran the first 6 miles at an 8:38/mile pace.  After 6 miles, my groin muscles loosened up.  Ran the last 4.3 miles in 34:36 (8:03/mile).

Ran 14 miles on the Ouachita Trail (OT) with Chris and his dog, Gilley.  Ran slow (3 hours 25 minutes) since there are a lot of leaves covering tripping hazards (rocks and roots) on the trail.   Ran out and back from the Spillway Road entrance of the OT to the access road where the main aide station is located during the OT 50.  It was a great way to start the year, and we plan to do it again on January 18.

Ran 6 easy miles on the TM.  Also road the upright stationary bike for 20 minutes.  It was too cold to be running, but tomorrow should be a warmer day.

On a cloudy afternoon, with temps in the low to mid 40's and a 15-18 mph wind, ran an easy 11.6 miles on the south side of the Arkansas River.  Ran from the Two Rivers Bridge parking lot to the Verizon entrance closest to Cantrell and back.