a.m. -- I wanted to go have breakfast with the Slugs because I hadn't seen people in a few weeks. Mike wanted to run a few so I said alright, but only a few because I had afternoon running plans also. We know how that goes after you get out there, and we ended up going to the three-mile marker and back on Beach Drive, and at a decent pace (7:15s). Felt fine, didn't rain much on us, but I had more coming... (43:46, supernova glide)
p.m. -- Krissy took me up to Cougar Mountain, where she runs trails with a group weekly. It's a pretty vast wilderness area really close to Bellevue, so even though the parking lot had a 15-20 cars the trails felt really empty (it was really foggy and drizzly outside, so that may have played a part also). The whole loop has pretty good elevation change, but nothing that's incredibly taxing in one stretch other than one steep 500-foot gain near the summit. So some good hills that balance climbing and pounding down, but we kept a good pace and were at conversational pace the whole time. We even added a three-mile loop (that included that steep stretch) halfway through because it was so nice to be out. I was a little fatigued by the last mile in my hamstrings and quads, but I should probably expect that (and post-run snacks at a bakery replentished the muscles pretty quickly). Great trails, and they were in really good shape after a wet December. I liked how the Brooks Cascadia felt also, good shoe so far. (2:02:00, Brooks Cascadia, 17) All in all, a great day of running. Sunday I was tired (and too busy to notice it until after noon, actually), but the kind of beat that tells you that the day before was a fun day, not torture. Everything healthy otherwise, so that's a good sign to start the coming year.
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