Down to the Fayetteville trails for my first LR in what seems like forever (actually it was August 29 at Pinnacle Mountain State Park). Started from the Mud Creek trailhead on Old Missouri Road, then down Scull Creek, then Frisco Trail, then turn around and do it all over again, with an extra loop on Joyce and Old Missouri as well as Mud Creek Trail at the end to get me up to 16 miles. Quads were barking from the start and they didn't get any better over two hours, 40 minutes. But I finished, and I kept the average under 10:00 in spite of some short walk breaks. I gotta quit doing 10 p.m. runs on Friday and then getting up to run at dawn the next morning; 48-year-old legs need more recovery than that. There were a LOT of people out on the trail. No large gaggles of Crackheads like I'd see in LR/NLR, but twos and threes and fours. More runners than cyclists, I think, and plenty of walkers too. Their investment in the trails seems to be paying off in public use. And it was a beautiful, if chilly morning. Started off in the upper 30s, I think it was in the low 60s when I finished at 10:30. Not a cloud in the sky, but enough shade where the morning sun was not a problem as far as visibility. Today marks a milestone: I topped 1900 miles for the year. That was my total for all of 2008, and I went over that mark with 89 days left in the year. I think 2600 is quite doable. Put together a 9-week training plan for Memphis last night, since today is 63 days to St. Jude. I should run about 550 miles before I line up in the corral at Memphis, if it goes according to plan. | 