Trails

Saturday I went out for my long run, an 8 mile trek. I made sure to hydrate the night before and had consulted with a friend about my possible route. Gu in hand, arm band w/ iPod on, I started out. I love a chilly morning for my runs! I started out on the roads. It was really cool to see my town up-close. The first 5 miles went by so quickly. After the 5th mile, though, I could feel my legs ache with each step. My town is full of trails for bikers, runners, etc. They are so awesome! I jumped on one of the trails and started my way through a neighborhood. This was full of those unassuming hills. You know those, the kinda that make you yell "EFF" when your trying to make it up. Admittedly, I walked up these hills. It was a great little run. I did right under 7 miles. I had to come home though, I was so achy and I had to pee really bad. I'm usually hard on myself if I don't do my planned mileage, but I am quite proud of my 7 miles.

Here is one hill. I was half way up and took a picture looking down.

And I still had this ahead of me. They look relatively unassuming from the pictures. I promise, they were hell.

When I got home, I iced my ankle for about an hour. I have an old injury, so anything past 4 miles, I need to ice it post-run. I usually run on the treadmill, so getting outside was so awesome. The treadmill, especially on the long runs, becomes so dull. I had another 3 mile run yesterday. Again, I took the trails. I went a different way though. Lucky for me, these run right behind my house. Its nice to just get outside and explore.