Pluggin' along

So I finally made it out the door today. I am battling fatigue. I had to drive to the hospital to make a visit this morning, it's 23 miles one way, on the way back home I fought sleep! Tired, and hungry! I will eat nearly anything in sight. Such are the results of marathon training.
I eked out 4.88 miles at recovery pace on "W" south, or better known as Hillville. I may come up short on miles this week. I've a recording session Saturday and these can swallow gobs of time, so I may not be able to get my run....no biggie, I need the rest!
Peace!

"W" South roller coaster ride!

"W" South is one of very few different runs I have considering my location. Today I decided to count the hills one way. There are 14 of them! I didn't count the short rises (3) to keep this an honest assessment. So over the course of 7.35 miles I had 28 hills! That's 3.8 hills per mile! Basically this is a roller coaster ride! I am pleased with the results today. Here are my splits 10:17, 9:23, 9:10, 9:33, 9:45, 9:49, 10:17. I was wondering what it would be like to run on some flat land? I have been developing and working on my hill running technique. The Garmin showed that my fastest pace speed was 10.3 mph! Gettin' better on the downs! I held pretty good on the ups until the last mile when I was toast.

The old bones are holding up good. I hope to do an easy recovery run Thursday then my Fartlek run on "W" north Friday. "W" North is a bit flatter. The hill intensity eases up some but they are still there!! This is the Ozarks and I'm lovin' it!

Looking for a race to run but only a bunch of 5ks. Need something longer....

On another note- Remember all the trees I planted? As expected there has been attrition but the ones living are doing well! My neighbor came by when I wasn't home to help me out...he mowed some of my yard...yep, you guessed it..he mowed down a row of trees that were growing very well. I saw his wife yesterday, she asked if he might have done that, I can't lie? I said yeah, he mowed down about seven of em. I said "Don't worry about it, they're only trees." She said

"Oh, I'm not worried about it." Huh, I thought. Then she said "well I didn't think they'd live anyway with this heat and all..." I guess she hadn't seen me watering my little trees! I motioned her over to take a look at how this one row was doing! I'm a proud Papa! Peace!

( I'm ordering more trees!)

Hills and hollows

I ran the Hwy W hill route today. I was wanting 8 miles but noticed I couldn't get to GA pace so I settled for a 7 mile recovery run. I'm encouraged by my recovery from Mondays run. Only a little right butt soreness? and left plantar, but nothing bad...I'm just a big wimp!
I've decided that to be a trail runner, and an ultra distance athlete you have to get over being a wimp. That'll be hard for me, but I was thinking back to my last marathon, which was a trail marathon, that I was tough during that race. I actually beat faster runners because I pushed through the pain, and discomfort. Embracing the pain is something that has to be learned...?
Anyway, 7 miles in 1:14.20. This is a very hilly route, if I knew how to get the elevation graph from the Garmin to the blog you could see this wonderful hilly route. Any help is appreciated.
I continue to work on stride and form...navel to spine...plus today I "pulled the road" this is an effective stride enhancer. Try it..when you strike the ground pull the road like you have to get a treadmill going. You will find yourself running~!
I felt like a runner today. It was one of those days. Even though my pace was a little slow I felt strong and confident. I am believing I will run my next marathon beyond my expectations!
Hope all is well in your neck of the woods and the miles are a pleasure!