3 in the Woods, 9 on the Roads

The plan had been for one day of skiing and one run of 12 miles this weekend. Ah, the best laid plans... Oh well. Snowman is feeling a bit off, not quite sick but not quite right. With that in mind, it didn't seem like the best idea to go out and ski and wear him out. So, we had a lazy Sunday morning and then finally motivated for a 3 mile run in the afternoon. We headed to the Commons, thinking the trails would be packed down by walkers and skiers. And the major trails were, but amazingly, one of the side trails a bit off the beaten track (ha!) had not been touched at all since the last snowstorm. The snow was still light and fine, with no transformation, and we spent a happy few minutes tromping through the woods, feeling tough. All told, the loop was a bit harder than expected, as we sank into the snow even on the more packed trails and the footing was not exactly even. Still, it was nice to be out in the woods instead of on the roads for a change!

Today, after a yummy breakfast of strawberry and blueberry pancakes at Broadway Deli and a few household chores and errands, I set off around 3pm for a 9 mile run. Snowman chose to stay home, so I was on my own. I headed down Rt. 123 to Pennelville and out to Simpson's Point. The Pennelville fields were wind-blown, tufts of golden grasses rising from the snow. The inlet at Simpson's Point was quiet, the water frozen and covered with snow and jagged ice sections. I felt good on the run, and finished up in 1:13:45. Upon my return, Snowman said I would be in serious trouble if my time for Sunday's Mid Winter 10 Mile Classic isn't faster than 1:20 (8:04 pace and last year's time), considering my past two training runs have unintentionally been run at ~8:10 pace. No pressure, though!?