2x the Bruiser

This is my last week with extra freedom. The winter sure has flown by, and next week, as we head into April, I go back to reality and a 5 day work week. Boo hoo for me, I know :-) So, with that in mind, I took advantage of my free day today and headed over to the Brad for my long run after dropping Sam off at daycare. And although I always hem and haw about sending her off to daycare while I go run on days like this, last night Sam was talking about wanting to go to daycare to play with her friends "right now, Mama!," so I know she is having fun and that allows me to feel a little less guilty about things!

The wind was still whipping and the temps were in the high 20s, but the sun was shining brightly in the cloudless blue sky. I was dressed for winter running and was comfortable the whole run, although I did take my gloves off at some point early in the 2nd loop. The plan was to run two laps of the Bruiser, without the "O," of course, and get in 20 miles. Although I had just run the loop on Wednesday, I had Ryan print me out a map of the course, just in case :-) I admit, I did have to consult it a few times. Yes, yes, you would think I would know the course, but hey, what can I say? I have no sense of direction!

Trail conditions were interesting. There was a lot of nice runnable bare ground, but there was also a lot of semi-frozen mud and big sections of hoar frost, lots of it hidden by piles of leaves that had settled in the depressions in the trail. I had to tiptoe through a few big muddy patches just so I didn't turn an ankle! The snowmobile trail was a bit treacherous too, and I sank and twisted through the partway between thawed and frozen ground a few times. And just when I thought I was running "fast," I looked at my garmin and laughed. I'd hardly call 11 minute miles quick, but on this route, I guess it is quick enough! I came through loop #1 in 1:50 and exactly 10 miles. Loop #2 brought with it a few more stops to eat than the first, as well as a few small stretches of walking through some of the more sketchy sections along with a few more trips and ankle twists, but I still managed to keep the pace just about the same, finishing off the 20 in 3:42. A lot slower than last week's 20, and on a much colder (30 degrees colder!) day, but running the singletrack at Bradbury is definitely different than running on the nice smooth cart paths and roads of last week too, so who knows. Regardless, I'm happy to have gotten in another good solid run, and happy to have felt decent for most of it and to have had positive thoughts throughout. And now I am off to eat some of Irene's leftover birthday cake. That counts as recovery food, right? :-)