LONG RUN OF BLISS!

The weather this morning was an extraordinary gift - it is in the low 60s, sunny and crisp and clear, with that hint of coolness in the air that tells you it is autumn rather than spring. I love this time of year...

Anyway, it was a wonderful run. Perfect running weather!

Slightly sore hip flexors for the first couple miles, due I think to an interesting exercise I did yesterday with Trainer P. (It was new to me, and I liked it - stand with your back against the wall, arms raised, feet a little more than hip width apart and about 6 inches away from the wall. Then lower and raise your torso 15 times to the side, making sure to keep your opposite shoulder flat against the wall and arms fully extended - it's a core exercise, but it does some good other things too...)

And in the last six miles, I was definitely experiencing noticeable soreness in my legs - the culprit in this case (I assume) being yesterday's hard-effort 5K.

But I took it at a really easy and comfortable pace, and it was lovely...

(Usually my limiter is either heat or overtaxed huffing-and-puffing system, so actually it is sort of perversely nice for a change to be grappling with NEITHER of the first two and rather sore legs!)

Anyway, first I ran down to 94th St. and onto the greenway path there, then all the way up to the foot of the bridge and the Little Red Lighthouse, the end point for our exciting swim next week, then back south along the river to about 40th St. I had toyed with the idea of doing a longer-than-scheduled run, since I will not do another long one till three weeks from now (next week is the long swim, so I'll only do 12-14, and the following week is the half-iron race), but my legs made me think the better of it!

Around mile 8 or so, I was thinking very strongly of what an unalloyed pleasure it is to do a long run at a suitable pace in beautiful weather. It is almost my favorite thing - the only other thing I can think of that has quite the same kick is something quite similar, namely a really good 2-3-hour session of writing. They are similar because neither falls under the category of sensualist's pleasures - they definitely require attention and application. But equally, if one has cultivated the appropriate habits and circumstances conspire to aid one, only a modest nudge of willpower is needed to sustain the effort...

I have broken out the footpod again - time to get serious! Measurements over coming weeks will be precise though not necessarily accurate...

16.16 miles
2:59:12
avg HR 144
avg pace 11:05, max pace 8:46