Skipping a run yesterday bugged me, but it was probably for the better. Today, I went to the Farmers Insurance PGA tournament at Torrey Pines with Quin, and by the time we got back, I was just not feeling like running. But how could I skip two days in a row?
Joan and Bailey got home from Anaheim around 4:30, and so I forced myself to put my running gear on and try to get a run in before dark, regardless of how I felt. I'd been wanting to explore a route I had been scouting using GoogleEarth and Bing maps, so I headed out right around 5PM, planning to go as far as I could in half an hour before turning around.
The question I have "is it possible to run from 4S Ranch to Del Dios Hwy and make a circuit of Lake Hodges?" I've mapped out the possible 18-mile route here. I just don't know if miles 3-5 are possible. Tonight I was able to prove the route through to around 3.2 works (and offers some pretty challenging inclines as well). But I had to turn around when I was confronted by a gorge and didn't know which path to take to try to get through or around it. I'll have to leave that for another time.
But for tonight, this was a very odd run. I simply didn't feel like I had "it" during the first 2-3 miles. I felt sluggish and tight. My calves were stiff, which is unusual. I figured I was still recovering from my Sunday-Tuesday runs. But then, the strangest thing: 30 minutes into running and I started to catch my wind. During the route back, I actually started to feel good and was able to pick my pace up without really increasing my perception of exertion. Instead of going slow and easy, as I had planned, I found myself in a tempo run...and feeling great.
I returned home about 52 minutes after setting out, and according to the map, had covered over 10K; and that included some tough uphills and a minute or two of stopping while I scouted the path in the dimming light. I did not expect that, which once again proves how a run can improve my mood. I'm glad I went out. It would have been so easy to blow it off.
Tomorrow, I hope to try to run to the summit of Black Mtn from the Penasquitos side, and then hike down to the Miner's Loop Trail. I'll have to do that in the morning. If I don't get that done, I'll go for 3 circuits of my 5K neighborhood route.
