Mud Bath

Thought I'd have somewhat of a cleansing run in the rain this evening. Turned out to be the opposite and I sit here now caked in mud. Pretty fun revisit of the Rock Creek loop I did last Sunday. Heroically dodged many a mud puddle, but not all of them. This distance feels about right for a longer run for now, and I'll build upon this over the next few months. Legs were feeling pretty creaky toward the end. 10 and a quarter miles, 1:21:08.

Yesterday morning I took a scenic trip through cow pastures and old iron mill country down in Virginia. Nice, rejuvenating run, and I threw in a handful of strides toward the end. I've decided to keep my distance from the track for just a little longer, but opening up into a stride feels OK as long as I'm not pushing myself to hit a certain time. To my surprise, not as many big hills as I'd expected. 5.7 miles, 45:50.

Total for last week was just over 26 miles in four runs. Slightly lower number than average for the past few weeks and I noted more pep in my stride today. Looking for a fifth run to net me just a hair more next week.