Today I hit the Seabrook

Today I hit the Seabrook trails for my scheduled "long" run of 5 miles. I ended up going 5.25 -- running this route from the pool out to Pine Gully Park, and then back. I ran it in 59:09 for a pace of 11:16/mile. Average heart rate was 180. I must admit, I didn't feel great. My stomach was rumbling in a rather unpleasant way, not from hunger but just from discomfort I think.

At that pace, the run should have been easier than it was; it was very windy down here today. Fortunately the wind worked with me for most of the run out, but most of my last two miles were run into a fierce gusting headwind. I ran the "out" part in under 30 minutes and the "back" part in between 30 and 31 minutes. Not too much of a difference at first glance, until I mention that I walked for 3 minutes of the faster first half and only 2 minutes of the slower second half. Wind sucks. Though I did think about how much harder it would be battling that wind on my bike... whew!

Yes, my legs still hurt, but no, not quite as bad. I took some Advil about an hour before I ran, so maybe that helped. And perhaps the gravel and dirt surface of the trails helped as well. I'm sure my legs are happy to get off the concrete every once in a while.