Tuesday

Today I decided to try out my running legs again. After work, and some procrastinating, I headed out the door. The air was chilly, and there were some lingering raindrops from the thunderstorm that had just blown through. I left my driveway, and headed up the hill, to the gravel road. I've just started running this route, and I'm finding it very enjoyable. It's only a 1/2 mile of running along the busy-ish county road I live on to an endless maze of gravel country roads. The road immediately leads up a challenging incline, but from then on it's only slightly rolling.
I thought I'd go for 4 1/2 to 5 miles, but once I got started, I felt really good, and decided to make at an hour - so 30 min out and back. I haven't found a loop yet on the gravel roads, but the out and back is nice.
It reminds me of running in Michigan a couple of years ago when I was just starting to train for my first marathon. I didn't take my MP3 player or a water carrier or anything, I just went for a run. It was pretty cool, to remember what it was like to simply run and listen to your foot falls on the road. I enjoy listening to music when I run, but I think you lose something when you do that. There is definitely something soothing about being out there alone, and free to let your mind go where ever it wants, and to listen to the sounds around you. These roads are only lightly traveled, and surrounded by fields and farms, so I think I only saw a car or two total after getting off the main road. I didn't take my GPS, and didn't worry about pace or distance. Knowing my pacing, I probably ran 9:45-9:30 miles. It was pretty easy, but I was still putting out the effort.
I had some coughing issues, especially after the 1/2 mile hill on the way home, but it wasn't enough to slow me down too much. I'm still feeling way better than I did last week. :)
I keep saying I'm going to start back to the pool... I thought maybe tonight... well, maybe tomorrow...