DC Pierson

Report:
One of the best runs I've had in a while. Probably since my 100k. Can I mention that enough that I've done 100k? Maybe I'll squeeze it in again before the end of this report. Anyway, I headed out the door to the local state park, found the gates closed, so I headed to my backup trail, the local rail trail. Things went well, smooth, and only a little cold.

The trees were nice to look at, the leaves were super loud (you could really tell when you found a spot empty of leaves), and the geese didn't attack. Mentally, I was just kind of floating around out there like the leaves. I listened to Paul Gilmartin and his Mentalpod podcast and just focused on moving forward. Every now and then I'd drop my space-cadet routine and notice something like squirrels, an ATV trail, etc. I even tried to focus on breathing through my nose for a bit (something I read about in Scott Jurek's book). It worked okay but didn't last too long.

Weather:
Temps were about 48F. Winds were about 10 to 20 mph which made the temps feel like 40 to 45F (depending on where I was on the trail). Sky was mostly overcast but the sun would creep out a few times.

Fluids and Fuel:
Breakfast was multigrain waffles, an egg, and iced coffee. During the run I had a bottle of Hammer Fizz and half a bottle of plain water. Recovery was Hammer Recoverite mixed into my iced latte.

Aches and Pains:
None. And it kind of concerned me. Maybe I'm over thinking things.

Gear:
Wore my Nathan pack but put my bottles in the back instead of the hydration pouch. Took my phone for photos. Tested out my new Mountain Hardwear gaiters. Well, they aren't new, I've had them forever but never used them. They worked great but the velcro part near your toes didn't work to hot. Pulled my laces back further than I'd like. Also wore my Rudy Project glasses with the clear yellow lenses. Worked great but made my fluorescent shirt look funny.

Codename - DC Pierson
DC was Paul's guest on the podcast. Go support both of them. Especially Paul. He's great at giving you free therapy even though he isn't trying to be a therapist.

Splits:
Warmup - 4:17
Mile 1 - 15:39
Mile 2 - 14:01
Mile 3 - 12:56
Mile 4 - 16:34 (stopped to block the trail a bit so ATV users would illegally use it)
Mile 5 - 11:01
Cooldown - 3:51
Finish - 1:18:23

Note - The Warmup and Cooldown sections aren't really warm ups or cool downs. It's more of the section from the parking lot to the first mile marker which means it's about a quarter mile. In other words, I really ran about 5.5 miles instead of 5. Bah, never mind. Nobody reads this far anyway.