Round and round again

The best footing for running in today’s conditions was at Baker Field just on the other side of Lancaster Country Day from my house. It’s a really big field where Franklin & Marshall College’s athletic fields are located along with some hills as well as some trails that winds around the Conestoga River next to abandoned brick yards. Because the field and the brick yards are wooded, I’ve come across deer, foxes, turtles and snakes during runs, which, frankly, is a bit unnerving.

Nevertheless, I try to run on the field and trails as much as possible looking for any bit of relief from the steady pounding of running. Actually, I’m for (almost) anything that might ease the pain a little bit.

Anyway, three loops around the perimeter of the field is five miles. Depending on the workout, the monotony of those loops can be a blessing because it’s kind of like a track. Each time around is the same and it’s a good way to gauge how well or poorly one is running. But it can get really tedious, too. That’s especially the case when one is piling up the miles like me. But again, it forces one to work on mind drills and disassociation tactics in order to grind out lap after lap.

Today, because of the steady snow and windy conditions, I looped the field 10 times. Mixed with a short jaunt around the front of Country Day and through the neighborhood streets, the 10 laps came to 18 miles.

The mileage was the good part because I figured it would be a good idea to bite off as much as possible in one run because the conditions were deteriorating quickly. With freezing rain and sleet expected to settle in on top of the snow, it seemed doubtful that I was going to be able to get out for an evening run.

At the same time I didn’t take into consideration the ass-kicking a 2-hour run can dish out from time to time. Typically, after an hour of running I start to feel good, like a second wind or something. I can (and do) set my watch to it – after an hour of running I can really start to go. For a marathoner, that’s a good thing.

But today, after an hour, man…

No, I wasn’t going to stop. In fact, I kept making deals with myself every few minutes or so.

“OK, get to the end here and it’s 14. Or I can keep going to the house and it’s 15. That’s good enough.”

But when I got to the end of a lap, the deal changed.

“Alright. There’s 14. If I do one more it’s 16. That’s not bad for a day like this.”

Then I got to 16.

“If I can keep it together for one more lap, that’s 18. Eighteen miles will get me to two hours – that qualifies as a long run, right? Yeah, a two-hour run on a day like this… not bad.”

That’s pretty much how it goes sometimes. There’s nothing fancy there – just old-fashioned craziness. But as a result, I had to take a nap and a long soak afterwards… maybe it’s a good thing the roads and field will be an icy mess tomorrow. I think I can use the easy day.

Tuesday, Feb. 12
18 miles in 2:02:00
Last 7 days: 124 miles
Cough: yeah, but the humidity helps