Betasso Preserve Group Run

We met at the Library parking lot and convoyed to the trailhead, where we stretched a bit and laid out our plans for the run. Carlos and Barbara split from the group early, running like jackrabbits ahead of the rest of us, soon out of sight, followed closely by Emily who swore she hadn't run in a year or more. Reminded us of Regina, preceding her runs with all this talk about how bad she's going to run, then leaves us in her dust.

The remainder of the group--Valentina, David, Linda, me--was content to take it easy, enjoying the brisk morning air, the golden sunlight bathing the forest and dappled shadows. Conversation was lively and freeflowing for the first half-loop--the downhill side, of course.

Then we hit the second half. All the chatter stopped, and soon there were more walkers than runners. At the end of the loop we caught up with Carlos, compared our runs and checked in on how we were each doing.

For some, once around was the perfect run for the morning, and they departed to move into their day. David, Barbara and I decided to go for another round, Barbara and I even considering at that point going for three on the day.

With my goal of running the entire distance again, no walking, that second go around proved more challenging for me than I had anticipated.

After two previous weeks of building distance in my runs, this was intended to be an easier week for me. But running 1.5 miles uphill at heart rate pushing 90%MAX was a real challenge, and the second time around I had a decision to make. Though it was only six miles (trail) and I wanted to do nine, I'd already been on my legs nearly two hours for that distance, exactly half of it high demand. Do I measure my run by miles this week, or by time? If I measured by miles and went for nine, I'd for sure be walking the uphill last half, which would mean time out of at least three hours.

I held it at two laps around and gladly called it quits for the day. Barbara and David joined me in that decision, and as we cooled down and rehydrated we talked running and city issues for a bit then departed the mountain.

The afternoon saw me dropping into a delicious, well-earned nap.