Time: 7:37
Location: Horsemen's Center
Today I wanted to run somewhere other than Powhatan. I decided to head over to Horsemen's Center, where I last ran on August 21st, 2010, the day of the Apple Valley Mud Run (and the day Deborah broke her leg). As this is Mother's Day Weekend, though, I didn't know if the park would be available. Sure enough, upon arriving I saw RVs and tents set up all over, with people everywhere. I decided to alter my route, and instead of running in the park, I would run in a large open area just south of it, right next to a mountain of picturesque rock formations. I had mapped out a couple of routes here back home on mapmyrun.com, and I had discovered that 3/4 of the way around the perimeter
of this open area equaled 1/4 of a mile. I did some quick and hasty calculations and determined that three laps around the perimeter would equal 1 mile. So I parked my car, stretched a bit, and took off. My legs felt good, as they have been all week, but for some reason my breathing felt labored. My chest was tight and I felt like maybe I was beginning to cramp up -- all this within the first 200 yards of the run. It wasn't a good sign. I worked on my breathing, slowing it down and trying to inhale deeply. I had initially wanted to get in 2 miles (which would have been at least 6 laps), but after feeling pain in my chest, I decided 1 mile would suffice. After the first lap my breathing got better. The tightness in my chest went away and I felt more relaxed. I took in the scenery: large boulders of rock protruding up into the blue sky and the valley off to the south and west. It was a beautiful afternoon and a scenic run. I finally reached my third and final lap. The terrain here isn't even, and it's all dirt, so it's more like trail running. One leg of the lap is all uphill, which was good training for me. There was even a small obstacle: a dirt mound I had to leap over. I rounded the final turn and kicked it to the end. I was surprised to see a 7:37. Either I had just run my fastest mile since last May, or I had miscalculated and run less than a mile. When I got home I discovered it was the latter. It was actually 0.9 miles, and so my mile time most likely would have been over 8 minutes, which is understandable given the terrain. All the same, it was a great run. I love running on dirt, surrounded by nature, breathing deeply the clean air. It ended a pretty good running week. I know soon I need to up my mileage, but for now I'm enjoying the strides I'm making.
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