18 Dec 2008

We have a Team breakfast this Saturday, so our coaches decided to shorten our long run to 5 miles (instead of the scheduled 8). With this in mind, I decided to do my own long run, basically switching my mid-week mid-long run and my weekend long run.
The solo long run was...good. Tougher than when I have conversation to distract and motivate, but the Nickel Bridge is beautiful, one of my favorite places to run, and the neighborhood I wandered (and briefly got lost in) was hilly, which is good. I need hills. I needed them; I got them!
It was both the longest and hilliest run I've done so far, and I am feeling it today, for sure. Sore, tired, but overall, extremely happy. I had fun, and I feel very accomplished for having done it. I'm debating a short run this evening, just to stay loose. I know more advanced runners often follow a long run with a half-distance run the next day, but beginners are more prone to injury following that regimen. We'll see how I feel, and how the time works out. I have a few things to take care of this evening, and I'm not going to stress about it, one way or the other.
I had my first "dog encounter" last night. I was jogging up a narrow street, and a car approached from behind me. Rather than squeeze alongside a parked car, I opted to hop onto the sidewalk while they passed. No sooner did my foot touch sidewalk than I heard a jingle and a bark, and a large (albeit pretty friendly-looking) dog came racing toward me. He stopped at the edge of his yard and sat down. "Just making sure you stay off my lawn, pal," he seemed to be saying.
Another standout from the run came as I was farther along the same street where I saw the dog. It was dark out, and many houses had their lights on, so I could see into many of them. One house, a small little cottage-looking thing, was brightly lit, interior and exterior lights blazing. Inside the wide picture window on the front of the house, I could see hung on the wall a large banner reading "Welcome Home." I don't know who was returning or from where, but it made me smile. I hope whoever it was had a safe trip and a happy homecoming.