At the end of last week my legs were pretty beat. I started with the Bay State Half Marathon and ran 4 more days during the week, including a nice albeit slow trail run in the Fells on Saturday. On Monday my legs were still sore and I wasn't holding out a lot of hope for a good run. I elected to run from home rather than from work, since the Charles River always seems to energize me. Friends had run the Bimbler's Bluff 50K race over the weekend and had some great finishes, even in the face of physical adversity, so I was determined that I would get out there one way or the other. Watching the Head of the Charles also helped my inspiration.
As I changed into my running gear my body felt energized; I'm not sure where that energy came from. As I stretched out front of my house I thought about going for 6 instead of 4 miles. It was warm and being out in shorts made my legs eager for a run. The first mile was slow, as it always is, but it wasn't awkward or painful, a good sign. I saw Mimi just before hitting the river, she was finishing her run as I was headed out. By then I'd made the decision to go up to the Elliot Bridge and extend the run. My headlamp illumination proved inadequate for running on the narrow dirt path next to the bike path, so I stayed on the pavement most of the way. It's amazing how few runners or bikers carry any sort of illumination. Silly people.
At the bridge I checked my pace and saw that I had stepped it up quite a bit, this might even be a fast run. Thinking about the rowers who had been on the river the past two days kept my brain occupied, and the next mile flew by. There were still a bunch of the big white tents near the footbridge and I thought I heard some people still out on the water but didn't see any bow lights. Ghost rowers, perhaps? The turn at River St and now I was headed back home. It's tough seeing the ground when the headlights of the oncoming cars are in your eyes, so I went back on the paved path, before cutting across Memorial Drive. The run was going to be a little short so I added a loop around my block to make sure I had 6+ miles. It ended up pretty fast, nearly my half marathon pace. If I took out the first mile it would have been faster.
I wonder where that energy came from? It wasn't there when I started getting ready for the run. Never look a gift run in the mouth.
