Farewell Jen

Group run at lunch on the first of several farewell runs for Jen S., the fitness director here in Malvern. Although not typically part of the regular running group, she held up pretty well. Paul R. designed the route, and Jen, myself, Tahira, and Alan followed. I still haven't gotten my bearings on these runs totally figured out, but I don't think that really mattered, as we were once again blazing our own trails, following the faint patterns of deer tracks and continuously pulling thorns out of our legs. Evidence of the rain left a lot of mud, but it was easily washed off by several creek crossings. A few times the water was mid-thigh level and surprisingly warmer than I thought. The best thing to do when encountering mud and water is to dive right in. There's no way around it and it is a relief to let go of the worry of staying clean and dry. I think Tahira had a hard time with this, though. She tried leaping over one of the creeks and was pretty close to face-planting in the water. I don't think she liked it.

I had the MT-101s with me and noted another benefit of these shoes is they dry extremely fast, but they don't constantly remind you that your feet are water-logged. The run was slow going to accomodate everyone's pace, but it was a good run nonetheless. Finished up with a pretty good effort for the last 0.7 miles. I wish I would have recorded the time.

About 5.6 miles, although I think it was longer. Untimed.