Growing numbers

I think it was a record turnout for the afternoon run today. Paul, Raph, Becky, myself, Chris, Brian, Frank, and Pedro rounded out the team and we headed onto what they called the "Hollow Rd/Horsetrail route. Some pretty decent climbs during this run, particularly in the beginning and then again about half way through. I charged both but didn't record the time it took to finish them. The hill up Yellow Springs is a almost 3/4 of a mile, and I would guess it took me about 5-6 minutes to reach the top of this hill. I would say it's pretty much one of the longest, steepest hills in the area.

Once we got to the top I realized I knew exactly which route we were taking. I don't really like this portion of the Horseshoe Trail. There are so many softball-sized rocks littering the trail, which are precariously covered by constant bed of leaves. It just makes running through this portion unenjoyable because every step is focused and hesitant. As soon as we made it out of this section, it was back on the road and almost immediately onto the long downhill back to the corporate campus. There is at least a section of grass on the side of the road and I have learned to negotiate this section with increasing speed. I never really feel any energy exerted on speeding up, rather just bracing myself for each footstrike and trying to make each one as smooth as possible. Let yourself go and you'll continue rolling faster down the hill, until either your nerves or your quads force you to stop. I reached the bottom and couldn't see the next runner in sight, including some of the more accomplished trail runners.

I can't remember what my final time was. I'll say 7.3 miles in about 67 minutes.