Upswing

Early morning

AMRAP 7 minutes
5 burpees
10 Deadlifts (80)
8 rounds

AMRAP 7 minutes
15 Double Unders
10 OH Lunges (35)
5 High Low Planks
6 + 20 rounds

AMRAP 7 minutes
15 Box Jumps
10 OH Presses (55)
5 Plank Jacks
7 rounds

Early afternoon

Short trail run with Chris and Paul this afternoon. Runs like today make you realize that you're body doesn't always perform like it's indicating it might. After this morning's workout, I was doubting running, but wanted to hit a certain weekly mileage total. Fearing my legs would quickly fill up with lead, I decided against better judgement to venture out onto the trails. The monsoon-like conditions had left the quarry and nature preserve a veritable swamp-fest. My "jump-right-in" mindset over the past few days came in pretty useful, as entire stretches of trail were submerged in over-flowing creeks and mud that surged almost up to my shins in a few instances.

Honestly, it was the best run all week. My legs felt better than they have in forever during a run. When you factor in this week's activities, I would say that I'm finally on the upswing of what has been almost a year-long cardiovascular depression. Maybe it's too early to make that call. Maybe I should knock on wood before my long run on Sunday. But it just feels good to feel good about running again.

Long Run

Registration is official for both Brigid and myself in the Dirty German 50K, held within the city limits of Philadelphia in PennyPack Park. I've heard many things about this park, both good and bad, but since the 50K alone is set for 500 participants, not to mention the shorter and longer race distance participants, there should be plenty of folks around. Plus, how can you say no to a post race party catered by lederhosen-clad beer wenches?

The run today was done completely on the trails of the Wissahickon. I got a brand new pair of New Balance MT-101 that I wanted to try and decided to break them in today. The route started at Valley Green. We made our way up the North/Eastern side of the creek and continued down to Lincoln Drive. From there, we took the bike path down to the steps near Ridge Ave and followed the high trails past the golf course and eventually down at the 4 mile marker of Forbidden Drive. We headed down because we saw a few garbage bags that Brigid thought looked like dead bodies. I think she has been watching too much SVU.

The run was great, the weather was great, and the shoes were great. I didn't have any soreness in my arches like I suspected I might. The treads gave excellent traction on the trails. There were only a few patches of snow and ice, so it wasn't worth while to bring any addition Yak Trax. There is almost no midsole and the sole on the heel and forefoot is minimal, but I couldn't feel any of the mid-sized rocks on my feet like I usually do with the Vibrams. Keeping a watchful eye on the terrain is still pretty important, however. The narrow width of the shoes provides a little less ankle stability, but I'm sure this is something that will soon be remedied with increased mileage and ankle strength. Overall, I'm very happy with them.