Gained a Running Buddy this Weekend

I've started following a few blogs of pro trail runners that blog their workouts on a daily basis. It looks like a lot of fun and made me a bit envious, so I'm going to try to blog my workouts for a while. We'll see if it works out. I also want to write a book soon. I've heard that writing a lot helps you become a better writer, so this is great practice.

Spent both days of the past weekend running. Actually, been running a lot lately. I learned to do things by time instead of by distance, just like the pros do, while being trained by a coach all last year. We went to the training farm near Tyler, TX and I left my bike behind, planning on running 2 hours both days. Distance is secondary to time. This is how things panned out:

Saturday - 12.0 miles at just a fraction under a 10 minute mile, 1:58:+. I was on hilly asphalt roads, deep in the woods and one car length wide. Started hurting a little at the end.

Sunday - 10.6 miles on an abandoned logging road, 2:00:00. Haven't figured out the pace, was just doing it as a recovery run. Most of the run was on sand covered with a bed of pine needles. I think it was the softest yet most stable surface I've ever encountered. It was an absolute dream to run on.

One of the farm dogs ran with me the entire day Sunday. Cleo is a Golden Retriever and was enjoying the romp. I usually don't run with a dog that distance and especially off the leash, but this trail was crazy close to the farm and very safe, so I let her tag along. I've got two great running dogs of my own, but after running with Cleo, I feel like I've got a third. She's my new running buddy!

I'm shocked that my legs aren't beat up worse than they are. I'm taking tomorrow off and will try for a long bike ride on New Year's Day. Out.