a blustery morning run

I know that it takes about two weeks for the benefits of any given workout to have a physiological impact, but that doesn't mean a run can't have an immediate psychological effect. With the temperature just below freezing and the wind blowing fiercely this morning, I opted against an easy run and traded it for a confidence boosting long run. With only four days until my 5 mile turkey trot I knew I should be tapering, but with the forecast calling for temperatures in the low twenties Thanksgiving morning, I wanted to make sure that I could handle both the distance and the cold.

I drove out to Hickory Hollow, a small natural preserve area that has a few different trails that loop around and intersect each other, and I set out for a four mile run, my longest run in almost a year. The ground was hard and unyielding from the cold and the wind had left many tree limbs strewn across the trails. It was pretty tough going, and at one point, due to concealment caused by fallen leaves, I lost sight of the trail and ended up running down a steep embankment, only able to arrest my rapid, uncontrolled decent at the bottom by grabbing onto a small tree. Despite the unforeseen adventure, I continued on my way, all the while hoping that it would warm up, but the cold winds were unrelenting. Far from my fastest run, I was just content to have completed the run without any other incident.

I know the cautious thing to do would have been to take it easy today and to ensure that my legs were as fresh as they could be for the race on Thursday, but I'm glad I put in the extra miles. Between IT twinges from a couple of weeks ago to my longest run being only 3.5 miles, I was a little worried about how things were going to go at the turkey trot. Would I have to walk? Would I end up injured? But after today's run, I know that I'm good to go. I don't have a lot of confidence in breaking my time from last year, but at least I know that I'm ready.