Day Six

This morning, I woke to blue skies, fluffy clouds, and a brilliant sun. Perfect running weather - the wind was calm and the temperature was cool but not cold.

Usually, I might take advantage of such nice weather of a Saturday and run 5 or 6 miles. But today, my legs were not really up to it. I ran a bit over 2 miles, 24:07 and it really was all I could manage, especially since my hamstrings were very tight. The first mile is always rough, but the second mile didn't feel all that much better. It wasn't until I was running downhill to the house that I started to feel good. (And that was probably just the psychological boost of knowing it would soon be over.)

Toby was a great companion today. It's so much nice to run with him on the weekends than during the week, after he's been cooped up most of the day.

We did have a run in with the retriever-y thing, who came all the way out of his yard barking viciously with his teeth bared. He probably got within a foot of us, as I was simultaneously speeding up whilst turning partially and yelling at him to go away. He did, eventually. On the way back, he just barked from the safety of his own yard.

I hate having to pass him (or at least having the possibility of passing him) on every run. But as I've mentioned before, the side roads are straight climbs up. The main road out of town is also less than ideal since it is very curvy and there's nearly no space for a runner, let alone a runner with a dog. I ran that way once and will never do it again. It was 20 minutes of feeling like I was just one blind corner away from becoming carnage on the roads.