Fells in the Fall

I managed a couple of runs in the Fells during the past couple of weeks. On Saturday I ran with a few friends and did the Reservoir trail. We ran the 5.2 miles at a slow pace, as one of us has just gotten back to running after a long lay off. I felt strong. I loved doing the run. I find that waking up at 6:30 for a 7am run is so hard when it's dark, rather than sunny. But happiness always takes over when I think about going on the trails with people I like. The slow pace allowed us to take in the views, catch up, and shared lots of laughter. I was a bit nervous doing only 5.2 miles, even though we ran for 1:20 (I don't even want to know the pace), because Saturday I never do less than 8 miles, and usually ran 10-12. But I think in the long run that was good for me. Plus, I wanted to be there for Sue.

Today Chris (my husband) and I went back and ran the Skyline trail (7.2 miles). We are both registered for the Skyline race on November 29th, and at least one of us (guess who?) is looking forward to it. Today I wanted to run fast. Chris runs 3-4 miles 2-3 times a day these days, but he still manages to stay strong every time we run together. I guess it is the muscle memory as he used to run daily in his early 30s, and also ran cross country in high school. This is why I think he never loses fitness, while if I take 1 week off, I lose more than 50% running speed. So back to Skyline. I decided to run in shorts, which was good. I decided to leave my gloves in the car, which was bad. Three miles in and my hands were white and frozen. They remained frozen until we got home and I put them close to the stove. The run was beautiful. We ran it at 12:01 pace, and I felt strong throughout. I think I can do 11:00 for the race, and will try. Chris did very well, considering, was amazing on the up hills and a bit slow on the downhills, but he confessed his legs felt like jelly by the end of the run. It was nice to be there together, as the mountains were one of the first things that brought us together.And of course, both runs gave me loads of energy for the day! T miles = 7.4, time = 1:24.