It was 68° with a nice breeze. Fall is approaching and it's really a great time to run. I thought I would run through from Skelp Level Road to the pedestrian bridge on the Brandywine River Trail; ~3.5 miles. I warmed up and stretched, put on my music and set a nice, easy pace (about 16 minutes a mile). After the first mile my back was aching pretty sharply and I wasn't sure how much further I would go so I slowed to a fast walk and went on to the bridge; on such a beautiful afternoon it's hard to give up. I stopped there, standing on top of the river and stared into the water. Then I did some stretches and worried about cooling down too much. I turned and headed back to the car at a fast walk. After a bit I realized I'd get to the parking lot faster if I was running, so I took up my slow paced run and set myself a steady in and out breathing rhythm: in to a count of four through my mouth and out to a count of six through my nose. That took my mind off my back.
One young woman passed me doing a brisk run/walk. I passed a couple of folks both coming and going who were pushing strollers and having a nice chat. A large group of high school guys (cross-country team perhaps) passed me in both directions. They really make running look easy. Mostly, I had the trail to myself and I could just look at my surroundings and ponder all things.
I keep thinking I should bring Minnie dog along on my runs but she gets so distracted. She loves to sniff everything and has to relieve herself a number of times on any given outing - all stop! Probably best to keep the dog walking separate from the Pat running.
11,633 steps today.
Pat
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