New Trail---LOVE IT!

Today was my 46 day of P90X and it was a cardio day---I decided I would do a run instead and my goal was at least 45 minutes (ended up running about an hour).  I headed out sans music.  Since I am working on Jeff Galloway's run/walk training program, I needed to hear the minute increments on my Garmin (little did I know I would miss hearing the alarm on my watch due to the cicadas).  I decided to head over to Thompson Park (my local fav)--instead of pounding the pavement in my neighborhood.

Thompson has a great 1 mile horse trail around the rugby field.  The path is perfect packed dirt, covered with overhanging vegetation and you never feel like you are on a loop (I cannot stand running around in circles).  The trail feels like "home" to me.  I love every angle and it is a great place to run from all the extra "stuff" in your life.  I always start off going left---the wider path and the trees are picturesque and I can see why this path is a local favorite for horse enthusiasts.Sorry for the blurry picture below---I promise I was not moving this time--sometimes my blackberry takes great shots and sometimes I get these blurry images---but you can get the picture---Isn't it beautiful.

So I kept with the run/walk ratio of 3:1 and tried to keep it slow--but I ran faster than I did the other day and was able to keep a pace of 10:22 and 10:38 on the first 2 miles.  After warming up, I decided to take the trail near the path--I thought this trail was short and just extended a little bit off the pathway--BOY, was I wrong.

This trail was the BEST EVER!  It was about 1.5 miles and was absolutely gorgeous--I felt like I had made an awesome discovery and was kinda pissed to see a few other people along the way (but not many--I really felt like I was out there alone).  The trail snakes around the lake.

In many spots the path gets very narrow and seems to be just an edge above the water line.  I ran through the trees and the wind picked up--a storm was on its way.  There was enough tree covering to protect me if it started to rain.  The wind felt delicious and I was having fun.

Jumping and weaving over the tree roots was invigorating and I really felt like I could keep running. 

Time flew by and I was worried about pushing too fast too soon---so I headed back.  By the time I hit the rugby field I had clocked 5 miles exactly (57 minutes)---walked for 1/2 mile to cool down.  Just as I got to my car---torrential downpour.  What a great run.  I headed off to the grocery store to pick out a Birthday cake for my birthday boy--Ronan who turned 11 today.  Hopefully we will be able to sneak in pool time in between the rain, since family is heading over to help him celebrate--I think I will nix the BBQ and just order pizza---he'll like that better anyway.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/42694543