Today was the first “long” run of my training plan. Normally I would not categorize 5 miles as a long run, but it’s the longest I’ve run since before I got sick, so I decided to go ahead and call it a long run. I wanted to run on the trails, but didn’t feel like driving or walking to the trails, so instead I ran there (1.5 miles), ran on the trails (2 miles), then ran home (1.5 miles). It was weird – I definitely prefer running on the trails, and it is easier on my joints, but today it seemed harder than running on the roads. Probably because the trails are hillier and by the time I got there I was tired from what I had run so far, but man, I felt slow out there in the woods! It was also very humid, which didn’t help matters regardless of the surface I was running on.

We’ve had some bad storms lately, complete with thunder, torrential downpours, and high winds. I could definitely tell this area had been hit when I got to the park. The trails were strewn with leaves and broken branches, and it was obvious that a ton of water had run down the trails. It made things a bit more challenging, and I really had to watch my step so I didn’t fall on my face. I did twist my ankle slightly at one point, but I shook it out and started running again slowly, and it was fine. Good thing, too, because I was almost 2.5 miles from home at that point!