There was no rain in the morning. Temperatures were in the lower 70's F. Very pleasant day, and the ankle held up exactly as I was hoping it would. Couldn't ask for more.
I had a start later than I was aiming for, and the temperature in the 70's was a tad higher than I was hoping for an easy run. The first two miles went a bit faster than I was planning. Then things kind of settled down where I wanted. There were many people on the road today. A lot of them new. I crossed a new couple on the early part of my third mile down a hill, and crossed them again later, as I turned around about half way into the mile. before mile 4 when they were returning. Before that, there was a mother and teenage daughter. The mother appeared to be delivering a spirited monologue to the daughter. The cyclists were back - one was on my mile 6 and the other crossing at mile 10. They both appeared more relaxed today, probably due to the cooler weather. Even though the Sun was out, the heavy rain overnight had cooled down the earth. Even the asphalt road wasn't radiating much heat. On top of that a cool breeze which made things so nice that I wasn't wearing my sun glasses until about mile 7 or 8. I had forgotten that it was perched on top of my hat! There was also a new lady, looked very athletic, who crossed me around mile 9 or so. I am thinking some of these folks could be training for the half marathon in the neighborhood coming up in a month and half or so.
I had to pay extra attention down hill to reduce impact and stress on the left ankle. There were many sections where I was just cruising. In fact, I felt more energy running mile 12 and 13, kind of like a secret reservoir of energy got unlocked. I enjoyed the state very much, but didn't want to overdo it. I have a half mile climb on mile 14 and then my 'friend', the last mile, that loves to challenge me. So I reduced my pace and got ready for the last two miles. By now, my bottles only had a couple of gulps left, but that should be okay.
I find it rather easy to find a good rhythm on the half mile climb on 14, unlike some of the shorter, but somewhat steeper climbs along the way. Ah, whatever. Running up, I felt a slight tightness on my left hip into the glute area, around 7 o'clock position, reminding me that I should do stretches after the run to relax those muscles. By now the Sun was burning high, and I took a swig at the bottle around the top of the hill. Next is a down hill which I ran from tree shade to tree shade. I wanted to keep my body as cool as can be, going into the last mile climb, as that one doesn't offer much by way of shades. I emptied the last half ounce from a bottle into my mouth as I started the 'assault'. Just focussed on my breathing, steps and posture.
It wasn't too bad in the end. Not bad at all. I finished running a bit stronger than in my previous 15 mile runs. A few drops were left in the other bottle. I emptied it into my mouth as I started a quick and short cool down walk. Those few drops were priceless!
Keep going. If I can run, u can run.
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