Training Log - Wednesday, February 17, 2010

So, the original plan for today was 10 easy miles, meaning at a slow and relaxed pace. I was going to run 6 miles with Rich at lunch followed by another 4 miles this evening with the local youth club soccer team I train. I have been taking them on conditioning runs every Wednesday evening during the spring and fall soccer seasons. However, Richard had to cancel on our run so I decided to only run the 4 miles with the soccer team. We started the run at a leisurely pace on Indian Creek Greenway and followed the greenway for about one mile until we turned onto a short natural trail section that runs along a creek and in parallel to the greenway. This made for an interesting little detour on our usual greenway run. At the end of this short trail section, we had to cross the section of a stream by walking across a dead tree. After I crossed the stream first I went back to make sure none of the guys would slip. Instead, I experienced a first for me. Yes, I managed wipe out. Not while I was on the trails on a long run in solitude. Not during a big ultra trail race. Oh no, instead I waited to land on my back in front of a bunch of 11 to 12 year olds, who were just too happy to be the audience for their coach. However, I was impressed that smart comments were kept to a minimum. I somehow managed to get mud into and onto everything. My pants, gloves and top and even my Forerunner. Thank god it's waterproof. Otherwise the clean-up would have been much more difficult. When I hit the shower after the run, I realized I even got dirt in my mouth. The taste wasn't so bad, but the crunching between my teeth was annoying. Anyway, tomorrow is a rest day and Friday will be a light 2 miler as warm-up for Saturday's Black Warrior 50K.