Recalibrated

We are creatures of habit. Well, I know I am. When my routine gets disturbed, it's usually not a good thing. Spending the last two days in Lancaster at a conference is not typical to my schedule.... there is even more sitting than usual and there are lots of snacks available to nosh on throughout the day. Sitting and noshing, sitting and noshing... that was the routine for Thursday and Friday. Oh yeah, and no running. I had brought running clothes and had even consulted a local map to plot out a running course. I'll blame my coworker for me not running - since she and her friends from Lancaster (no they weren't Amish) were influential in me drinking more than I should.

I was wiped out from all that nonactivity so I went to bed at 9pm last night and slept the whole night through. I awoke feeling refreshed and ready for a nice long run to help recalibrate my system. I knew Tinicum would be on the menu. Having hiked the lower loop a few days earlier, I knew the 'interesting' part of the lower loop was very overgrown, so I opted to forgo that section. Instead, I decided to run out the boring part, do twice around the upper loop, and then back down the boring part and home. I wasn't sure what the mileage of this would work out to, but I knew it would be an ambitious run for me, which is what I wanted. I decided to keep the pace relaxed and to allow myself to walk, if need be, in order to ensure that I did what I set out to do.

I felt pretty good setting out... kept the pace under control and was happy that my body wasn't doing any of the funny achy stuff it sometimes does. When I reached the upper parking lot at the top of the upper loop, I met a man from Seattle who is in town with his daughter visiting colleges. They are staying in one of the nearby airport hotels. He asked me if there were any good running trails in Tinicum. Ha! Well, he may have gotten more than he bargained for. I invited him to run along with me and I would tell him about Tinicum. It was nice, we ran together for probably about a mile and a half before he dropped back. It made me realize how much I miss having a regular running partner. The time goes so much more quickly.

Once at the top of the upper loop again, I decided to look for a water fountain. I knew there was a visitor's center there, but had never ventured inside. Not only are there two water fountains... there's also a bathroom! Good to know. Heading back down the upper loop, I was feeling pretty tired, which wasn't surprising given that I had been running for about eighty minutes. I knew it would be tough for me to continue running the entire way home, so I took two short walk breaks, which helped a lot, and eventually, I did make it home.

Piecing together various G-maps (and subtracting out what I walked)... looks like I ran about 12.2 miles in 1:47:30. Felt good and now all systems are back to normal.