Wk3/D1 - 8K Mondays with the Doggies at the Park

8:01K @ 57:19

7:10 / km pace

Glorious sunshine!!!! :) :)

What a great day to get outside for a run! The sun was shining and warm, and it felt great to be out in it!

Today, Angus and Wallace joined me for a run in the park. Today my training program ramped up Monday runs to 8K, and I will be running 8K every Monday for the duration. It was wonderful to be off the treadmill and in the park. The hill behind Storybook Gardens was a little hairy with slick ice ... it is so shaded in that part of the park that it did not benefit from the sun's rays. My split for that time reflects how much slower I was running so that I wouldn't slip and fall. I will probably avoid that hill for tomorrow's scheduled 5K ...

Other than that section, most of the park's roads and running paths were in terrific shape. There were a significant number of dog walkers out with their companions so my dogs had a lot of head-turning action, but they were well behaved and kept pace even when tempted by the possibility of new friends ...

I found the run a little long but I think this has more to do with being more accustomed to shorter runs in the park of late than anything else. I have a little bone on my left foot that felt a little tender today while I ran periodically, but I made sure to stretch properly at the end to see if this helps. Something to note and keep an eye on. I am very tired this evening so I am sure this run will help me sleep better tonight. :)

While walking back to my vehicle during my cool down, a walked on the path stopped me to ask my distance. He was impressed to learn that I had run 8K and shook my hand in congratulations - LOL! We then had a nice chat for 20 minutes or so about running. It turns out that he is a runner but is taking time off from it to recover from an injury. He was very nice and genuine. It was one of those nice random encounters stemming from a mutual enjoyment of running. :)

I have family in town this week so we will not be working out at the gym tonight. I walked Kim this evening for a healthy stretch of time so I added some additional cardio to my day.

5K tomorrow! Day 2. :)