Day 15 (Sept. 11)

On the Saturday before long-run Sunday, I went to the University of South Florida-Ball State football game. I didn’t think making it to run Sunday morning would be a problem. I was wrong. After some beverages and going out after the game, I wasn’t feeling my best at 7:30 a.m. So, yeah. I didn’t make it to run with the group.

View from the $7 seats

Instead, I slept in. But, I did run my scheduled 5 miles later that day. I made the mistake of running in an area with a bunch of strollers and tourists and ended up getting frustrated. I ran super fast to get away from them, and as often happens when starting out running too fast, I tired sooner than normal. So, I didn’t run the entire 5 miles. But, I got the mileage in, and I figure that’s the important thing.  

Day 12 (Sept. 4)

I’m still in Kansas, and I need to run 5 miles — my long run for the week. I hit the Shunga Trail, which really rocked (aside from those portions where they were replacing sections of the trail and had blockades and no trail).

It was a cool day (a breezy 70 degrees). Yes, 70 is cool for me. If you’re used to dealing with 90 degrees with 100% humidity, you’d find this almost chilly. And, this made running a breeze. I guess all those people that kept telling me that once it cooled off running would seem easy were right!

I went 2.5 miles in one direction and turned back for the remaining 2.5 miles. I walked a few portions (those mentioned portions with no trail and blockades). I also walked a few sections that had an extreme uphill portion to come up from under a road — extreme uphill could be an exaggeration, but when you’re used to flat land, any hill is extreme (or so says Jina). I tried running them, but I swore I was just making the running motion and staying in the same spot.

This trail took me through neighborhoods, soccer and baseball fields and wooded areas. It really was an enjoyable way to see the city.