Boston -33 -- Thu. Mar. 18

Tied up w/ rec ltrs in the a.m. so head into work with running gear, planning a run home in beautiful sunny weather. Almost too warm: carry a water bottle for the first time this year, I think, and a good sized one. Change in ISOM and move car to lot 33, then start out back homewards just after 1:30. Along to trail, aiming for a few miles of warmup at 7:45; stop and stretch by farmer's supply place after 2 miles, then continue--downhillish, so turn in a sub-7:00, then slow down, deciding to aim for an average in the 7:20s (which will be work, but shouldn't be too much). Follow rail trail as far as Station Rd, then head left up the hill to slow pace down again; along to North, then down the connecting trail to rejoin rail trail; to end of paved section, then cross road to continue along trail. Follow roads briefly until trail picks up again off Federal, then trail again (a bit hard going at this point, feeling coldy and tired), across Cheryl, then at Grela head back to Federal, and along to Metacomet, over to Bay, along and up the hill (saying hi to Dave A as I pass) and into Hamilton. Sore, tired, and achilles nagging at this point, so decide to stop at 12, which I get to by heading down Jackson to about the small farms place. Then gently on with a cool down, not resetting clock; pause it while I clamber up through the chestnut grove, then restart as I jog along to the trail and follow it to GeoHannum, and on up as far as the culvert, finally stopping it thus:

Time: 1:37:45
Distance: 13.06 miles
Pace: 7:29s

Comment: should have taken vit. I before this (before any double digit run?), especially when I'm carrying a stubborn sinus cold. Ouf. But, even with the cooldown, pace was (just!) under 7:30s, so good enough. Tomorrow, a rest day, then penultimate race before the big one.