Saturday, after a full day off on Friday, I woke up in Lufkin (I knew that was going to happen...it wasn't like I woke up and found myself mysteriously in another city or anything like that...), and got myself together for a solo 15 miler through the streets of my old hometown. Since I wasn't tied into a schedule to meet anyone for the run, I slept in and didn't get going until just before 8:00am. I still ran in long pants and wore my running vest, since it was in the lower 30's when I took off, but it was bright clear sunshine, and it warmed up by the end of the run to right at 40 degrees. Very nice running weather.
With the iPod set on "shake and bake," I headed out from my childhood home and started my counterclockwise 15 mile loop of Lufkin that I've run before in one form or the other. My legs felt pretty great on the long run, and except for feeling just a touch of fatigue in them from time to time, it was merely a nice long run. It was a welcome change after a week of leg crankiness!
The first 4 miles or so were on more rural roads, and as I crossed over highway 59, I took my first GU/Powerade stop. I guess without fellow runners to move the process along, I sort of got lackadaisical about making a quick stop, and I ended up with a 2:43 stop there. In my defense, it was sure nice standing there in the sun, sipping my Powerade. :-)
The next chunk of the course finished up the larger roads on my tour, and I encountered my only dog charge of the morning. The dog gave up pretty quickly, so no harm done there. I went by the Lowe's, across the loop, and up Chestnut, turning on Denman and a trip through the grounds of the old high school, which is now the middle school in Lufkin. I believe that they only have one middle school, but I'm not totally sure of that. I took my second stop back by the track, which is now surrounded by a locked fence. The cinder surface is gone, too, and the darned thing is probably 400 meters now instead of 440 yards. Progress, I suppose.
That second stop was also pretty long (just over 7:00!), as I took off one of my shirts and stashed it away in the back pocket of the running vest. Oh, well. From the high school, it was time for the journey downtown. Past law offices, office supply stores, the courthouse (a particularly grand building for such a small town), First Baptist Church, the civic center, then back towards home. Downtown was as deserted as usual, but they've done a nice job of bricking over the sidewalks on First Street, so when more businesses come to downtown, it will look pretty good. After wheeling by Dad's office, I went by the old Junior High (used to be 8th and 9th grades), down Pershing, and stopped for my last GU/Powerade stop just across the railroad tracks. That stop was a spiffy 1:40, so I was ready to be done, I guess.
I hadn't been looking at my watch along the way, mainly because with the iPod, I didn't hear the mile chimes from the Garmin. I felt like I was dragging a little, really, but just kept chugging along down Southwood, thinking about picking it up a little so that I'd at least be at MGP for the end of the run. I only got delayed a few seconds crossing the loop the last time into the old 'Hood, and from there it was only a mile and a half or so back to my parents' house. Done.
I was pretty surprised when I totalled up the numbers later. Running alone, I had gone quicker than usual for pretty much the whole run, and so most of the run was at or near MGP. It didn't seem that quick, so I'll take that as a good sign. I ended up with 14.6 miles at 8:41/mile running pace. With the extreme break time included, it slowed to an overall 9:31/mile. Pretty good for a solo run.
I did a few strides around the driveway, did some stretching inside, and called it a day. Good stuff. And now it's just two weeks until AT&T! Scary...
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