New Yaktrax & Another Trip to the Coastal Trail

Workout: 3.5 miles jogged along the Coastal Trail

That title is almost identical to Sunday's because I have no imagination.

Because I'm awesome, my weekend started at noon today. That means 4 1/2 days of pure awesome. Or, more likely, 4 1/2 days of homework, grad school application shit, and FNL (duh, that's a given). I decided to kick it off by going for a run.

Well, actually, I should back up a bit. I went straight from work to REI to go buy some Yaktrax. This was actually sort of an interesting experience because of my dumb running shoes. I figured I'd have an issue with fit since my shoes aren't as bulky as most, and sure enough, I did. I felt ridiculous attempting to attach Yaktrax that so obviously were not going to fit my tiny shoes (my Pace Gloves), especially since the store was flooded with people there for, I don't know, Black Wednesday? That's a thing now, right? In the end, I snagged a pair of extra small "Walk Yaktrax," which I figured were fine for me because I'm not hardcore and I'm not fast. I just need something sticking off my shoes. Trax in hand (that's what the cool kids call them, right?), I headed over to the Coastal Trail because I literally couldn't wait to drive all the way up to Powerline (I'm pathetic). I'm pretty sure I'm about to go on a major Coastal Trail kick. I can't believe it took me three months to go there despite knowing full well that it's a kickass trail. Will have to make up for lost time.

It was 4 below at my house this morning so I was expecting the run to be damn cold, but it must have warmed up significantly because I ended up running in what I always run in (note to self: buy another running jacket) and I was sweating like a pig for a majority of the run.

Unfortunately, I don't carry around a full-length mirror in my car so this will have to do.

Even the parking lot was pretty today.

I subconsciously planned my run really well, because I started at Earthquake Park and turned around right at Point Woronzof, my starting point on Sunday. Maybe I should run the whole Coastal Trail in sections and then do a photo tour or something, because I'm sure you all really care. 4.25 miles down and many more to go!

I'm hesitant to say the Yaktrax worked because in fact the snow on the trail was pretty packed down. I don't think there would have been much sliding around even without them. However, I did feel really steady on my feet, and at one point I was running on ice in a parking lot and didn't think twice about it. That was nice. If nothing else, it allowed me to run with confidence (confidence which, I'm sure, will eventually cause me to break a leg) and not worry about each and every footstep. I pretty much felt like I was running on plain pavement, which was nice.

A beautiful city indeed. This picture is way overexposed.

And because I know that all you really care about are my stats and not pictures of my beautiful city, here they are. I'm sure you'll be blown away by how incredibly fast I am.

Considering how easy I felt I was taking it, I'm actually quite pleased with those paces. Definitely didn't feel like there was a 100+-foot gain over .15 miles. I'll take it!

My shin felt good and I'm pretty sure I'll do my planned 2.5 tomorrow and be ready for 5 on Saturday, for a total of 14 completely pain-free miles for the week. Can't really ask for much more than that.

[insert obligatory Thanksgiving wishes]