Week #6 - Forbidden Drive

SATURDAY JUNE 19 -
TEMPS 61 @ 7 AM - 64 @ 9 AM; HUMIDITY 87% - 76%

Obviously I'm behind in posting here. I've been busy. And life goes on :)

After working out of Oaks for several weeks, today the group met at Forbidden Drive along the Wissahickon Creek. We also (ok "I" also) decided that we should move our meeting time to 7:00 a.m. Summer doesn't officially start until Monday but the heat and humidity the past two weeks have been brutal. And of course this morning was much less humid. Go figure.

This week's seminar was on Run/walk given by coach Pete complete with visual aids created with the help of his son. Pete did a great job of explaining the technique and its benefits. After a few announcements and the drawing to decide the winner of this year's refer-a-friend contest We set out to cover 7 miles for yelow orange and red; 5 miles for Purple; and 3 for those following the half marathon schedule.

The first half mile was littered with evidence of the horses that use the trail. Dodging these turned out to be good practice for our final half mile (more on that later).

I was pleased to see so many folks trying the run/walk technique. It was a nice distance to experiment with. If it helped at this level it will be even better later. I got a kick out of the teamwork involved. One group was yelling commands at the top of their lungs when it was time to walk. They had become separated from friends who (I suppose) didn't have a watch to measure their intervals. It was kind of like covering a golf course and hearing "WAAAALK" instead of "FOOOOORE".

Almost everyone carried water today. This is very good since I've been challenged on my ability to actually get in anybody's face about it. Having said that, I noticed the bathrooms at VAlley Green were popular. I guess that's only natural; what goes in........

So as it turns out starting at 7 AM had other benefits if not for the weather issues. The summer stroll 2010 by the Epilepsy foundation was schedule for 9 am this morning. The group was just gathering when we took off. As we returned there had to be about 500 people creating an obstacle course of sorts as we tried to reach our own finish line. So I felt vindicated about the 7 am start.

My personal experience today was good. I felt confident and finished strong (Despite the obstacles). I like the long slow hills on this trail. I know that's weird but living in Media, I'm used to them and it makes me feel good that I can do them. And of course what goes up must go down and gravity is a beautiful thing! Considering I missed Thursday's minutes I was glad to have a good day today!