westward bound
after a quiet saturday morning with my family, i geared up to roll some miles. overcast skies and temps in the upper fifties aren’t what most folks want to see in late august, but it’s great conditions for running. i initially headed west on the glacial drumlin towards wales. glancing periodically at my GPS watch, i noticed i was moving along at a solid pace which was a bit faster than i was doing for my last long run. after seven miles at an average pace of 8:10 per mile, i arrived in the next town to the west, made a quick stop at a water fountain and headed for home.
the great thing about this route is that you have a net elevation gain of 200 feet in five miles on the way out, which means on the way back you’re running downhill. i also benefited from a tailwind on the way back which made it very easy to roll my way home. my inbound seven miles were covered at an average pace of 7:32 per mile, which i was very pleased about. i was so pleased that i opted to head north then west for another 1.5 miles and then doubled back home so i could log seventeen miles for the day. overall, the average pace for seventeen miles worked out to 7:52 per mile. i grabbed a soda from the refrigerator and walked around the block for a bit before heading in for a shower.