A Long Hot Run

I dropped Skye off at the dentist with Cindy, which found me in Burbank around 11 am with time to do my long run.

I parked nearby on a street that had access to the horse trails that lead up into Griffith Park. I've run this area before, but usually in the cool morning when the dew is still holding down the dust on the trails. Today was very different. In spite of it still officially being winter, the temperature was in the eighties. The sun was directly overhead leaving very little shade. And the dust kicked up easily and soon felt like it was coating my mouth, nose throat and lungs.

The trails were composed of loose sand and gravel which is great for horses I suppose but made for a slow pace. And the trails that headed into the mountains were ridiculously steep. I was not walking or hiking but the speed was pretty much that equivalent. I had my running-computer-geek watch informing me that I had slowed at times to a 22 minute mile pace. Unlike a riding a bicycle where you labor up a hill and know you will be rewarded with an effortless fun ride down, running downhill is quicker to be sure but at the considerable price of jarring one's muscles and joints.

When all was said and done I put in 1 hr and 33 minutes and ran 8.28 miles. That's a pace of 11:17 minute miles burning around 1473 calories, or in St. Patrick's Day terms 7 pints of Guinness.