Sometimes it's just about getting out

My 5+ mile rough trail run on Saturday took a real toll on my energy level for the rest of that day. I wanted to nap at some point but I never had a chance. Before I knew it, it was time to go out for dinner with other activities following. I slept like a rock overnight but still felt a little tired this morning. I suspect I'm fighting off a bug or something but it may just be a case of too much activity and not enough rest.

My plan today was simply to get out and run in the neighborhood. I had no planned route, distance or pace and I considered going out without my Garmin to reinforce that today's run was about running and not performance. I knew I just couldn't leave my watch behind but I decided to use it only for monitoring elapsed time. My starting pace was slow and I was fine with that. I thought I might go for a high mileage run so conserving energy would be important. I crossed into neighborhood #2 because I hadn't gone through there in few weeks. There were lots of people on the street, mostly walkers, but a few were running. It was cool and the sun was low so I was fairly comfortable for the first 20 minutes. Soon after that I began to feel fatigued and thought about whether I really wanted to do a long run after all. I decided to head back to my neighborhood, targeting 5K as my total distance.

My curiosity got the best of me so I peeked at the distance on the Garmin and saw that I was approaching 3 miles at around the 27 minute mark. I changed course and headed back home, completing 3.4 miles at a mid-9 minute pace. I was actually surprised that my pace was as good as it was considering that I wasn't moving that well and hadn't tried to step it up along the way. Overall it was an unremarkable run but I was glad to have done it. The rest of today is taken up with a party and some family activities. I'm hoping to take my bike out later if time allows. Or maybe I'll go for that nap.