Backup Plan

I am not talking about the movie "The Backup Plan" here. I am talking about the backup plan to the workout today.

After work, my plan was to go to the local high School track near where I work and run 8X800 with 200 meter jog rest. That ,at least, was the plan until I arrived at the track. Like most High Schools, the football field is in the middle of the track and today, there was a JV football game being played therefore I was unable to use the track. Since I knew this was a possibility, I have a backup plan.

On the grounds on the High School, is a wooded area that has a nice mostly dirt trail though it. If you run the entire rectangles trail, it is somewhere just under 3/4 of a mile per loop. The trail has a few roots but not too bad. The trees are mostly clear and the path is pretty wide most of the loop. So I decided to change the workout to 6 loops with about 1:40 seconds jog between. It was definitely slower than on the track but easier on the legs. There are 2 small hills on the loop to make it interesting as well as pine cones scattered to remind me to keep my eyes down on he trail.

I really loved this workout and will plan on doing it again. There is always the risk of turning an ankle on this trail, but that would be the case anytime you run on a trail. Running thorough the woods also gives you the feeling like you are running faster than you really are. It was windy, but not in the woods. After warm up, intervals, and cool down, I ended up getting in about 7 miles today. It was good!