Winter Running

I've already told you that runners are weird, right?

This morning (8:00 am) I ran six miles on the Sand Run path.  If you are a runner, you know this is a somewhat challenging trail because of the hills.  The woods and waterfall are beautiful at any time of the year, but I really prefer fall.

This is my favorite spot on the trail.  

I naively decided that I was going to "take it easy" by doing six miles instead of ten for my long run day.  I also stupidly said (out loud, mind you) that we were going to "get 'er done.  One hour, tops."  This is what I found:

This isn't Sand Run, but you get the idea.

It's just not fair that my heart was racing, and my glutes and quads were burning, and I checked the Garmin to find that we were running a 12:30 pace.  Seriously.  The only consolation I have is that MANY fast runners passed us, and we found nearly all of them later WALKING BACK.  That's right.  There is a reason that my horoscope today said, "Slow and steady wins the race."  I feel vindicated, and hearing Meredith Brooks singing "Bitch" as I came down the home stretch made the finish that much sweeter.