Freshly returned home from a long trip in San Antonio, the alarm called me to post at 4:10 a.m. for yet another soon to be record long run.  I really, really need some sleep.  I walked out the front door and was pleasantly surprised to feel cool air and see the ground because of a bright full moon.  Off I went, and for good or bad, there were no incidences today.  No skunks, no nipping dogs, no cats disguised as mountain lions.  This time the newspaper delivery guy didn’t even disturb me.  In fact the animal experience was quite nice this go around.  I saw a total of 5 white-tailed deer on 2 separate occasions.  There was also one stretch of valley in the back of the neighborhood where I got a whiff of horses (not horse manure mind you) that I suppose came from the nearby Kentucky Horseshoeing School.  I don’t know why I consider that a pleasant smell, but it is.

The first 5 or so miles passed pretty quickly without much problem.  Then slowly over the next 2 or 3 miles, I started feeling aches in different locations.  Each time I felt something, I started wondering if I had injured myself.  First it was my right hip, and then my left knee, and then my right foot.  I pushed through it and was able to pick up the pace when I knew that I only had 1 mile left.  My legs were absolutely beat when I finished the run.  I passed the 10 mile mark for the first time ever, running 10.5 miles in 1:33:24.  Now, at least I know that I have run the minimum distance (not the terrain though) of the Killington Spartan Beast Race that is just a few short weeks away.  Next week I’ll increase the mileage one last time and then work some more on terrain running.

Two things to note from today:  Neighbors, be advised that when it is dark outside and you have your lights on without window shades — I can see you!  The second note is that I realized that a significant number of songs on my running playlist are due in part to a college friend of mine, Alan C.  Makes me wonder what I would have listened to if not for his influence.

Almost forgot, I haven’t been able to workout with my log for a week, so I had to give it some love at the end of the run.  Although my legs felt like logs themselves I knocked out some squat shoulder throws and Russian twists with it.  Tomorrow should be a good workout day….the first in well over a week in which I will have had a good night’s sleep.