Upping The Mileage And Some Good News!

   Yesterday, in an effort to get my mileage up one more notch, I borrowed my wife's car (so that my wonderful stepsons would have the opportunity to put snow tires on my car) and headed off to Kains Woods once again.
   It was a couple of degrees Celsius when I left the house, so I layered up nicely before I walked out the door. I did this in spite of the fact that I knew much warmer temps were in the offing in the afternoon but I am kind of a wuss when it comes to my upper body being cold---I have a hard time forcing myself out the door on a run day if I know I'm going to be cold for the first twenty minutes or so. Better to start off warm, then yank off a layer or two.
   

On the paved walkway, running
around the collection pond.

I entered at the end of the trail where the first kilometer or so is paved walkway. This is kind of annoying as I was wearing Salomon trail shoes and their large lugs are not conducive to running on pavement so I tried as much as possible to run on the grass borders. Eventually I arrived at the true trail portion and things were much better. My right knee initially was giving me some minor grief but this went away after about half a K.
   It did warm up and by about halfway through my run I was way overdressed. I was running into people running in shorts and t-shirts and congratulating them on their choices!
   The goal yesterday was to run 8K. My plan was to run 4 and a half K and then turn around and head back. One of the problems with the trails in my area is that none of them are any much longer than 5K, so this always necessitates me doubling back to get in the mileage. No big deal, though, and I managed to reach my goal with few issues.
    Kains was a busy place yesterday, lots of hikers and more than the usual amount of runners as well. And lots of dogs! Dogs are supposed to be on a leash at all times but most of the ones I ran into weren't. They were all well-behaved but, at the same time, I don't know that until they demonstrate it. Until they demonstrate it, I have to stop dead in my tracks when I encounter them. I also wonder what would happen if a well-behaved dog suddenly spotted a deer or a skunk off in the distance...oh well. Now that I come to think of it, the only time I've actually ever been harmed by a dog while out running was a beagle (on a leash, on a sidewalk) that unexpectedly leapt up on me as I was passing and tore a hole in my brand-new running shirt, breaking my skin with a paw. So maybe it's safer in the forest!
    After the run, my right knee was more tender than usual. I don't actually experience pain in it while I'm running but the aftermath is swelling and the accompanying tightness. This usually disappears after a couple of days but is problematic enough that I might actually try and see the doc about it. Something tells me it might need to be drained....

Through the trees, on the other side
of the river, you can see the golf
course belonging to the London
Hunt and Country Club (careful how
you say that) Could hear the skeet
shooters as I ran!

   Good news! In my blog post last week I briefly mentioned that I had quickly gained a huge amount of weight recently. I signed off with a throwaway comment that perhaps I should start going to the gym. Well...I did! I finally got up the drive to head over to the Goodlife in the nearby Superstore and use my Fit For Less membership. I've had this membership literally for two years and have never used it! Stupid or what?! It took  me awhile to remember how to use some of the machines but eventually I got into the swing of it. The best part, though, is that the ice has finally been broken! I'm off again today!