Path least taken

Pre-workout fuel: Slice of whole-wheat toast with Amish cherry jam and cup of half-caff coffee.
Workout: Ran 4.01 miles in 37 minutes, 4 seconds; average pace, 9:14. Fifteen minutes of "Incredible Abs 7" with Cindy Whitmarsh, courtesy of Exercise TV.

I woke up this morning with the urge to do something different. Something exciting. Something new. Or make something old new again.

I leashed up Denali for our 4-mile run and instead of hopping on the Greenway, I took us on a tour of a residential area that we haven't seen in awhile. I like the Greenway because it's easier to avoid traffic lights/crosswalks, and I know which way to go depending on how far I am scheduled to run. However, the same stretch, especially after seeing it for 9 miles on Sunday, didn't appeal to me. Crosswalks, I welcome you!

We set out a slow pace as I was still a smidge sore from my long run. About a quarter-mile in, though, I remembered why we avoided residential areas. At least on Tuesday. Garbage day! I felt like I was on an obstacle course as we tried to navigate the sidewalks and grassy areas to avoid the big cans. I ended up going through a lot of yards in that first half-mile as to avoid Denali leading me straight into a can or getting scared by the garbage truck's noise and pushing me into it.

Once we got into an addition, the run seemed to get better. I didn't have to dodge garbage cans (ran in the street), I got to look at some cute houses and I found my legs! I still let comfort dictate my pace and kept my eyes off the Garmin (for the most part). I was even surprised that we didn't have to stop for a crosswalk until 2.5 miles in and only stopped once more at 2.85 miles.

We didn't see many runners along this route but we did see plenty of kids walking to school. Fall is just around the corner, folks! Hip ... hip ... HOORAY!

In store for tomorrow: Tempo ... yay ... I think!