Personal Best!

I hit the trail this morning early, the sun was up but it was still cool out. The park's parking lot where I normally start out from was closed - City of Kent sleeping in! I drove to the other entrance to the park - the one right off of Reith Road - and pulled off to side of the road at the parks North entrance. I was rather circumspect about changing up my hike - this was a big shift, going up the stairs first was definitely a different feel. Well, nothing ventured... I noted that my initial jog felt different, not as draining as normal, this was goodness. This was also my first time doing this in the morning, so where the sun normally was there was shade - made for easy running on the boardwalk. After about 1/3 mile I noticed my pulse rate getting up into the mid 160s and busted back to a fast walk. Not a quick step, more along the lines of longer strides.

I'm checking my Garmin for average speed which since I started out at a good jog, was up into the mid 5mph range. As I slowed it dropped and was at 4.6 by the time I hit the stairs *the velocity suck." After grinding to the top my average was 3.8, not bad.. I can make this up! I head to the right at the stairs , reach into the foliage and grab my prepositioned "web-wacker" ( a two foot long tree branch) and proceed around the deer-trail loop flailing the stick in a not altogether unsuccessful war against the morning's spiderwebs strung between the path's foliage.

By the time I get done with the loop (and dutifully return the web wacker) I'm still sitting at 3.8. I've got my breath back from the stairs, so I take it up to a jog until I get down the "pallet stairs" stuck on the trail on the hill next to Lake Fenwick. The "pallets" are a sort of trail stair and in order to run them you need to adopt a different metre "step-step-step, step" with the last step bringing both feet down very close together. Repeat 4 or 5 times and you are at the bottom . After this run I and at 4.0, my heart rate is at 168 and I slow back to a fast walk. I know it's a fast walk because my heart rate is reticent to come down.

I get to the half-way point, seeing my avg at 4.0 is mind blowing - my previos best of 3.8 was for the whole course and I just did the hardest half first! Iknow that I will not be able to maintain a run back up the hill. but I don't want to knock my average, so I follow my pulse: I run if my pulse gets into the 150s and walk if it hits 170. I power walk up for the most part but there is a good section of jogging. when I get to the "trail steps" I walk, but I walk fast, and just by walking my pulse taps 170 at the top of the hill. That's OK, I'm on level ground now and the rest is mostly down hill.

I still have the 4.0 avg going on. I complete the deer-trail loop and head back down the stairs, I can go down the stairs fairly fast. but not 4 mph, and when I get to the bottom the average reads 3.8. Time to kick butt and chew bubblegum, unfortunately, I'm all out of bubblegum. I jog on the trail after the staircase, it's downhill and makes for good speed without a lot of exertion. I stop when the trail wanders up hill a bit but I've added a 10th to my average. Finding another slight downhill,I jog - even though the heart rate is still mid 160s - and head down the big dip in the trail about 1/2 mile from the finish line, ding! I'm at 4.0 but my heart is in the mid 160s and I need to walk! so I do, I'm still tasting the goal and walk with long strides to maintain the average.

Hitting the boardwalk I'm in the final stretch. one third of a mile to go - pulse is down to 155 so I hit it... jog about 2 10ths and hit 166 then power walk down to 155 and hit it again, this time I keep it going until the end and when I hit the stop button, the garmin reads 4.1. My pulse taps 170, I am euphoric! I am triumphant! I am gasping for air! This was a good workout!