Just One of Those Days

Nothing special...just a nice six-mile run after work yesterday. The weather was an absolute joy, unlike Tuesday. When I set out I didn't really have an idea of how far or where I would go. I headed west on Cavanaugh Lake Rd. to Conway Rd. and turned north. Conway was a bit of a struggle. I ran my first two miles at a steady 9:15 pace and then when I began mile 3 about 100 meters into Conway Rd. my pace dropped to almost 10:00. Conway was an icy, mess not conducive to going very fast. I minced along, dodging potholes and puddles, muddy ruts and icy patches. My sparkling white brand-new shoes managed to avoid becoming dirt-splattered, much to my surprise. Once I turned east on Bush Rd., which is paved, I was able to pick up my pace again. The sun was starting to get very low in the sky and I had to decide whether I wanted to stretch my run to six miles or do a little less. I chose to lengthen it because really, the weather was too good to pass up (for December in Michigan, anyway) and I was feeling perky. Ivey Rd., paved though it was, was an ice-covered nightmare and I went even slower on it than I did on unpaved Conway Rd. When I finally reached the relative ice-free comfort of Werkner Rd., the sun was setting and the western horizon was ablaze with orange. I felt fortunate to be outside, generating my own heat to keep warm, breath billowing in great clouds, churning along, happy and strong. (6 miles, 58 minutes, 9:40 pace.)