Here in Westminster, we’re in that sweet spot with the weather. Just two weeks ago, we were coming off a streak of 90+ degree days with tons of humidity. For me, shorts and a long sleeve, or shorts and gloves, is my ideal temperature for running, and I feel like we only get it for about 25 days a year. This week, I had an early run sporting shorts and gloves, which I know might look odd to the non-runner observer. While I love these mornings, I also cherish the true four seasons we get here in Maryland. If anything, it allows me to sport all the running gear I’ve accumulated over the years.
This was a fun week of running, and I think it’ll set the tone for the coming months. I had five runs, four of them on the trail. On Monday, I took my Altra Forward Experience out to get some last-minute miles in them before we recorded our YouTube video on them. It’s not always possible, but anytime I can actually get 20 miles or so in a shoe before we review them, it always makes for better content. I really like this shoe, and it’ll be in my road shoe rotation this season. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, I hit the trail early for three 10+ mile runs. Now that school is back, our trail runs are getting earlier, which is kind of a bummer. My friend and I have been running as early as 4:45 am on the trail to get the miles in before we both respectively go wake our kids up for school. We’re also now dealing with the hunters on Fridays, so we shove off not knowing if we’ll be able to hit certain areas that are part of our regular rotation. It means we are constantly rerouting ourselves, which can be annoying but also keeps the run lively. For these runs, I took my Diadora Sestrere XT, Hoka Stinson, and Hoka Mafate Speed out.
For Sunday, we had a group run at the trail, and I chose the Diadora’s. They are really bouncy, and I was kind of dragging after staying up too late on Saturday night, but the feel of them helped move the run along with minimal effort.
Over the next two weeks, I am going to bump up the miles a bit. I am planning a casual 50k run with my friend in November. It’s just something to put on the calendar that’s not a race but longer than what we’ve been doing. It’s been really nice running without racing, and this will give us something to work towards without feeling like I have to totally focus on it.
Thanks for reading, and hopefully, wherever you are, the running temps are as nice as they are here.
