The trail upon which this all occurred is a fave: the Little Valley trail to Dardanelles Lake. In the not-too-distant past, the distance would have been pleasant. Not this time. I struggled. Hard. Which made item (2) relevant, as everyone was waiting for DFL*-Me to first make the lake, and second, make it back to the car (I drove.). Sorry folks for being a major poke.
The third thing I did, I did on Wednesday. I ran a race. It wasn't organized as such, and I was the only participant. I followed a well trod route in town (the V&T Lasso) which is a 4-miler with an itty-bitty bump of a hill in the middle. I ran for time just as if it were a race. Boy, THAT hurt.
My pre-bike crash PR time is a 9:02 pace. Not speedy, but for a slogger like me, respectable. The last time I tried it was two weeks ago and I barely broke 12 min/mile. My goal this time around was to break 10. I'd been training, and the ribs and lung and clavicle all are greatly on the mend.
I pushed hard and lo, and behold, I finished with a 9:46 pace. Thanks Turi! And thanks to the human bunny that was in front of me. She was cruising easily, I was pushing hard. I never caught up, but the target made me run harder.
Below, a few snaps from Sunday. Full set.