On last sunday's long run, the start of my route went through Chaparal Valley as the ice there had finally melted. I came across some yellow tape across the pathway. I'm used to seeing signs and things like that as even the most seemingly minor repairs needed generate law-suit avoiding measures such as barriers, etc. However, seeing "police line - do not cross" made me stop. I went around the edge of the tape to rejoin the pathway and found quite a few police cars there. "Possible crime scene" one of them said when I asked. Later it turned out that a car had been set on fire earlier that morning, with a body inside. No news at the time of writing except that it was a woman in her 70s. Not much else to say really, except be careful out there. I always carry my phone on those long runs, and trust that along with my ability to make a quick getaway, no-one's going to mess with me. More of my attention is usually taken up looking out for coyotes and furious birds in nesting season.
After all that, it was a fairly pleasant 24k run though blustery. It was a reminder that the heels are vulnerable to blisters during longer runs. Both feet and shoes expand and contract over the course of a run, and my smaller right foot ended up getting a blister on the heel. It's a reminder to me that I need to have a couple of band aids ready on marathon day, which now seems close at 8 weeks away.
3 weeks until the Spring Trio 10k - the McMillan calulator suggests 40:20 based on my recent 5k. In hindsight I did hold back slightly during that race. My 5 mile time from last October predicts 38:54. I think I will pace myself to get just inside the magic 40 minutes. The course is an out and back along the Bow river. The mild gradient will mean the net downhill section will be the second half, and if windy it'll most likely be a following wind on the way back too. A sub-40 10k has always seemed harder than a sub-90 half to me, but am I just saying that as I haven't beaten the former yet?
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