I was not spent

Thursday, 9/10/09--This morning it was off to the West Chester Country Club in the drizzle. It was not so bad, though, especially since the rain tapered as the run progressed. There were only three of us, one of whom peeled off at the 4.5 mile mark. I had imagined that today's run would feel easier and perhaps be a bit faster than last week's since, unlike last Thursday's run, I was running with others. I had a good start, feeling the coolness of the morning on my arms. I saw 29:45 at the 4-mile mark, 35 seconds slower than last week's pace at the 4-mile point. I finished up at 59:10, which was 90 seconds slower than last week's 57:40. Admittedly, I took the last mile slower--especially the hills--as I did not want to pull away from the comrade running with me. I didn't set out to race this course, only to try to run at 7:20 or so pace. Today my pace was a bit slower than last week's 7:18 at 7:29. At least today I felt more refreshed than tired when I finished; I was not spent.