5.5+ miles @ ~10 min/mi

The treadmills and stair-climber machines lined up in the hallway should have been a clue. The new gym room is closed today, so for the first time in 29.9 years I venture to the old building to visit the old gym, down four flights of stairs from the ground floor to the deep basement. At 0800 I find the tiny ancient locker room, with the toggle-sign on the swinging doors halfway between "Men Only" and "Women Only" position. A colleague is just leaving and confirms that it's still OK to enter — "Women Only" hours don't begin until 1030.

From this side of the building it's an extra 0.3 miles to the gate and the woods. Along the path there a young lady wearing a backpack is walking the loop in the wrong direction, reading a thick paperback as she treks along. She smiles as I greet her at mile ~0.8 and again at ~0.4 on my next lap. A deer near the trail peers, flicks her tail, takes a few steps, but then decides I'm no threat. Marked mile pace accelerates 10.1 ⇒ 9.6 ⇒ 9.1 ⇒ 7.8 min/mi. Back in the locker room I venture to take a post-run shower for the first time ever. After almost 3 decades perhaps change is good?

^z - 2011-07-10