~9 miles @ ~11 min/mi

It's a J. R. R. Tolkien Hobbit day, starting when Rebecca Rosenberg and Emaad Burki and I meet at KenGar at 7am. "Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks, and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the key-hole." Today, however, it's the rising sun that pierces the line of trees and spotlights the misty meadow. Buried treasure? If only we had marked the location in time!

Mirkwood, full of giant spiders. Their nets catch unwary travelers who venture off the path. Upstream, between mileposts 9 and 10 in the wooded hills we encounter webs in the fog. Look closely and you can see Emaad and Rebecca in the distance behind the mesh.

Splits from the Garmin GPS for the first six miles are 11:40 + 11:08 + 11:23 + 11:53 + 10:40 + 8:50 with that last brisk one a solo run-ahead to get my heart pounding. After waiting for E&R at the water fountain the next three miles go 11:29 + 10:54 + 8:16 with another final sprint to pull the average pace down.

^z - 2012-07-17