Day 11: Running Home

Today I ran home from church. Point A to Point B runs are my favorite. I like the idea of actually going somewhere, that I am running towards something. I like what actually mileage feels like, what the distance looks like. I prefer this style of running instead of just out and back runs. 

The other reason today was not just literally "running home" was because I ran through one of my favorite miles. One of the cities has a nature trail I love running through. For the most part, it is empty. There are trees, bushes and dirt trails. It feels like you're not in the city anymore. Whenever I do my long run, I try to find a way to run through this nature trail. On some of my longest runs, I still take the 1/2 mile detour to run through this area. This is one of my running homes. 

The second marker on my long runs is the tunnel to last 1/2 mile of where I usually park. Although today, both of these spots were far from my actual finishing destination, it didn't matter. I realized the tunnel is another running home, a signal of how far I usually have just run, a signal I'm almost back to my car, a signal to finish strong. 

As I ran past these two "homes" on the way to my real home, they both motivated me. I was able to push hard and give it my all. I still had a ways to go before I made it to my real home, but it didn't matter. This was a great run that proves home is where your heart is and my running heart will always be in these two running homes. 

P.S. These time show me I am on pace of a PR in my next 10K. I want to be able to finish in under an hour and it looks like I am on track to do so. However, the pace may be a little off as the GPS tracked my first mile a little too fast. But still, it shows me it is possible.