After a brilliant day yesterday in which we drove up to the estate of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello after the 5k run, and then finished with a surprisingly good, and enormous (18") pizza at which was also provided to us as a targeted barrel draw at the run. (For the record, A 'Long Island Pesto' Pizza - pesto, artichoke hearts, fresh tomato, garlic, light on the cheese).
The house and surrounding estate was amazing, smaller than many modern McMansions, although beautifully proportioned, elegant and light. A character of enormous contradiction, Jefferson was born on the hill across the valley, and died here at Monticello having never left the State of Virginia after he was President.
I had ordered some medical equipment from a firm in Knoxville Tennessee and it was guaranteed to arrive by 10:30 am on Saturday. Although tracked on-line to have arrived in the local courier's depot at 8:07 am, it hadn't turned up at the hotel by the time we returned. Much chasing up on the phone did not offer us any hope to have it before Monday, therefore ensuring that our decision about whether to leave on Sunday or Monday morning was made for us.
So on Sunday we popped into our favourite nearby cafe (owned by a Nebraskan native who fell in love with the progressive attitudes and great lifestyle of Charlottesville), for a heart starting espresso before heading back to the base of the Thomas Jeffeson Parkway to run the trail to the Historic site.
Only 2 miles long, it was a beautifully constructed trail of crushed gravel and extensive boardwalks through spindly tall forests. Deceptively, the trail rose steadily along it's length making my progress very slow. I thought that it must have been that yesterday's 5k had taken more out of me than I had felt it had, although I seemed to have no ill effects. Although much warmer than yesterday, it was still only a couple of degrees at the most by the time we started. I was wearing tights, and had light dri-fit type long sleeve top, and my favoured light polar fleece cycling top with its two rear zip pockets and extra long front zip. I also had a light weight pair of gloves.
I needed all of the gear for the first marked quarter mile or so. Then, slowly, the gloves came off and were shoved down my tights. Then, a well executed unzipping of the fleece to its full extent and wrapping the sleeves around my waist while it was still on. A good number of people were out walking already, some at a very leisurely pace, others pushing it along. A couple of joggers also passed in the other direction, but surprisingly few.
As I neared the end of the trail, I briefly contemplated continuing on the trail which led up to the house. Being the hopelesslessly law abiding citizen I am though, I noticed the sign indicating that a valid ticket must be carried for everyone travelling beyond this point. With a moments hesitation, I turned around and headed back to the car. I had expected Bob to came rocketing past me at any time, however he was no where to be seen. Not far into my return journey, I was incredibly hot, and remembered a seat set into the long boardwalk near the top. I pulled over and removed my tights (I did have Capri's on underneath. Now I was running in just a crop top on top as well which must have accounted for my heartrate dropping a good 8-10 bpm when I resumed running. It was all downhill from here and I knew it.
It was a pleasant 2k to the finish of the trail. It was interesting to look at my splits at the finish.
Lap Time Distance Maxk/hr (bpm) Max HR
1k 7:24 1.00 10.4 144 157
2 7:39 1.00 10.4 157 160
3 6:31 1.00 11.2 159 162
4 6:27 1.00 12.2 159 167
5 5:40 1.00 12.2 162 164
6 5:32 1.00 12.6 166 168
7 1:18 0.25 13.3 168 169
Or to put it another way, my average pace per kilometre was
1. 7:24 min/km
2. 7:38
3. 6:31
4. 6:27
5. 5:41
6. 5:33
7. 5:25
Maybe I wasn't so bad to begin with afterall! It was uphill!
mmm. pizza. please save me some.