Elk and Beaver...horse poo and off leash dogs

I cannot remember the last time I leaped over piles of horse poo and darted around so many runners. One of the added bonus of running early is you see very few people jogging the trails and less dogs off leash to avoid. I had my obstacles along the way today and appreciated the quiet roads and trails that I find early in the morning.

DJ, the Champ and I jogged over to E&B this morning each with plans of doing their own running once we got there. DJ had a long tempo run at varying paces to get him sharp for his upcoming marathon. I wanted to get my 60 min run in with company and the Champ was doing a short run in preparation for tomorrow's 10 k race. DJ started his tempo at the 0 K mark going counterclockwise while the Champ and I went clockwise. The Champ made his way back home after getting halfway through his run as he had planned to keep the run easy. After he left, I kept going clockwise hoping to catch DJ on the last couple of K's of his tempo. At about the 6.5 k mark he came flying towards me as I made my U turn. I tucked in behind him as he ran by me and followed his pace for a Km or so. I knew I had to back off as DJ was smooth and effortless while I was starting to sputter like an old ford.

I eased off and jogged to meet DJ at the end of his run. We slowly worked our way back towards his place and to my car. I put in 76 mins in total today...a little more than the 60 mins I wanted. I stopped off at Mount Doug park on the way back home and soaked in the Ocean. Tomorrow is a rest day. Good luck to everyone racing tomorrow at the Lands End - 10k and 1/2.