The weather played trick on us. It was raining hard around
5:00 am and many decided not to go and so did I. But after
5:30 am, it stopped. I hit the trail at 7:00 am to see if I
could enjoy my own company for 12 miles.

It was a great morning, cool, fresh, cloudy, and wonderful
for running. I saw few people on the trail and no animals
except for the birds. And, after the couple of showers since
yesterday, it was good to see some water in the creek again.

I paid close attention to the glutes, the quads, and the
hamstring. The goal was to engage the powerful butts and to
trouble the other two as little as possible. It worked. The
first 4 miles were a breeze at an under 9 pace and climbing
under bridges felt nothing.

I felt I could go on forever when my left knee and hip joint
under the gluteus medius (I need to find out its name)
started to hurt. The pain was OK and I carried on for
another 2 or 3 miles before it started to hurt really bad.

More people were out on the trail now. I saw older folks
holding each other, walking, and thought to myself: if I
don't run now, when? I saw heavy folks lumping along and
kept thinking of last year. Even after 3 or 4 months into my
weight-loss program, I considered riding a bike to Mission
good workout. Now I could run the same distance. I felt
grateful and it made me want to cry.

I decided not to fight the pain and put in some walking and
stretching. I had to do these every mile (and later every
half a mile) for the last 5 miles. My speed was
significantly lower now. Those last miles were a piece of
cake for any part of my body except for the left leg. That's
the weakest link.

Still I enjoyed the run overall and finished 11.71 miles
with an average pace of 9:41. My butts hurt in a good way
which meant my trick worked. I found out I could handle over
12 miles solo. Things could have been far worse if I had to
keep up with Ed or Walt today.

My left leg has always been weaker but is there a real
problem and, if
yes, what could it be?
- my move to the butt-driven running style, or
- my semi-pistol squads during the week?