i knew that was going to be tough. i haven't run 4 miles in such a long time. but i walked when i had to, stopped & stretched, and just took it easy. as Hal Higdon says about the early long training runs (which occur on Saturday), the goal is to complete 4 miles, not to run 4 miles. walking, he says, is a fine strategy. i did ok, too. at about the 2.5mile mark, i tripped on a busted sidewalk slab, and that tweaked my left achilles pretty good. but i was already taking it easy, so it was ok soon.

the start was a bit rough, esp my left calf which my prove to be an on-going issue. but that released in about half-a-mile, so i think that once i get enough miles under my feet so that i can run more smoothly and efficiently, little things like that won't be such a problem.

i iced my achilles & right knee thoroughly when i got home, so i should be ok.

it was so nice to run in the beautiful sunshine. may not happen again for a while; rain is on the way back.