Afternoon running

Today is the premier's state of the province address, which means I had the morning off. Instead of rushing into the office, I had an easy morning consisting of playing with Elle (which can be more strenuous as a super intense hill session) and napping. Once our sitter arrived, I went out for a 11K run. My legs weren't exactly fresh from last night's hill workout, but undaunted I went out.
It was a beautiful day, I imagine if the mercury was below zero it was only by a degree or two. The sun was pouring out onto the melting snow and the calm air allowed me to hear the birds from miles away. Running in the afternoon is so peaceful.
In the spirit of hard/easy, I thought I'd go out for 11K today but I'd keep the pace a bit slower than normal. I went out the back of the neighbourhood, along Lincoln Road and essentially did the 5K course through the agricultural complex. I must say, the March 11 run is not going to be easy. The first half is almost entirely downhill, but it gets tough in the latter stages.
I'm pleased with some of my splits, although I can't wait to start bringing them down in another month or so. I did the 11K in 51:10 with splits of: 4:46, 4:38, 4:42, 4:37, 4:29, 4:49, 4:47, 4:28, 4:41, 4:47 and 4:27.
The bold five splits are the 5K that followed the race course. The first K had the downhill/uphill stretch beside the farm. The second split was far more kind because it was mostly flat with a bit of downhill. The next two splits felt like they were entirely uphill and the time reflects how tough that portion was on my legs. And the final split was almost entirely downhill.