AM - 6 mile MP tempo, starting at 6:00 pace and dropping down the last 2 miles. The temps were cool! 74F/73F dew point, and it was drizzling when I left the house. It was breezy, about 10 mph sustained, but I'm happy to take it with the cooler weather. It's a rare treat in August.
There was a little lightning over the city right at first, but it was infrequent and many miles away. I hit mile 1 in 6:01 and mile 2 in 6:07. Just as I was approaching it, the bridge got struck by a flash that seemed to fill the entire sky overhead. I was at my turnaround and was happy to head the other direction. I made mile 3 in 6:08, and then things started to get crazy. First the rain hit. I was instantly soaked. The wind was in my face and I was getting lashed by the rain, and I couldn't see much. Then the lightning intensified. The thunderhead seemed to move directly overhead, and flashes were frequent and intense and CLOSE. It was surreal. I thought it wise to get to lower ground, so I ran down the levee to the adjacent road and followed that as long as possible. I missed my 4-mile split.
I hit the end of the road and stopped. I had to either get back on the levee or try to wait out the storm, and it was a 3/4 mile stretch before I could get off the levee again. There seemed to be a break in the lightning, so I made a run for it. It seemed like no sooner had I made the decision before there was just flash after flash after flash. Up close and in my face, hardly any time between strikes and booms. Adrenaline pumping, I made it to the other end and dropped down to the road. 5:45 for mile 5.
I could enjoy the scene a little better from lower ground, but I still kept my foot on the gas. The storm continued, but I made mile 6 in 5:35 for an average pace of 5:57. The tempo finished at my front door and I didn't bother with a cooldown and headed striaght inside. 35:42 final time.
PM - 4 easy w/ Rylie.
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