am miles in the rain; temp. in the 40's. It was one of those rains that is set in for the day. I figured this would be good training for an April marathon. I started at 6:45, still dark and steady rain.
miles 1-4: cemetary loop:
7:40, 7:45, 7:48, 7:30. It was pretty dark. I couldn't see the puddles, so I ran through them. I don't think it mattered a whole lot. I was soaked by mile two anyway. I had strapped on my K Swiss K-Ruuz (my favorite in the whole wide world) thinking that they would handle the wet condition the best. I stopped back by my house for a drink of g2.
miles 5-9: part of the Seymour Mini Marathon course
7:49, 7:49, 7:51, 7:54, 7:51. It was starting to become daylight by now, so I wanted to get out of town and hit the county roads. wind out of the north, north east; 10 mph or so if I had to guess. Most of these miles were into it. The rain was bothering me a little as it was hitting the right side of my fast and ear. Hands were cold all morning.
miles 10-14 still on mini course
7:54, 7:35, 7:52, 7:56, 7:57. I'm with the wind now, so it helped me warm up a bit, plus I was able reduce the effort just a tad.. It felt nice to hit a downhill at 11 and glide for a while. 1:41:58 at 13.1. Forteen miles put me back at home. I was able to grab a little more g2.
miles 15-19 back for another piece of the mini course
7:56, 7:57, 8:24, 8:54, 9:01. I notice the wind has settled a little and now out of the east. This helps a little, but I'm fading a little now. The level of effort is up. I'm able to keep sub8 through 16 miles. I turn around at 19 miles and the rain is finally just a sprinkle. Thoughts about how my feet are going to look after running in wet shoes and socks enter my mind now. Not much I can do about it now. I have to make it home and this kind of comes with the territory.
miles 20-23.5 headed home :)
9:21, 9:20, 9:25, 9:13, 4:57(1/2 mile).Wind to my back instead of in my face. This helps a ton mentally. I pass the 20 mile mark at 2:40:51. This isn't bad for me on a training run. I'm happy with that. These miles, for me, are great mental prep. for the end of the marathon. I'm out in the middle of the county, by myself, with noc crowd support, no music, no sag stops. These miles seem long, but very gratifying when completed. 3:13:44 for 23.5
I escape with only minor injury to the back of both feet where the shoes had rubbed wrong. Nothing a couple of band-Aids can't handle. Now on with the rest of my day. | 