20.1 miles @ 7:49, 76° and steady drizzle
This morning's run was the longest run with non-stop rain that I have done so far. Good mental toughness training! I started at 5:30 near Longleaf and ran up Starkey Blvd. There was a light rain at the start. On 99% of runs where it is raining at first the rain ends at some point during the run. In the spring I did a 20 mile run which included the first hour of pouring rain followed by some very nice running weather. So, that's what I thought I might get today. Instead it was a range between light drizzle and medium drizzle with varying degrees of wind. Anyway, continued up Starkey Blvd. bike path in the dark. I had a light clipped onto my hat. Jenny picked up this great light for me at the store last night which I clipped onto a hat which she leant me since I don't own any tech hats with visors. Fortunately no one either noticed or just didn't say anything about me wearing a "girl hat". I don't think I have ever run with a hat w/ visor. Besides being good for clipping on a light, it did a great job of keeping the rain out of my eyes. My first mile was at 9:42 pace, next one at 8:38 and then the rest ranged between that and 6:55. Just over 5 miles, and I was inside Starkey park. I went to the parking lot to see if anyone was heading out. I ran into Eric, so we ran together for about 4.5 miles. We did a loop inside the park before heading onto the trail in case the trail was flooded out (fortunately it was not). Between the early morning, the higher miles this week and whatever else I felt a bit achey, especially in my right hip. I stretched it out a few times and that seemed to prevent it from getting worse. After splitting off from Eric the trail seemed deserted at first but eventually I started to run into other runners who I had just missed, heading back from their long runs. At about 13.5 miles I was turning around and heading back to the parking lot. I put on some music (had a ziploc baggy for my ipod so it wouldn't get ruined like last time I ran in the rain). As I got closer I began feeling better about the run. Finished up with an overall average of 7:49 which was great considering the slow start and conditions. And, despite the rain, there were a good number of runners for social hour. Someone brought Dunkin Donut holes and Jorge had his Columbian coffee in addition to several other great snacks. The coffee really hit the spot after running for 2 1/2 hours in the rain. Victoria gave me a ride back to my truck and I was home in time to have some delicious pancakes Jenny had made then head over to watch my youngest get his next belt at Tae Kwon Do.
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