Woke the kids up at 6:15 to get ready for school. I was going to do my short run at 7:30, after they left, and my tempo intervals in the evening. Ben is the first to get off to school. Mickie was next, but came back to the house three minutes later complaining that the guards wouldn't let him out of the complex. I talk with Mickie and realize there must be a Typhoon Signal. Turns out Hong Kong gives advance warning of likely signals so probably every mom in hk except for me knew last night that today would be Typhoon signal 8, the level at which they batten down and cancel school. It's really akin to Hurricane level 1 in US, so not really extreme, but some gusts that can topple trees, fast debris at times. So Ben was somewhere between here and school, not realizing that school was cancelled. Poor thing. He finally got home around 8:45, upset to have gotten up at 6:15 for nothing. Meanwhile, I sneak out of the complex in my running stuff (claiming I was going to look for Ben) to try to do my short run, but I have to hide behind cement barriers during a couple of gusts, and there is a guard discouraging people from going on the metro, though it is running, so I chicken out. So I have a big workout today and a short run, and three kids at home, and not sure if I can run at all. My gym is the University gym so it is shut down along with everything else, so the TM is out. At around noon, I realize the rain and wind has lightened up, so I decide to go out for my short run, then I decide I better try to do my long run if conditions are decent enough, since they might just worsen. I tell Ben to not be surprised if I am gone for hours. After running a mile, I realize there is quite a bit of wind. I don't want to tempo into heavy wind, that can be quite demoralizing. I am supposed to do 4 miles at HM pace, then one mile easy then 2 miles at 10k pace. I decide to push off this workout and do my long run. I have no fuel with me, but there are vending machines. At 5 miles, I hit a vending machine and I don't know exactly what I am buying, and I buy a drink that has no calories and very little salt. Dang. I buy a second item. It still has no calories, but has more salt, so I drink 1/3 of the bottle, and stash the rest in a bush for the way back. I hit another vending machine at 8.5 miles, and am sorely tempted by the coke, but try to buy aquarius (like gatorade) but it is out, so I buy C+, it's like squirt but has 100% of vit C for the day. I am wary of the carbonation but need the calories. Drink half the can then stash it. Get lost in Tai Po, return to this can at 14 miles, then to the other stashed drink at about 17 miles. Through the run phased between sprinkle, rain, and clear, heavy head wind, cross wind, tail wind and relative calm. I was soaking, it was much like St. G 2008 without the adrenaline, downhill, and course aid. I got attacked by a branch I ran through, it whacked my back calf and bled a bit, but not bad enough to make a scene. Survived it all ok, ave 7:35 pace. Knees are a bit niggly. Need to eat something. PM: bought a foldable bike used for Ben so he can support me through long/hard runs. Then we went to the waterfront where I ran for 4.11 at 8:05 pace. Chaffed from my midday run, so this second run did not help things out on that front. Still windy but down to Typhoon Signal 3, which I think means: windy but safe.
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