Beautiful Day (for me)

Not exactly what U2 had in mind, but I thought it was a beautiful day for a run. There's just something about running in the rain that I love. We were hit by a Nor'easter today. Instead of the typical 66 degrees, it was a high of 44 with lots of rain. It was just like the first part of Game 5 of the World Series last year.

I guess I love this weather because I like to see who else is crazy enough to be out there with me. For the over half hour run, I counted a grand total of 7 other runners. Most were well dressed. One was crazy enough to wear a short sleeve shirt and shorts. I noticed he turned around quickly after passing me.

It was a tough day to dress actually. I knew I was overdressed, but figured it was better than being under dressed and soaked. I wore a light jacket, long pants, a hat and gloves. Walking over to run, I felt comfortable, so I knew I was wearing too much.

The attire actually worked well early on. I felt really good, especially after stretching beforehand. I ran along the Schuykill Banks from Lloyd Hall. I actually ran all the way home, so I wouldn't have to walk back in the rain.

Most of the run went smooth. I did struggle towards the end though because my wet clothes got heavy. Most of the time, they made me hot, but there were some big wind gusts too.

Overall, I ran pretty comfortable. My leg really didn't bother me much. I was surprised at how little soreness I had after yesterday's long run. I think the extensive amount of stretching is really helping. I took quite a few minutes to do so again after this run. My legs feel better now than they have in weeks. Still some soreness there, but they feel like they're improving.

Another thing that might've helped was tying my shoes tighter, especially my left shoes. I made sure to really tighten the laces all the way through. That gave my left foot a lot more support and my ankle and foot were no longer sore. Hopefully it is what helped my leg too.

I'm really interested to see how I feel after Saturday. That'll be huge in my recover. If I can finish the long run and feel anywhere near how I do afterwards, that'll be huge. I'm going to do a couple loops around the Schuykill and let my body dictate how far I go. I'd love to get the full 18 mile run in, but not sure I'll push anywhere near that far. I'm looking more at 15 or 16 miles again.

4.2 miles - 36:31 (8:42 pace)