Rainy Double Schoeneck Loop

My surgery got postponed, so I was out running again today.  I went to the hospital and got registered and then the doctor told me we were going to have to reschedule because he had some emergency surgery to do.  I was disappointed because I just want to get this procedure over with.

It has been raining all day, so I was considering taking another day off.  My body could probably use the rest.  However, my doctor's office called and rescheduled my surgery for Thursday, so I want to keep running over the next two days.  I don't know when I'll be out so now isn't the time to rest.  After surgery it can be.

I was considering running at Bear Creek, but with lightning being possible, I didn't want to be near so many trees or get stuck too far from my car.  I opted instead to run Schoeneck.  I was hoping to complete two loops there, but I wasn't sure I'd be able to in the wet conditions.  I had never run two consecutive loops there before.

The big issue before the run was whether or not to wear a jacket.  My rain jacket is just too heavy for summer days.  I definitely need to invest in a lighter jacket.  I knew wearing just a shirt would get waterlogged.  I figured I could get through one loop that way, so I'd just go out with that on.  It was a good decision.  My other concern was chafing, because I had some issues with that in the long run over the week.  I put all the necessary creams on today and experienced no problems with that.

One thing that was an issue is that I didn't take the time to warmup.  Normally, this wouldn't be that big of a deal, I could just start out slowly.  The problem was in this route it is uphill at the start.  Because I wasn't warmed up, my shins bothered me a lot on the initial climb.  I was even wondering if I'd make it to the top.  I was wearing new compression legs sleeves and I began questioning if they weren't contributing to the problem.

I took it easy on the first climb.  It was a little challenging, but I eventually adapted.  Schoeneck is tough, but it is actually easy compared to a lot of places that I run.  The incline is long, but it isn't too steep.  It just seems to take awhile to finish.

One nice thing is that running uphill meant there wasn't standing water on the middle of the road.  So I was lucky that the cars driving by didn't splash me.  Some water was running along the edge of the road and occasionally I had to run through it.  People in cars must have thought I was crazy to be running in the rainy conditions and going uphill.  They'd be right.

The rain actually wasn't too bad on the first climb.  My shirt was relatively dry for the first mile and a half or so.  On the way downhill, it seemed like things picked up.  I ran past Marco Andretti's house and a beat up truck emerged.  I figured it couldn't be him and I was right.  It must have been a maintenance man's truck or something.  That would've been cool if it was actually him taking the trash out.

Downhill was certainly easy.  My legs recovered, so I decided that I would do a second loop.  I didn't want to go all the way back to the middle school, so at the bottom of the hill I tried to find some roads to get me back onto Schoeneck.  It worked and I came out right at the bottom of the hill.

I ran by the East Lawn Fire Company during this segment.  Right after I went through there, the fire alarm sounded.  I'm glad I missed it because it was loud.  That probably would've been deafening if I was right near it.

The second climb was certainly tough.  My legs started feeling it towards the top.  It still wasn't overly challenging though.  I actually thought it would be a lot harder than it was.  The slow pace might've made it much easier.  I will definitely have to try to push myself more on the climbs next time.  The downhill half gives such a good recovery anyway.

On the way up, there was a banana peel along the side of the road.  With that and the rain, I felt like I was in a video game with obstacles to overcome.  Cruising downhill was easy and I was thrilled to see my overall pace drop below 9:45.  On the way down, I saw a cool 9/11 tribute in someone's yard that I've never seen before.

As I made my way back toward the middle school, I was closing in on six miles.  I decided I'd run in front of the high school to get to that point.  There's a very short hill alongside of the high school and I pushed hard up it.  I was done shortly after that.

It was such a fun run.  I love running hills and I love running in challenging conditions.  The rain actually wasn't too bad until the last mile or so.  By then, my clothes were soaked.  It was one of the those days where you hate to get out of the house or car to start the run, but once you do get going it is so rewarding.  That's especially true after it is over.  There aren't too many people willing to train in conditions this bad.  Most would opt for indoors.  Me, I love the challenge of the elements.  I do need to add a hat and jacket to make runs like this more pleasant though.

Since I don't know how long I'll be out, I'm going to try some more hill running tomorrow.  I need to get stronger on the hills.  I might try my hand at Bear Creek again.  I don't think I can complete the climb without stopping yet, but I want to give it a try.  There could still be some leftover mud there too.  That would be fun.  I'm hoping Thursday's surgery goes well and I'm back on the trails and roads by the weekend.  If not, I'll deal with it like I always do and come back stronger.  I'm getting kind of used to that anyway.

6 miles - 58:12 (9:42 pace)