It was good to get back out there today after a rare two days off. Today's weather is a mess, but I managed to get the 5 mile run in anyway. When I initially woke up this morning, the ground was wet, but it wasn't raining. I went back to bed though. When I got up again, it looked good because it was drizzling. A moment later though, it began to pour.
That seems to be the theme of the day. Heavy rain off and on. It affected my run too. I decided that I would just stay close to home when I did head out the door. I opted for an old 5 mile route in the neighborhoods around my house. I don't run this route often any more, but it used to be a staple of my post high school summer runs.
I struggled with what to wear for the run. I'm glad I finally bought a hat last time it rained. Wearing that was a no brainer. It was my top that I was unsure of. When I headed out the door, the rain wasn't heavy so I could wear a jacket. It wasn't cold either.
Things changed quickly though. As I was walking at the Elementary School just behind my house, it began to pour. Rather than walk, I decided I might as well start running a tad early. So I began in a downpour and I was soaked and I had barely started.
I happened to pass another runner in the beginning and he joked about needing to do a swimming stroke. I was sort of regretting that I didn't bring my jacket. That changed though as the rain let up fairly early on in the run.
Going out, my pace was slow. In addition to the rain, there was a headwind whenever I ran south or west. Most of the first half of the run is in one of those two directions. The wind might have been nice, except that it was actually humid. The air wasn't cooling.
I can't say I was sweating, but I sure wasn't comfortable. I took my hat off for a little bit after the first mile. Almost right as I did that, the rain picked up again and I had to cover back up.
I cruised along up a few hills on the first half of the course. I know the hills here from running it so much over the years, but I did actually forget about a short one. After two days off, my legs were anything but fresh. My body doesn't seem to come back very well the first day after taking a rest day or two. The quads still had some soreness.
I cruised around most of the first half of the route at under a 9 minute pace. The wind certainly slowed me down. Once I had the wind at my back, the pace picked up by over half a minute per mile.
As I was on my way back, I decided to just take my shirt off. It was getting a little hot and there wasn't much rain coming down. What little rain there was was actually refreshing. I did hit a brief period against the wind, but before I knew it the wind was at my back again.
I knew I had to just make it up the one long hill. I remember when I used to actually think this hill was tough. Now, I'm in such good shape that it is no big deal. Obviously it slows me a little, but it still an easy climb.
After the long hill, I knew I had just a few short hills left. I cruised up the next one. This is part of the Blue Eagle 5k course. It is funny because there are two parallel roads in this section. I take one on the way out and the other on the way back. I now run them the same way as the Blue Eagle 5k, but I used to actually run them the opposite way. The race has had an impact on my running route.
I hate running in neighborhoods because of dogs. That is one of the big reasons that I don't run here much any more. I did a couple runs prior to the Blue Eagle 5k, but that is about it. I'm sure I'll do more of them next summer before the race. With the rain, I figured I'd be able to avoid dogs and I was right.
My pace picked up toward the end and the quads felt much better over the hills. I crossed the highway and finished up the run with a small loop in the Elementary School parking lot. It was good to have my 5 miles done.
Normally I love the rain. I can't say that was the case today. For one, it was too humid. There was no cooling effect. The rain was also too inconsistent. One minute it was heavy, the next minute there was nothing. I enjoy a good, steady rain run. Regardless, it wasn't terrible and I was happy to get through it.
Originally, this was supposed to be a 50 mile week. Since I had to take yesterday off, I'm am backing off my mileage this week as well. My long run will be 11 miles and my mileage will be in the 30s. Tomorrow, I still plan on a speedwork session and mile repeats. Last week, I did four of those. I'm hoping to do five. If I can't, I'll just complete four repeats again. Either way, it should be a good workout. I need to get it done in the morning while the weather is super cool.
5 miles - 41:49 (8:22 pace)
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