Tonight was the first time I had run since Dave Decker's Loopy Run on Saturday. The legs were kind of beat up for a few days, but really it was more due to me being very busy. I don't mind running only twice a week, but if I'm going to do that, I need to bike more often. I only rode once this week.
I should have run last night, but I wouldn't have been able to until after dark. That was the case again today. When I got home, it was already dusk. This time, I decided to just run in the dark. I grabbed my headlamp and planned to head out the door.
Right as I walked outside, I heard the neighbor's dog barking. I figured there might be other dogs out during the run, so I put my headlamp back and changed plans. I decided I would just run loops in the parking lot at the elementary school next to my house. There is no traffic and it is lit too, so that's a big plus.
It was hot and humid all day and really all week. I thought running at night would be better and I guess it was, but it was still awful. It was so humid. I took my shirt off by the second lap. I was soaked by the end.
I began by running counterclockwise. So that I didn't stress one leg too much, I switched directions about every 4 laps. The beginning was terrible. My legs should've been rested, but instead they felt so slow and stiff.
I struggled through that first lap. Things would get a little better, but not much. I was slow and had some trouble breathing in the humid air.
I figured out that the first lap was about .3 miles long. I calculated that it would take me 16 full laps and part of a 17th lap to complete the planned 5 mile run.
As usual with repetitive running like this, the first couple repeats are the most difficult. During each lap, I said to myself over and over again, "17 laps to go." Doing a countdown was kind of nice, especially when I got near the end.
Most of the run was kind of the same and uneventful. The only interesting thing is that a car stopped at the school entrance. I thought maybe they would talk to me for directions or something, but thankfully they didn't. I kept wondering if cops would drive by, but they didn't. They sure would've wondered what the heck I was doing in a school parking lot at 10 PM. Long gone are my days of trashing schools at night though.
The course itself was generally easy. The only challenging thing was that it was a slight uphill at one part. That wasn't bad, until I had run it about 17 times. By the end, it got to me a bit.
This run was a mental challenge that I'm glad to be done with. I wish I was feeling better. I've been resting so much lately and still the legs feel like crap. That really sucks.
I need to go to Trexler sometime this week. I'm thinking maybe on Friday. Perhaps I'll just do some hill repeats. I'm not sure. Quadzilla is almost here. It was one of my goal races for the year, but with I'm feeling now, that is pretty much shot. What a shame. I'll just go out and run it hard and have some fun.
5 miles - 48:34 (9:43 pace)
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