It rained all afternoon. At first, I was going to run in it. Then, I thought it would be better to make it a rest day. Later on, I decided to get out there anyway and do a night run.
I wanted to get 5 miles. I thought about 5 loops around my neighborhood. I didn't want to get out my headlamp though. Instead, I opted to loop around the school until I got the distance. I knew it would be crazy, but at least the parking lot is lit.
The temperature was in the mid 50s. It felt a little cooler, but shorts and a short sleeve shirt were definitely enough. I think some of the chill was coming off of the snow.
I started off nice and easy and planned for a mentally challenging run. Even though these loops are short, they feel longer than they are. I was hoping they would be .33 miles, but it was more like .3 or even less. That little bit makes a difference when you are doing the same loop over and over again.
The first several loops weren't too bad. However, by the time I got to loop 6, I was already bored and not quite at 2 miles. I just had to keep plugging away and reminding myself I do this distance all the time.
Still, it was a mental challenge. There was fog and it was interesting to notice how it rolled in and then away. One time, I could see the playground and a couple laps later, the fog hid it.
There were a few cars in the parking lot and people in the gym. I think some girls were having basketball practice. Them and their coaches must have thought I was crazy. I guess they would be correct.
I focused on getting to loops 8, 9 and then 10. Even still having some distance to go, I knew I'd be pretty far along then. It was a relief to get to 10.
From that point, I focused on every 2 or 3 loops. I do wish these loops were slightly longer. Initially, I thought I'd be doing 15. Now, I knew I'd need even more than 16. I was happy to get to 14.
I was glad no cars had come. However, one finally pulled up for the last two loops. I guess it was a parent picking their kid up. I wanted to get it done, so I really picked up the effort on loops 16 and 17. I thought about doing exactly 5 miles, but opted instead to finish loop 17 and go over 5 miles.
This was a good workout from a mental standpoint. Otherwise, it was kind of useless. I have already run 28 miles this week and for 4 straight days. I haven't done that in some time.
My legs are starting to get slightly sore. I need to spend some time on the foam roller. Tomorrow, I'm hoping for a big step up. I want to run 15 miles. I haven't been over 10 miles in some time. I'm hoping to maybe loop all around Easton. I'm not sure if all the paths are cleared yet, so that could be some work. We shall see. I think it will be fairly warm again tomorrow.
5.14 miles - 43:27 (8:27 pace) 9 feet of elevation gain
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