What a fun run!

...and if by fun you mean awful and wet and all around tough...then why yes! It was a fun run. (In retrospect, it sucked at the time, but now I can honestly say it was fun.)

Tonight’s “easy” 6 miles was anything but easy. The weather, when paired with my blah mindset, made for a tough run. When it got to the point I was ringing liters of water out my shirt after a half mile, I started questioning the sanity of our little Tuesday night running group. I wanted to turn back at the North Avenue bridge and just cut it short...a 5k seemed like a brilliant idea given the weather conditions. But I didn’t. I pushed through the crappy weather...and in due time, the rain let up a little bit.

I went from dodging puddles to saying ‘the hell with it’ and started running right through them. What was the point? My shoes were already beyond squishy with water...my toes were waterlogged...and I couldn’t possibly get any colder. And after a while, I got over being pissed off at the fact I was running in the rain...and tried to have fun with it. I splashed around...I tried to scare the geese (which, by the way...plot their revenge by strategically leaving their droppings in murky puddles for unsuspecting runners)...and I even came up with my own lyrics to “Singin’ in the Rain,” which of course turned into “Runnin’ in the Rain.”

The plan was for 6 miles...but our designated turn around point came up a little short. For you crazy numbers people, here is what my splits looked like: 11:12, 11:39, 11:21, 11:51, 11:27 and an 11:20ish pace for the last half mile. I averaged 11:34 for 5.6 miles--not shabby given the weather. But not great either.

Obviously, I’m still having issues pacing myself. I was supposed to fall between 11:58 and 12:28 for tonight’s easy run. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing that I’m coming in under the paces we’ve determined for me with my respective marathon time goal. Then again, I’m not sure if I’ll really know until we’re deeper in the official training when the longer distances creep up.

After finishing off the run along the lake, I headed to the track to meet up with Jason, Leah & Mike for our first stride workout. They were nearly done when I arrived.

OH.MY.GAWD.

Strides? They’re so awful it’s funny. After I did my first two I really just wanted to throw a toddler-sized hissy fit and go home. Different and new muscles ached. Thighs burned. And my lungs breathed fire. I know they’ll get easier in due time. But I was soooo not feeling them last night. And still, I still managed to squeak out 8x100m on the track, stride the straight/walk the curve. I didn’t time them (namely because I didn’t feel it was necessary to), but I may just do it in the future for comparison reasons...I’m one of those people who likes to look at two different sets and actually see the improvement unravel before my eyes. In fact, sometimes I think I need that to convince myself that I should continue to run.

I’ve concluded that there is a special place in hell for the person who originally discovered the benefits of doing strides. Dare I say I like the thought of LT runs more than strides? We’ll see if that holds true in the future.

This morning I’m a bit sore in some new places. And dead tired. And really hungry. The one good thing about last night’s workout...I’ve learned that I apparently have good running form according to Coach Leah. So at least I’ve got that working for me. :)

Until next time, campers...

Run on...