September Running Stories
I woke up at 6:30am to be out the door by 7am. Unfortunately, at 6:45am, it started to rain and it has not abated. So I am stuck here, I think, until I get out the door and to the store (in mother’s car, of course) in order to buy some a) running gear that I will use in San Francisco and need to test out before the race and b) a running jacket that’ll protect me from the elements. I’ve always been stingy about buying a jacket (they’re expensive and hey, what’s the treadmill for anyway?), but 12 miles on the treadmill? Ooof. I ran 10 miles on the treadmill a few weeks ago, but that’s out of the question for 12 miles. The 10 miles weren’t unpleasant, but they’re a hell of a lot more boring than being outside. I don’t dislike running in the rain–my few experiences with it have been pretty nice and it really does cool you down–but I just never wanted to invest in the jacket. I figure now’s a good a time as any–what if it rains in San Francisco on raceday? I don’t want to be SOL (though in Mexico, I already am–hehe).
It hasn’t been a great running week. I don’t know why week six and seven have been so hard, but they both have been–and they’ve been the lightest weeks since week one (well, that’s not technically true–this week is technically my most challenging with the 12-miler, but the three days preceding today’s yet-to-be-run run was a 5-3-6 triad which is pretty easy, and my 10K plus 4 miles of warm-up/cool-down are included in that sum). When I hit Thursday (the six-miler), I was exhausted. The three miles the day before had sapped me of energy, it seemed: I had struggled through the heat and humidity of that day sans ForeRunner (it froze; at least I figured out how to reset it) and it had taken its toll. All day Thursday I wavered–to run or not to run? That is the question. With apologies to Shakespeare, not running during a training plan, any runner will tell you, is an agonizing choice. Runners get obsessed with the miles completed compared to the miles planned, and that leads us to injury many, many times over, you see. You should never try to make up a training run, they say, but my God, is it hard to follow through on that simple rule.
Wah, it’s 9am! I’d be done by now!
Anyway, Thursday. I keep on telling myself that I’ll start my run 7pm with my now fixed ForeRunner. Time rolls on and I really don’t want to run six miles. I start to justify it by saying that I’m in week seven (sounds like I’m pregnant) and have no need to feel guilty–I’d been a good little girl, even staying on top of my long run during a vacation weekend. I feel bloated, kind of pissy, mildly nauseated (maybe I am pregnant? I KID! Seriously, I kid, seriously), but then down a lot of water and change into my running clothes. It’s 7:15pm at this point, and I tell my family that, if it gets horribly dark before I come home, I’m calling them to rescue me from the scary trees hiding zombies and werewolves and the ghosts of southeastern Michigan and what have you. I start out my run, the light’s fading, but it’s not bad. The only thing that’s messed up is my pace. It’s a speedwork day, but that’s not going to happen, I decide. By mile three, I’m feeling much better, but the sun is going down rapidly. I turn into the subdivision behind my house and resolve to run as much as possible in there before I absolutely have to go home for safety reasons. The drivers from the subdivision tear down my dirt road, but they’re very cautious in their own neighborhood. Assholes.
Well, by that point? I was pounding out the miles. Running pretty fast, feeling very good. It was the best run I’ve had since the improvised 10K last Sunday. I circled the subdivision twice (coming across my neighbor, I think) and hit 5.62 miles by the time I reached my house and the sun was gone, gone, my dears! I finished the last .38 miles by circling my driveway for three minutes. My time wasn’t stellar, but the speedwork got done, believe it or not. I felt great.
Today? Not so much. Rain really knocks the wind from my sails, but if I go out and prepare for it, it won’t be so bad the next time I wake up to it.
And there’s still 12 miles to be run today, damnit.
