Wendy & I after our workout & soaking WET.The weather today: not so good. When I left my house at 5:40 am it was clear (from what I could see, seeing as how it was dark!) and 59 degrees. Not bad! When I arrived at the State Capitol at around 6 am, it was starting to rain - hard. And it was thundering & lightning. Only 5 people had showed up for the workout, and due to the thunder, I told them we'd wait 10 minutes to see if it cleared a bit. Safety has to come first. After 10 minutes, it was still raining, but the thunder and lightning had moved off to the east, so we were good to go. But, 4/5 people decided they'd rather run another day. I don't entirely blame them! 14 miles would have been long in this weather.
My remaining runner is a 1/2 marathoner, and they were scheduled for 8 miles. Off we went! I had borrowed a jacket from one of the runners who left (yeah, dumb coach to leave my jacket, but remember, I thought it was clear not raining!) and that was very helpful. It was nice for 3 miles or so, and then it started to rain harder. By 4 miles, it was pouring. The jacket I borrowed was not waterproof so it didn't keep me dry, but it did help hold in a little heat. Pretty soon I was soaked to the skin. I could feel the water even in my shorts liner :(, and of course my feet were so wet they were squelching. It was windy, too, so I got really cold. My hands were particularly cold. But the company was good, at least :)! If I'd been out by myself, I would have turned around early for sure.
About mile 4.7, right before we turned around at mile 5.2 (we had a detour up City Creek Canyon that made the miles shorter on the return), there was a VERY bright lightning flash and a LOUD thunderclap (it had been quiet until then). Ugh! The thunderstorm was back! Fortunately, there were only 2-3 and then it was quiet again. We were discussing where to take shelter when we realized it had stopped.
Total: 8.33 mi (13.4 km) in 1:29:53 for 10:47/mile (6:42/km). Ave HR 145. Kinda high for that speed, but it was a pretty hilly route.
When I got back my hands were so cold that my thumbs weren't working right. Wendy had to turn the car keys to open my trunk and door so I could get in!
I was never so happy for a hot shower :). Ahhhhhh. When I got home the thermometer said 52 (~11C); not that cold, but with the rain and the wind it was very cold.
Now we're going camping overnight. I hope the weather clears a little; we'll be in the mountains and it is going to be VERY cold. We do have 3-season sleeping bags, so we should be all right. We're going to dress very warmly though!
2 comments:
funny how we are on different sides of the world and yet we both hit the same weather for training. It feels good once you are home and dry again but not so flash while you are out in it. I dont mind the rain so much its when the wind picks up too...then its not so much fun any more.
But you are doing great. The distances you cover are awesome ... well done
Thanks, Nyle. Since I am training for a marathon, and hopefully a fast one, I do have to cover a lot of miles and spend a lot of time on my feet. Honestly, these last 4 weeks of hard training are going to be tough, and it takes a toll on me after a while. I'll be glad when it's over, though I do (perversely?) enjoy it, too. It's a love-hate thing :).
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