rainy 10K

This picture was taken from the north end of Sugar House Park this morning. It was beautiful, with the clouds enshrouding the mountains. But yes, it's still raining. It wasn't when I headed out the door, but I was prepared. I wore capris and a long-sleeve shirt, with a baseball cap to keep the rain out of my face if I needed it (I forgot this on Thursday and was sorely missing it!). It was 48F (8.9C) with ominously threatening skies. I decided that since I was only doing 10K today, and because it was a recovery walk not a hard session, that I would do a very hilly route. I like this route a lot despite the hills; it goes through the Yalecrest neighborhood, one of Salt Lake's older and prettier neighborhoods, as well as Sugar House Park.

I made it to 5K or so before it started to rain. It didn't rain as hard as it did on Tuesday, and it tapered off slightly at about 8.5K, but I got good and wet. I hope that one of my two pairs of shoes (I rotate them) will be dry tomorrow for my 20K. I might have to toss them in the dryer on low. Tell you what - I'm MORE than ready for some summer weather any time it decides to show up. This endless spring is getting old.

The first couple miles (3.2K) of the route are a serious uphill. I was slow, but figured I'd make time on the way down 1900E to Sugar House Park, and I did, despite the rain, and despite Copper (my dog) getting a bit tired. Maybe I shouldn't take her, as she is definitely slowing down, but she has cancer and we don't know how long she has, and I want her remaining life to be enjoyable. She LOVES going for walks! If I don't take her she looks so disappointed. My heart rate was not that high, but I did feel like I was working moderately hard this morning. Not sure what's up with that. I got to 8K in 52:17, just over 6:30/k, and felt good about that. The next 2K had some pretty good uphill and a little downhill; still, I got to 10K in 1:05:42. I cruised downhill for the last 0.28K, and my average pace for the workout was 6:33/km, average HR 143 (low! - seemed like every time I looked at my watch that it was in the upper 140s, but I guess I only looked when I was tired!).

A good workout. 20K planned for tomorrow, and I'll be doing it on a flatter course, that's for sure!

Details on Garmin connect here.

***

More notes from yesterday - my coach thought my workout yesterday was pretty good. At least, the speed parts were good. He thought the interval speeds were showing improvement in my leg speed, but my recoveries were, ummm, in his words, "like death". Yeah, not so good. He says that means I'm just not aerobically fit yet. I guess that's good, because it means I can go lots faster. But the bad part is that my races are looming in just 6 wk, and I'm not ready, and there's nothing I can do except keep training hard and keep my fingers crossed for a breakthrough. Oh well, at the very least I'll enjoy some good times with other racewalkers and a nice visit with my brother, his wife, and their new baby. AND a week away from the duties at home & work.