Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Four glorious miles in the rain...


The plan had been to rise early and run this morning but, I got to bed late last night sooooooo. ... I decided to do a late day run. It had been a sunny, warm day - temperature 81 deg F. I waited until around 4:30 pm - by then the clouds had moved in to cool things down some.

I dressed for the run and left the iPod at home. I was going for an easy 4 miles and was going to lose myself in thoughts about the marathon. This was, after all, the last run I was going to make before the big race.

It was a fantastic run! I didn't miss the iPod at all. I just ran and soaked up the sounds around me. I did bring the Garmin along with the HRM. My new toy supports my continued data collection experiment to understand my heart rate and how I feel.

About a mile or so into the run it began to rain. What made the rain so cool was that this was one of those rains that are a little more than a drizzle, enough to help cool me down on a warm day but not too cold to chill me. I felt energized running through the rain - much like the energy you get running while the sun is rising. It was glorious!!

I picked up the pace on the last mile and ended up with a total run under 11 min/mile pace:

Mile 1 - 10:53 (first mile does not involved a walking break so it is always quicker)
Mile 2 - 11:30
Mile 3 - 11:36
Mile 4 - 9:46 (burning the last mile - heart rate 179 by the end)

Total: 43:47

My favorite heel is a little sore, as I expected. I will ice, massage and stretch it tonight and over the next few days.

I have completed my "Wed" plan on my checklist. Now I just need to make sure I am in bed by 10:30 pm. I am so excited for the encouragement I have been getting from my running friends out there. Thanks to Adam for the mention on Burning20. I am going to listen to Nigel's podcast, Running from the Reaper, tonight which also mentions my quest! I will need to take these along on Sunday and keep them handy when the going gets tough!

I am honored to have such good friends - to be part of a community of runners who are all on this journey together. Thanks for the support!!!

2 comments:

Susan said...

What a lovely run! I narrowly missed the rain this morning.

The countdown continues!!!

ShirleyPerly said...

Best of luck to you on Sunday, Chris! Remember that you've done the hard work (training) already. Now it's time to have fun and enjoy your first marathon experience!