OK, if I can run hills in Hollywood, I can run them here. I can and I will.
First, I have to find out what a runner is supposed to do in regards to safety precautions in inclement weather. So far, our severe weather has been pretty contained - storms in the afternoon, or storms in the morning - easy to plan around. I had been thinking I should read up on what to do when a storm comes up, since my runs are getting longer, but I hadn't done it. And maybe the storms aren't worse, I just got spoiled by 11 days of perfect weather and forgot the ferocity of a midwest thunderstorm just that quickly, but man they've come up fast and furious since we've been back.
So it was just overcast when I woke up, even though Husband said the car had to swim to work this morning. I checked the weather, and it was cool for now, despite having slept in, and the chance of rain was low for now. I started stretching, and it was raining... I sat back down to the computer and tried to figure out what to do. Basically the only usable info I found in a quick search was to make sure the area wasn't under any warnings when you set out. We weren't. So I finished stretching (it had stopped raining already anyway). I left my mp3 (even though it was nicely charged today), because I was worried about a sudden shower, and set out.
I decided, probably unwisely, to conquer my hills right away. It was another Run 17, Walk 5, so I was literally starting right on the stretch of road I've avoided like the plague, still leaving a massive amount of time to run afterwards. I took the hills as slowly as possible, and they didn't seem too bad. I think I've finally figured out that rushing to finish a sucky part doesn't make it suck less...it still has to be completed, and it's just worse if I do it too fast. I also decided to look at the scenery beside me, instead of the hill in front of me while I went up it. Life lessons found in running? Definitely better than the last time I tackled them...
I rounded the corner at the top of the second hill, and guess what? I found the one singular thing MO has in common with LA...construction workers. They're, um, friendly no matter where you go. :/
I ran past the main street, then turned on the street I ran up yesterday. There was a crazy amount of mud and storm debris on the sidewalks that I was having to maneuver around. Not sure if I was just looking down too much, or the humidity, or all the leaping and sidestepping, but I was getting totally wiped out. I thought I had been running super slow, but my legs (thighs) actually hurt, and I was worried about making it today. It's just so much easier to run somewhere you WANT to be..
I turned to get back on the main street. I was feeling a little nauseous, and I really just wanted this to end. I was almost hoping for a hobbling injury to make it stop. Around the 12th minute, I stopped and walked across the side street. I ran again as soon as I got across the street, and plugged on. Again, going faster wasn't going to make it end any sooner, so I just kept bobbing and weaving tree limbs until the alarm finally went off.
It didn't rain while I was out, but I did get drips off of the trees, since it was plenty breezy. That was refreshing, because I was cooking. Also, I couldn't help but note that there is no need to run with water in the summer in MO, because you have to drink the air anyway (thanks, Miss Erin), and you stay plenty hydrated that way..
Walked home and iced the left ankle, although it feels pretty good, and a little on the left knee because it's a wee sore today.
Yay for a rest day tomorrow - my back tells me I am desperate for a nice long yoga session. Then, it's on to to a Run 18, Walk 5. I'm almost to the point where the "walks" drop off altogether. Even though I'm still only running [slowly] 17 minutes, I can't believe how far I've come. First, I couldn't do two minutes the first day and second, I'm pretty sure the longest I have EVER run before this was 11 minutes. Yay for me.
Weather: 73, Mostly Cloudy, Breezy 16 mph, 88% Humidity
Time: 11am; Run 17, Walk 5
Distance: 2.64K (1.64m)
Elevation: +119.5/-114.5/net 5 ft (!!)
5K/10K: 43:52/1:32:43 (not bad - especially given the hills and the uber-slow pace - I'm getting greedy, though, and want it under 40/1:30)
Run Time: 17 mins
Distance: 2.2K (1.37m)
5K/10K: 41:16/1:27:14
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