Cold and Wet on the Track

I don't mind running in the rain, especially when it's in the summer and is hot a humid. I will actually run better in a nice warm rain shower. However, what we ran in on Tuesday was not, I repeat NOT a nice rain. It was cold rain. On a cold evening. I wasn't ready to don sleeves, a warm-up jacket, and gloves just yet. 50 degrees, rain, and a slight wind do not make for comfortable running. But I was to find out that our workout would completely take my mind off the weather.

Our workout for the night was one of Connie's ideas, although she wasn't there to share our misery. (She's currently tapering for her record attempt at the 24 Hour run this weekend) After a nice enough mile and a half warm-up, which did indeed help to warm me up, we were set to run 3 X 2 mile repeats. That's right, three sets of two miles. And we had negative split time goals to meet for each mile too. It was a team effort as we attacked each mile. Chuck, Rachel, and I ran single file, alternating lead runner each lap. Each of us running with a watch helped us check our splits each 200 to 400 meters, keeping us on pace. Having a Garmin with a current pace readout didn't hurt either.

Here are our splits:

Mile 1 - Goal 7:00 - Actual 7:00
Mile 2 - Goal 6:45 - Actual 6:39

800 meter recovery

Mile 3 - Goal 6:45 - Actual 6:39
Mile 4 - Goal 6:30 - Actual 6:27

800 meter recovery

Mile 5 - Goal 6:30 - Actual 6:25
Mile 6 - Goal 6:30 - Actual 6:25

We decided to just maintain mile 6 rather than try to drop it down to a 6:15. I'm sure we could have hit it, but we agreed the current pace was challenging enough. After a cold three quarter mile cool-down in the rain, we parted ways dripping and shivering. The heater in the car could not warm up fast enough for my liking and I needed to turn on the rear defogger in order to see. That was the coldest run I've done since the spring. All told: 9.5 miles in 1:13.

The sun's out today for the first time since Sunday. Which makes me wish I could get out and run in it. But there's too much going on today for me to be able to take advantage of it. Maybe tomorrow. The big Northcoast 24 Hour Endurance Run is this weekend. I plan to help work it overnight into Sunday morning. I know quite a few of the entrants and it's also the 24 Hour National Championships. It should be fun. Fun for me because I'm not running!