Week 12 Key Run #3

Today's goal: 13 miles at PMP + 10 seconds, or 10'02". It was supposed to rain all weekend, so I was already depressed about the run. I woke up Saturday and it was raining. I checked the weather - Sunday didn't look better. I checked the Doppler radar, and it appeared there might be a break around 10:30. Normally this is extremely late for me to go out for a run, but I figured it would be better than getting poured on. I decided to head back out to the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail because I didn't figure it was a good day for a trail run. And I decided to drive so I didn't have to be soaking wet and freezing cold for at least a half-hour post run on my trip home. So glad I made that decision.

It poured my whole drive, but turned into a sprinkle when I got to the parking lot, so I headed out. It was cold and sprinkling fairly hard though, so I started out running too fast. I always run too fast in the rain - I think maybe I will be able to finish faster, but it always catches up with me later. For the first 3 miles I headed on a southern out and back I hadn't completed before, and the scenery did not disappoint. For the other 10 miles I headed on a northern out and back on the route I had completed last week. Some times it didn't rain, sometimes it sprinkled, but toward the end it pretty much poured. The last 5 miles were uphill (gradual at least), into a head wind, and my hands and wrists were in pain from the cold. I was quite miserable by the last three miles. The first half of my run was closer to a 9'30" pace, while the second half was closer to a 10'30" pace. I managed to finish under my goal pace, at 9'55".

I completed 13.1 miles in 2:10, which is faster than three of my actual half marathons. The first part before I settled in was rough, miles 3-7 I was cruising, but 8-13 were rough and cold. It was definitely not easy.

Luckily I had brought some clothes to change into in the car, and with the heat blasting I was able to start feeling my hands again. I became comfortable enough to successfully choose beer at BevMo on the way home, although the selection definitely tilted dark.