Running in the rain

It's raining outside and I'm really looking forward to my run tonight. I love running in the rain. It's different. It's calm. It's peaceful. It's isolated.

Most folks who don't run (and some that do) are surprised when I say that I look forward to rainy days (they'd really be surprised to see me in blizzards). But there is something about a rainy day that really appeals to me. It's always quite outside except for the drops of water hitting the ground and the occasional splashing of my shoes as they hit a puddle. I like finishing my run and looking around and seeing no one else outside with me. And I love taking a long hot shower after peeling off my wet clothes.

When it's raining, I like to do a route that, on a nice day, has a number of walkers or runners – because usually, they aren't if it's raining.

It makes me feel stronger and more determined that I'm one of the few that braved the elements and did the workout despite the added challenge. I'll be that much better than those that chose not to run because of the weather. And that good feeling usually seeps into the rest of my life. Because I figure, if I'm strong enough to meet a self imposed recreational challenge, I'll be strong enough to handle the challenges in work and personal life.

Training for a marathon or a triathlon is a long journey. And if you can't take enjoyment in the training, the payoff in the end isn't nearly what it could be.

Reality

What an ugly run. I think I did everything I could to make today's 10k (Rode City Run in Louisville, KY) go badly – and I succeeded. To begin with, the kids were at sleepovers last night. My wife and I found ourselves alone – it happens about once a year. So, despite having to race the next morning, we went out for dinner at a nice restaurant, ate too much and stayed out too late. This morning I was barely able to get out of bed.

Combine this with my already sore body (too many hard training miles too soon) and a poor attitude and I was doomed before the gun went off.

I wanted to run a 42 minute 10k. I knew that was probably wishful thinking, but I wanted to get close. I ended up doing a 44:50 – a 7:15 pace. That's about what I'd like to do for 26.2 miles. I do indeed have a long way to go.

I started the race out thinking I was going pretty fast. But I wasn't. I did a 7:05 first mile but felt like I had just run a 6:05. I then did another 7:05, then slipped to 7:23 and then did an ugly 7:45. People started passing me who normally wouldn't. I was getting pretty down but I kept pushing. The next mile was slightly downhill and I did around 7:30 and I didn't feel too bad. My legs felt stiff as a board, but I wasn't too winded – I put it into my highest gear and ended my last two miles at around a 7 minute pace. I had managed to salvage some dignity.

The problem is obvious – I've built up a great aerobic base from Ironman. I can go slow forever. But I've lost my high gear. I've got to incorporate speed in my training and I've got to do it more intelligently than what I did this past week – my 42 year old body can't handle the stress like it used to.

On the upside, whenever I've had a bad race, it usually gives me motivation to try that much harder. The final leg of the Louisville Triple Crown is in two weeks – The Papa John's 10 miler. I've got some work to do.

Leg 2

Tomorrow is the second leg of the Louisville Triple Crown. Two weeks ago I ran in the first leg – a 5K. The results were a mixed bag. I didn't run all that fast but I started so far back in the pack that my time was, for me, acceptable. Saturday's run will be a 10k. It will be in downtown Louisville. The temperature should be tolerable but it may be raining.

I've been running pretty hard for the last week or so. I'm doing at least 35 miles a week and I'm starting to drop my pace to around 8:00. At the end of my two last workouts I ran a sub 7 minute pace for the last mile. That's the good news. I guess the bad news would be that I used to run a 7 minute per mile pace for 13 miles straight. Even worse news is that my body has felt like it was hit by a Mack truck for the last few days. I was barely able to run yesterday. I've got a long way to go to get to my goal of qualifying for Boston. Fortunately, I have a long time to get there.

Of all the races, I don't like the 10k. 5K's are short and painful. Marathons are long and uncomfortable. The race is the worst of both – it's long and painful. You really have to go hard the entire time, it hurts and it's a pretty long distance. My goals are simple for this race – get to the bathroom early, don't start too far back and don't hurt myself. If I can finish under 42 minutes, I'll call it a success.

On the road again

As planned, I ran a 5k road race in Louisville yesterday. It was my first time running a 5k in about 4 years. Running long is slow and fairly painful. I've become pretty accustomed to it. I don't get nervous about taking on long distances. But a 5k is fast. It's violent, hard and very painful. It's something that I used to be good at when I was young. My best 5k was in high school – I ran a few sub 17's.

But now I'm older and larger and I try not to remember how fast I used to be. It can be depressing. However, if I'm going to try to qualify for Boston again, I'm going to have to have to get faster. One of the best ways I know how to do that is by running short road races. Thus I raced yesterday.

Boy did I get nervous about a simple 3.1 mile race. My stomach churned and I secretly hoped I'd oversleep. I worried about the pain. I worried about keeping the right pace. I worried that I couldn't run fast anymore. I was really dreading the whole thing.

Thanks to my wife I got up in time. But my stomach was a mess and I had to use the facilities at the last minute – so I found myself behind over 5000 runners at the starting line. It took my 5 minutes to begin. It was chip timed, but because I started behind so many runners, I knew that it was going to be impossible to get off a good time. I spent the entire race dodging curbs, benches and slower runners and walkers as I zigzagged through the course trying to go as fast as I could. I ended up with a time of 21:10 – a little under seven minutes a mile. My wife and kids waited for me and thought I'd be disappointed because I was so far back in the pack. They didn't know that I stared behind everyone. In truth, I was pretty happy. While it did hurt and I didn't go that fast, I found that my speed hadn't entirely left. My endurance also seems strong- my last mile was the fastest.

Seven months to go to Chicago, I'm running smoothly, spring looks like it's finally coming- Challenges will surely come but things are looking good right now.