Running faster than the rain

Today's run (street): 4.4 miles

We're going to get a deluge of rain tonight, but you wouldn't have known that this morning when I started my run. The skies were clear, but that quickly changed to clouds. I was surprised to encounter stiff winds from the north and was glad that I'd worn long sleeves, despite the 51° temperature. My plan was to run easy and conditions seemed to support that.

The day after a long run, like Saturday's 9-miler, I like to do a recovery run at a slower pace. Ostensibly, this type of running helps repair muscle damage and depletes built up levels of lactic acid. It's easy to get myself outside for these runs because I like to be outdoors and I know that the workout won't be too taxing.

About a mile into the run, the sky began to darken. I picked up the pace because I wanted to get in at least four miles before it started to rain. Running faster was easier than I expected, and I quickly reached three miles before I felt the first raindrops. The rain was light and I hoped it would stay that way for the next ten minutes.

Fortunately, the weather held until I reached my house. The rain was nothing more than a steady drizzle by the time I reached my driveway. My timing was great. Not long after I got inside, I saw that it had really started to pour.  The upside of rushing through my run was that my overall pace was a minute faster than I'd planned.

Between yesterday and today, I covered almost 14 miles. Not quite what I had been covering in prior weeks, but a good return to base running after last week's race weekend. This upcoming weekend is my last opportunity to train for the LI Half. I got a note from a friend who'll be running that race with me on the 6th. He ran the Hook Mountain Half Marathon this morning in 1:55. I'm impressed with his time. I hope two weeks will provide him enough time to recover for the LI Half.