And the Lightening Strikes

Run: 11 miles, Lift

There is a new trend going around in Northern Virginia: thunderstorms. It is getting pretty ridiculous at this point -- it rains pretty much every afternoon/evening and also over night. This leaves all trails straight mud, which is a major P.I.M.A to run on. And I generally dislike running all on the roads. So yesterday at around 4:30, as if on a set timer, the clouds opened up and lightening and thunder blasted from the sky. And it poured rain. We were scheduled to meet at 6 to run a loop back in the trails, but at 5:30 it was still pouring, thundering and lightening. This led to an unfortunate change of route that kept us bound to the roads.

I walked out the door to my father telling me "You're an idiot," since it was lightening outside. Remember, since I just turned 22, my Dad can't really tell me what to do. Still, as I ran down towards the path amid the crashing thunder claps and the bright lightening strikes, I couldn't help but think that I was being a little bit foolish. The first 10 minutes felt great, and I was actually loving the weather: cool air, fairly light rain under the cover of the trees. It was very conducive to running 11 miles. Once I met up with Max, however, my legs began to feel a bit heavier. That lasted for approximately 20 minutes. The last 50 minutes were great. I felt strong, light, and just generally good overall.

When I got done, I was feeling very encouraged. Sometimes running in the pouring rain like that can be slightly uncomfortable and really annoying, but other times, it can feel perfect. Yesterday was one of the perfect runs. I am sitting at 27 miles for the first 3 days of the week, getting back up to respectable miles. It is a little daunting that I still have 38 to do over the next 4 days to hit the 65 mark for the week, but it will get done. After yesterday, I'm feeling pretty good about it.

P.S. I had a record setting lift yesterday: I benched 215 three times. Psyche. But I did do 30 pull ups total (6, 8, 8, 8). I am also increasing my amount of push ups and lunges. And all other lifts are coming along. Remember that Rocky picture? No, I'm not there yet...