No Rain, No Gain

OK - So chastise if you will that this post has taken so long for me to do. I started it on Monday, but found other things to do each evening since... Sorry about that. This Post is in regard to my 4 mile run on Saturday and my 6 mile run this past Sunday, Feb 24. Most of it was written Monday evening......



As the weekend approached, I was a little nervous about these long runs. My plan was to do 4 miles on Saturday, and then 6 miles on Sunday. Because of the shin splints earlier on in the week, I was slightly apprehensive to head out to the running trail on Saturday.

I decided to take my normal 4 mile loop because it was familiar enough to me - I knew exactly where I was at all times and most importantly - how far away I was from home and how long it would take for me to get there. As I headed out the door, all was good. I stopped and stretched after about 15 minutes and continued along my route. I had a little teensy bit of discomfort, but compared to earlier in the week, it was nothing. I finished the run in about 40 minutes and stretched. So far, so good. Tomorrow would be the real test, I thought - the 6 mile run I planned for Sunday.

Now, Sunday was different than any run I had attempted prior to this. One reason for this was that I partook in a little, shall we say, antioxidant loading (in the form of red wine) the night before. I did not partake TOOOO much, but enough to make a mental note to reconsider the amount the next time I plan a longer run. This potential oversight, however, was NOTHING next to the real challenge of the Sunday stroll - THE RAIN.

Now - I have admitted in the past that I was nervous about running in the rain. I guess I have this image in my head of my shoes rubbing in a way such that my feet get blisters. I don't know. Sounds likely to me, so it is something I fear. All of the outside running I have done during the past couple of weeks, however, led me to reason that running 6 miles on a treadmill was unthinkable and should not even be attempted.

I left the safe, warm house into a slight drizzle. It only took a few moments to forget all of fears about the rain, however, because it felt nice to have a light peppering of water on my face. It was only slightly drizzling, so no harm yet.
Throughout the run I experienced varying degrees of precipitation and do you know what? It wasn't so bad. It helped that Greg's insight into running in the rain was this: For anything UNDER 2 hours, you should be fine without extra precaution for your feet. Over 2 hours, well, different story. So I guess I'll start praying now that it doesn't rain on marathon of half-marathon day! But it gave me the "green light" I needed to get out there with relative confidence that my feet would not be blistery stumps in an hour.

I was also pleasantly surprised to not have shin splint problems. My legs felt pretty good until the very end, at which point I began to yearn for my couch and some ice packs. Once I had completed most of the run, I headed back onto the bark-mulch trail to return to the turn-off to my street and my calves began to ache. Very weird, but such a small component of the run it's hardly worth mentioning.

Back to the run: I started as I always do - down the street to the bark trail, hit the bike path, run down high street to 13th and head towards campus. I wasn't quite sure at this point if I'd really go for 6 miles - I remained leery of shin splints and/or other varieties of pain. Eventually I reasoned that should said pain return, I'd just walk home or take a cab. No shame in that, really.

So headed through campus, I did. I decided that instead of turning around the way I came, I would go South on Agate St. once I arrived at the very edge of campus. This was my familiar route during law school days, which conjured up some images from the days gone by.

My first walk down memory lane happened as I ran past the Law School where Greg (and our money) went for three years. And then historic Hayward Field - the site of the 2008 Olympic Track and Field Trials - where the legendary Bill Bowerman coached Steve Prefontaine into world record-breaking feats, and who would then go on to start Nike. Had the gate been opened, I would have ran a lap.

In the next block I ran past McMenamins, where my friend Patty and I would have a cocktail and wait for our significant others to join us for dinner after a long day of studying. Many an evening of Greg's 1st year of law school was spent in that local eatery. Ah yes memory lane.

Turning off Memory Lane onto 24th, I found myself in a good mood. I was doing quite well during this run and was very excited about it. It was more than half way completed and all was still good.

It wasn't until the very end when my legs began to ache. I was almost home, though, so I just kept moving. I did have just a teeny glimmer of "this can't be healthy for me" in my mind as I ran up the hill towards my house. I also grappled with the realization that 6 miles is really only "child's play" in the grand scheme of training for a marathon.

On Monday at work, Tia and I exchanged running weekend notes and she ran 13 miles (at once) over the weekend. I cannot even fathom that. I suppose I could not have imagined running 6 miles 8 weeks ago, though, and look at me now!