Splish Splash

My son had a soccer game Sunday at noon, which meant we were going to have to leave the house at 10:30 to get there, etc. I planned to do my long run in the morning, hit the soccer game, and then do the swim in the evening rather than do what I did last week, which was to show up at the soccer game 5 minutes late, straight from workout.

Running in the Rain

I woke to lots of lightning. Now, soccer gets called for rain when the fields are in good shape and they don’t want them torn up (WCRP calls a game at a drizzle)–but the fields at Northeast Metro Park are crappy, so they play in torrential downpours. My son likes the mud fest but it is horrible to sit there, cold, wet, and muddy. Lightning will always get games called or postponed. The lightning gradually tapered off, so at 8 a.m. I made the call to do my run.

The rain was still coming down and it was a bit chill but I like being cold. I was in my sleeveless shirt and shorts, splashing along. I have a route from my front door that takes in a lot of the old Pervasive Girl Scout 10-miler (a race I never actually ran, though I worked the water stop at Canyon Vista Middle School at least two years in a row) in a backward fashion and as an out-and-back.

I hit my turn-around point where Bart Hollow tees into the main road  at 52:28. I turned around and could not believe how good I felt. It was truly amazing. I told myself to pick it up and finish strong; my new mantra is “Close the Gap,” which seems to work for whatever pace and where ever I am. The rain was coming down harder, too. At one point, I blew by a turn and had to double back because I just didn’t see it with my head down, plowing along. I hit my front door at 49:49.  It was so fun and I felt like a million bucks.

My husband met me with towels right out of the dryer (I have the most excellent Ironman sherpa!) and news that the soccer game had been called. This gave me time for a leisurely shower–I was colder than I thought, because when the clothes came off, my body was beet red, especially the stomach area where the rain had been driving into me–and a wonderful second breakfast.

I was less than enthusiastic about my 45 minute swim that afternoon but I got it done (I just swam some swim/kick/pull sets at my neighborhood Y). We had a lovely quiet family dinner that evening and managed to work through a bunch of chores that had been hanging over my head. Combine that with a normal bedtime and my rest day today, and I feel ready for the monster week that this week will be…not just from a training standpoint but from a life standpoint. Lots of big events for my senior daughter this week that I volunteered to play a part in. And then my longest ride ever on Saturday….at least there will be a cold Shiner with my name on it at the end!

Week 16: IM Training Totals

swim     3:04
bike       5:47
run        4:02
——————–
total     12:53