Getting Wet

By the time I got home from work last night, the rain was lighter but persistent. I bundled up in my heaviest Capri sweats and a hooded jacket. Andy, who is more fit than I'll ever be, and who is used to competing in all sorts of weather, went out in only running shorts and a thermal shirt under a fleece vest. I insisted he wear a hat. Our goal was to run a slow first mile, followed by 3 miles at tempo (which my training schedule identified as an 11:21 pace), and then to run one more cool down mile. I was surprised to see that my pace would only increase by 18 seconds total during my 13 week schedule, and while 11:21 is an accurate tempo pace for me right now, I already think I might be a bit more aggressive about increasing it.

Despite the rain, the evening was warm and windless, and because of it there were few others out in the park. We reached the first mile ahead of time, picked up our pace, and continued into the park proper. The second mile mark was in front of the de Young museum. We were wet by now, but fully warmed up and again we were about a minute ahead of time. The third mile headed down to 19th Avenue, turned around and headed up the steepest grade of the run - about 4 or 5 minutes of steady uphill climbing. At the top, we had completed the third mile, this time right on time, and Andy said "I hate hills." My legs started feeling it a bit during the 4th mile (I'm still not quite back in shape), but the kink in my left hip finally worked itself out. The 4th was our slowest mile, behind pace by more than a minute, but it may have been the now moderately heavy rain against our faces, and the puddles we were jumping over. We completed the 5th mile through the panhandle at an enforced cool down pace, thought we felt like we were just warming up. In total, the run lasted about 58.5 minutes - an overall pace of 11:42 which, with the slower first and last miles, is probably right on target.

The park was beautiful and wet and empty. Together the dark and the rain launched us into a meditative state. I remember now why I like running. It is one of the few times in a day when my mind is still.