Beat the Storm

Although I slept in this morning after a late night (for me), I told myself I'd get my long run in even if it meant getting a little wet. A quick check of the radar map had me prepared for the worst. At 9:30 skies were a bit overcast but it hadn't started raining so I decided to go for it.

Shot south to the Mall, where I picked up the Rock Creek Trail and headed back north. Traversing Petworth/Brightwood back to North Capital street always elicits strange looks from porch sitters, even more-so today as folks gathered up on their stoops to watch the storm blow up (which I'll add has been somewhat slow so far). I guess there's not a whole lot of running traffic down Missouri Ave.

It didn't start raining until I had about 30 min left to run. Even then it was more of a relief than a nuisance, as it tended to be a light mist rather than a steady rain. The commencement of rainfall coincided with the timeframe I began to feel the long run in a way that slowed me down a bit on some of the uphills later in the route.

Somehow I rallied for the final 3 miles or so and finished stronger than I started. This is a great feeling and it jives with the general increase in strength I've been sensing of late. Even my feet felt better throughout the run and haven't bothered me afterward, a trend that has been increasing over the past week. I feel good about today's effort in that I tried to hold myself back in the beginning, found a groove that was slightly upset by some late-stage fatigue, and overcame it with a second wind. 15.1 miles, 1:56:51.

Yesterday was 5 boring miles on the treadmill (41 min) followed by some strength work.

Looking forward to what promises to be a low key weekend filled with card games and good company.