39:15 10K in the Rain
Today I felt like I've gotten the worst of the cold behind me so I was targeting a run tonight. My wife had an errand to run after work so I wouldn't have been able to run then anyway. And I prefer running in the dark. I normally do a speed workout on Tuesdays but have really been wanting to go hard tempo and feel that I get more out of that anyway, at least when training for anything longer than a 5K. And with a 10K race this Saturday I decided to see what I could do at the 6.2 mile distance.
I looked forward to running tonight but was disappointed when I finally opened the door to head out and saw a drizzle coming down. Not that I'll melt, but I really don't care for running in the rain. But of course, I couldn't let that stop me. Good runners look for excuses to run, not for excuses to not run. I grabbed a hat and took off to my old neighborhood (yeah, I know, I go there alot - that's where all my good benchmark routes are). My 6.2 mile course is really a 5.4 mile course, with 1 lap around the .4 mile oval block I used to live on before and after. It makes for a nice out and back, with a split at 3.1.
I hit the first .4 mile loop in 2:40, which works out to a 6:40 pace. A bit slow, but I always start off slow in training runs. My first mile after that loop was a 6:20, so I was settling in to where I wanted to be. I wasn't killing the pace, just holding back ever so slightly. I hit the 3.1 mile turnaround in 19:40. I was okay with that but knew that time would make it tough to come in under 39.
The return was going fine and I was on pace for a negative split when I ran into a little 4-legged problem. I was just short of the mile-to-go-to-get-to-the-final-loop point when I made a corner and saw in the dark a lady with two little ankle biter dogs. My buddy Steve says there are two kinds of dogs - huntin' dogs and puntin' dogs and these were definitely puntin' dogs. The lady picked one up but didn't seem concerned about the other one. Of course it came straight at my legs, yapping and snarling all the way. I had no choice but to come to a complete stop. The lady did nothing. I yelled at the dog, yelled at her, tried to walk, but it was touch and go. I didn't want to take off because I was afraid the little sh*t would decide to go for the kill. It hadn't bitten me yet but it wouldn't take much. I would have sent that sucker "To the moon Alice!". I finally decided to risk it after about 10 or 15 seconds of negotiating but man I was pissed. I could feel the seconds clicking away. At least I got a little breather standing there.
I did that final mile back to the .4 mile loop in 6:15, a 5 second improvement over the same spot going out. Now I just needed to turn a good final lap around the block and I'd be in at 39 and the low teens. I turned a 2:28, which is okay, but I've done better at the end of a run. I was pretty whipped but probably could have gone a bit faster. I'm pretty sure I have a sub 39 in me. We'll see this weekend.
Total distance Tuesday (8/28) - 6.2 miles, 39:15 (6.20 pace).
I looked forward to running tonight but was disappointed when I finally opened the door to head out and saw a drizzle coming down. Not that I'll melt, but I really don't care for running in the rain. But of course, I couldn't let that stop me. Good runners look for excuses to run, not for excuses to not run. I grabbed a hat and took off to my old neighborhood (yeah, I know, I go there alot - that's where all my good benchmark routes are). My 6.2 mile course is really a 5.4 mile course, with 1 lap around the .4 mile oval block I used to live on before and after. It makes for a nice out and back, with a split at 3.1.
I hit the first .4 mile loop in 2:40, which works out to a 6:40 pace. A bit slow, but I always start off slow in training runs. My first mile after that loop was a 6:20, so I was settling in to where I wanted to be. I wasn't killing the pace, just holding back ever so slightly. I hit the 3.1 mile turnaround in 19:40. I was okay with that but knew that time would make it tough to come in under 39.
The return was going fine and I was on pace for a negative split when I ran into a little 4-legged problem. I was just short of the mile-to-go-to-get-to-the-final-loop point when I made a corner and saw in the dark a lady with two little ankle biter dogs. My buddy Steve says there are two kinds of dogs - huntin' dogs and puntin' dogs and these were definitely puntin' dogs. The lady picked one up but didn't seem concerned about the other one. Of course it came straight at my legs, yapping and snarling all the way. I had no choice but to come to a complete stop. The lady did nothing. I yelled at the dog, yelled at her, tried to walk, but it was touch and go. I didn't want to take off because I was afraid the little sh*t would decide to go for the kill. It hadn't bitten me yet but it wouldn't take much. I would have sent that sucker "To the moon Alice!". I finally decided to risk it after about 10 or 15 seconds of negotiating but man I was pissed. I could feel the seconds clicking away. At least I got a little breather standing there.
I did that final mile back to the .4 mile loop in 6:15, a 5 second improvement over the same spot going out. Now I just needed to turn a good final lap around the block and I'd be in at 39 and the low teens. I turned a 2:28, which is okay, but I've done better at the end of a run. I was pretty whipped but probably could have gone a bit faster. I'm pretty sure I have a sub 39 in me. We'll see this weekend.
Total distance Tuesday (8/28) - 6.2 miles, 39:15 (6.20 pace).
posted by Lance Collins at 8:31 PM
1 Comments:
The rain doesn't bother me, it's just the humidity. ;)
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