Saturday, I met with the group for yet another long run. Even though we started at 8:30am, the sun was already blazing and there was a horrible head wind. Everyone was going out for 60 minutes, but Sherry and I had to stick to our training plan for Zooma, so we did the almost 2 hour long run.
I forgot how much heat affects me. I had a horrible time last spring, when it first got up in the 80’s I’d struggle to run 3 miles, this year, though I can complete the distance, I somehow managed to get even slower than I was before. WTF, I know.
We met up in Crystal City, ran down Crystal Dr. and took the Four Mile Run trail into Shirlington, then the Barcroft Park trail after that. I hadn’t been on those trails in a while, and it was nice to be around my old neighborhood again. We finished our 9 mile run in 1:54 — UGH. That’s an 12:41 min/mile pace. Did I really just finish 9 miles in the time it took me to complete 10 miles a month ago?
The headwind was a killer, and with a mile to go, we got caught on a wind gust so strong that we just gave up and walked. We were literally not moving — after a bit of running you look down and you’re STILL staring at the same rock, you know the wind is stronger than you. Luckily, we were able to pick it back up about a minute later when the wind gust died down, but that was humbling nonetheless…
Today I came to work armed with my running clothes, my ipod and my camera! I’ll be doing the run alone again, and hopefully my ipod will help keep me entertained — I don’t remember the last time I ran with music! I also brought my camera along, and if I remember, I’ll be taking shots of my commute home along the way! That should help keep me distracted, and I’ll get to share with you guys how pretty my route is.
