Up Early For A Shower

I had plans for my weekend runs that didn't fully come to fruition. The plan was to get up very early Saturday morning to put in 10 miles before my daughters Cross Country Meet and then get up early again Sunday for 10 miles before early church (the girls were singing in the early service).

I actually woke up 2 minutes before the alarm for to go off Saturday morning (some may still say night) and went to get ready to run. I heard some noise outside and attributed it to wind. When I stepped outside at 4:45AM I realized it wasn't the wind but instead some distant thunder. Storms were on the way but I decided to still go. I headed to the local track, hopped the fence and began doing laps in the dark. Well, mostly dark with brief flashes of light as I was the audience for a really cool light show in the sky to the north and west. It would light up the entire track for a half second at a time. I had no idea of my pace as I was in awe of the show above and beyond me.

Finally 30 minutes into the run, I felt the first drop of rain. A lap later and it picked up. 1 lap later and it was raining good. I was only about 3.5 to 4 miles into the run so decided to keep going. Then the skies opened up completely and I was deluged with water feeling like I was under a waterfall of sorts. It felt awesome as I was soaked beyond wet. The track was full of puddles, every step was a squish-fest for the feet but the temps were just warm enough to not be cold. Being dark I couldn't fully tell, but it seemed like it rained harder than the Twins Cities marathon 2 years ago.

Finally, after 20 or 30 minutes, it slowed to a steady drizzle and I finished my full 10 miles. I had to be very careful hopping the fence back as it is about 7 feet high and I didn't want to crack my head on the pavement. Success. A warm shower, my second 'shower' of the day, capped a great and fun morning run.

I then picked up my daughter from her sleepover party and went to her CC meet where it was wet, a little rain, but a success none-the-less.

Sunday morning, I woke up at 4AM and it was raining again, not a full downpour, but a good steady pace. My shoes were still wet and I didn't want to get soaked again, so I crawled back in bed and slept some more. I was able to get in 5 miles later at CC practice. I did a 4 1/2 mile pace run at 7:58 pace and was able to finish the week with 43 miles.

Next week will be the last full mileage week before I start to drop miles getting ready for Grand Rapids. I plan on a very long Saturday long run at a very slow pace. I may go to the hills again, we will see.