Today was a speed work day: 1 mile warm up at slow pace; 1 mile at fast pace (8:40ish) with 400m (.25 miles) recovery and repeat two more times for a total of 3 laps; 1 mile cool down at slow pace. This was done in the steady rain. I was splashed by at least three cars. I had to go into the road at one point because some girl decided her and her boyfriend needed the whole pavement to walk. I was soaking wet and freezing cold by the end of the last mile and ready to get home to the warmth. I had worn my compression tights as they seemed to be a bit more water resistant than my others. Unfortunately they don’t protect against cold as well. My upper thighs are still getting the feeling back in them now.
In some ways these runs are the best simply because the rain and cold just spur me on to go faster. On the other hand, I am counting down each minute, each mile until I be inside where it is warm and dry. Yin and yang, as it were. I suppose, if nothing else, it means I am hardcore. Like the US Mail I run in the rain, sleet and snow. Now that we’ve got the cheese factor out of the way, in all seriousness it was a good run tonight. I felt far more comfortable running the fast pace repeatedly; much better than last week. Tomorrow is a slow run of six miles. Until then.