I planned to get up early this morning and get the miles done, but I shut off the alarm. I stayed in bed until 9:00 AM! I don't remember the last time I slept that late! It felt GREAT, but I cannot allow that to become a habit. Because I slept late, I only reasonably had 2 hours to get miles in. So I got out the door as quickly as I could and ran just a shade over 14 miles in perhaps the most random route I've ever run in Athens.
Early in the run I saw Barry Pugh so I joined him for a mile or so. I hadn't run with him in a while, so it was good to visit for a bit.
Today was a bone-chilling, wet kind of cold. It was one of those odd days where that if I had started earlier, it would have been warmer. It was 33F with a very light mist in the air and a 8-10 mph wind from the NNW when I started. No matter how you're dressed, you just don't get warm in that weather. You stay wet and cold. I'm still not really warm 2 hours after I'm finished! Believe it or not, I'd rather run in those sub 20F, calm, dry days of a few weeks ago than a wet cold like today.
When I finished, it was 29F and snowing! I'm sure I looked like a madman running through Athens in that snow. I just spread my arms out and looked up to the sky and let it hit me in the face! So there I was running spread eagle style not watching where I was going at a sub 8:00 pace. I hope nobody saw that. I'm lucky I didn't fall. I'm glad no cars were nearby; I could have been run over! (Wait, it was snowing in North Alabama. Of course there were no cars on the road!) Being a true Southerner, I enjoy occasional snow. It's rare enough for me that the novelty far outweighs the nuisance and I love it! It gave me a new energy that I needed for the last 3 miles of the run. It turned a cold, wet, lonely, miserable slog into an invigorating, fun run!
Oh well. Enough rambling for a Saturday. Tomorrow it begins.
1 comment:
Guess you skipped Bankhead also.
I ran early 5:30 am. It was warmer but wet. Managed 18 miles. I ran through puddles, but no real mud at PT Mallard Trail.
Good luck on the marathon training. With Mt Mist behind you I would say you are there on the mileage.
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