A Runner’s Balancing Act

Yesterday’s run was quite the event! I took off about 5:30pm on the canal behind work. It was strangely overcast but not muggy. I checked the weather before I left my computer and it said 94 and 22% humidity. Not bad.  Plus, the sun was behind a layer of clouds and there was a nice breeze.  Perfect.

So I took off with the intention of doing a 6 mile out and back. It was right after I completed the first mile segment of the canal that I noticed the wind acting a little unusual and the sky getting a little darker.

Then I saw it. Straight up ahead. I didn’t have a clear view of the western horizon, but up above the roof tops among the trees and telephone poles, there was something brown in the air. Shoot. Our first real HABOOB of the monsoon season.

Here is a good picture of yesterday’s haboob taken from the news helicopter.

So once I realized what I was running into. What did I do? Turn around? Nope. I kept going because gosh darn it I wanted to get those 6 mile in! And besides, it would probably take awhile for that cloud to reach me. Five minutes later I couldn’t see 100 feet ahead of me! The wind was blowing hard (in the opposite direction I am running of course) and the dust was pelting me and irritating my eyes.

Okay, time to turn around. I had only been two miles, so I was disappointed, but it was just too difficult to keep running directly into that wind. So I headed back the same way I came, the adrenalin combined with the strong tail wind resulting in a much faster pace.

I passed some guys that I had already passed once. Apparently we were both doing the same out and back course from opposite starting points. They were running fast too.  “Good luck!” one of them shouted as we passed. Wow that’s the second nice comment I’ve gotten on this canal. Runners are so cool.

Soon after I passed them I heard a strange noise. I looked straight up and the big huge powerlines above me where whipping around in the wind making this scary buzzy chirping noise. Yikes!

I looked at the canal, looked at the powerline and pictured those things falling down on me. I would be dead!  With that thought I darted off to the side off the canal path and into the middle of the Biltmore golf course. Normally I wouldn’t dare run onto a golf course like that for fear I’d get in trouble for messing up the grass. Especially The Biltmore which is one of the most prestigious in town. Luckily there wasn’t golfer in sight and I made my way across the course unnoticed. I ended up running around in a neighborhood of SUPER expensive mansions trying to figure out how to get out. They don’t build expensive homes on straight streets that go somewhere. No they build them in circles, where every cross street is a dead end!!!

So I finally found my way out of the neighborhood and back down to my work. I went by street, choosing to stay away from the canal and those crazy powerlines.

When it was all said and done my ipod had clocked a little over 5 miles. It wasn’t the 6 I’d been aiming for, but at least it was more than four!

So that is the crazy story of running in the haboob. The good news is, no rain, no lightening and the temperature dropped a good 15 degrees.

Tomorrow, 10 miles, then a TNT fundraiser in the evening. Have a good weekend everybody!

Running has been a struggle these last few days. After last Saturday’s awesome 18 miler, I took a much needed day off on Sunday. Monday morning, the backs of my quads were still tired and slightly sore so I opted to run after work, giving them a few more hours to get un-sore.

I think the extra 10 hours helped, but not a lot. Of course I left my running shoes at home so instead of being able to go straight to the gym after work, had to go home first. FRUSTRATING! To save time and gas, I decided to run outside because it “only” 98 degrees out there, ha.

I could tell as I left the house that the run was going to be tough. My legs were like lead and my quads were still sore. I tried to run my 6 mile route, but decided to cut it short at 4.5 miles because I just wasn’t finding a groove. Also, it was getting really dark. I did manage to make it up the crazy hill without stopping, so at least I can say the run counted for a little “hill training”.

The hill from far away, it doesn’t do it justice! (It was a lot darker by then, this photo was taken from an old post.)

Besides that hill, most of the run I was focusing on running a “recovery pace”. Probably 9:45 – 10:15 min miles. It was slow, but it still wasn’t particularly comfortable. I’m not really concerned that the weekly runs are getting difficult. I’ve come to expect it during this last phase of the training program. Those 15 mile +  weekend runs just zap your legs. You have to keep up your weekly runs even though your legs are fatigued because that is how you practice running through the fatigue – a skill you will need for the last 8 miles of a marathon.

Tuesdays run was a bit better. I hit the canal behind my work since I didn’t want to go home before my late volleyball game.

The canal behind my work is actually quite peaceful.

At first I really struggled to find a groove. My legs still did not feel normal. I started thinking about a blog post I read yesterday over at Eat Live Run.  I’m kind of addicted to reading that blog, even though it is can be slightly triggering with my past issues. The author takes photos of all her meals. She is a very clean, mindful eater and I’ve gotten some great ideas over there for healthy quick meals.

She was talking about how she had an incredible run recently where she let go of running for distance or time, and just enjoyed the feeling being out there, breeze in her face, and away from all of life’s stresses.

I was so inspired by her post that I took off yesterday without my ipod in attempt to get back in touch with my thoughts and enjoy the peacefulness of the canal. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted that carefree stress relieving kind of run, I still struggled with my legs of lead and the 95 degree heat.

After 2 miles, I debated turning around.  I didn’t feel great, but I knew I needed to hit 6 miles since I had already shortened Monday’s run. I found a groove after I turned around at 3 miles. After 4 miles, a guy came up behind me from another direction and I picked up my pace as I could hear his foot steps not far behind me. If he was going to pass me, he was going to have to catch me! He ran behind me for more than a mile when he finally passed me. I said hi as he passed and he said “great pace!“. That was encouraging!

I was probably running my 8:35 pace between miles 4 and 5.5. That felt good. I finished the 6 mile run in about 54 minutes. The first half was 28 minutes, the second half was 26 minutes.

Whohoo. 10.5 miles down this week! Tonight after work I’m kinda-sorta running but not really I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.  Happy hump day!