Shortly after writing part 1 an epic storm blew in, dumping inches of rain and producing dangerously gusty winds. Therefore, the choice was clear: a treadmill tempo run was in my near future. Now I am not as soft as this quick decision might make me out to be; I have ran in far worse outdoor conditions this past week, and frankly, I am sick of it. Pooring rain has flogged several of my recent runs, leaving my clothes heavy, my spirit tired, and my thoughts focused on just waiting to be somewhere dry for the duration of my run. This feeling interferes with the positive feelings running usually gives me, so the weather has been getting on my nerves.
So I made my way down to the gym, about a 10 minute drive, hoping that the zero drag, zero weather, 68 degree interior would eliminate the challenges of running outside. While it did, I found myself just focusing on the time that was past, and how much longer I wanted to go. I ended up holding 6:35 pace for 3 miles, which is not all that good, but it's the fastest I've ran for a while. I did a nice cool down consisting of 1 easy mile (7:30) and 10 minutes on a fancy stationary bike (gotta love the gym). It certainly wasn't a bad run, but it was far from the type of run I would classify as good. In other words, the effort felt true to what it was: a rather brisk run. To me, a good run occurs when the percieved effort feels far less difficult than the actual effort, and a bad run occurs when the actual effort feels far greater than the percieved effort. So this was a middle of the road, average run, at least by definition. I left in good spirits (afterall it's Thanksgiving!) Tomorrow I have a long run planned but it's now been 7 days since my last day of, so I'll decide based on how I feel tomorrow. The weather is also supposed to be making a turn for the better which is exciting. The clouds and the rain have been making the mood of my running downright ugly.
Overall, it was a good Thanksgiving Day run. I am thankful that God gave me the legs, the passion, and the bliss to run. I plan on regrouping tomorrow and finding that place inside where I can say that I am falling in a good way.
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