Winter training is always a challenge in the northern hemisphere. Days are shorter, weather is colder, and with out any races coming up its hard to get motivated. Today, however, was more challenging than most.
Early this morning, thunderstorms caused a 1 hour power outage in my apartment until around 12:30. After power was restored, I had my lunch, did some cleaning and headed out around 2:30 to begin my 90 minute Sunday run. Although the sky was still offering a little rain and the ground was littered with leaves and small branches from the earlier storms, it was going to take more than a little water and sticks to stop me from getting in my scheduled run.
Turning onto the running path along side the Los Gatos Creek trail, I was shocked to see as many people running and riding my bike as I did. This may have been caused by the brief break in the rain that happened 30 minutes before, providing a small window to possibly get in a dry run. Most of them disappeared as I got further into my run, as I'm assuming they got tired of getting wet.
The rain was constant and the path had many puddles, some of which grew to the width of the trail itself making it impossible to avoid. 25 minutes and 5km in, the path is completely washed out forcing me to run a short segment along the street. Shortly after I hit the 30 minute milestone and take in my first GU. I'm feeling good and keeping a good pace at around 5 minutes per kilometer (8 minutes per mile).
The entire first half of my run had drizzling rain, and my running hat was dripping from the brim. This was very manageable and my running jacket kept me pretty comfortable. This was when the weather took a turn for the worst. Winds began to pick up and the rain became harder and cold. My jacket is water resistant, but my pants and shoes are not, not to mention my face is exposed. Around 1 hour I start to get a little cold, and the jacket and shoes are soaked with rain water and beginning to feel heavy. Not to be deterred, I continue my run though the rain and finish with a final distance of 18.1 km and a pace of 4:59 per km. One of my faster long distance runs I've had in a while.
This run completes week 7 of my 26 week work out plan before the wildflower half ironman. I'm pretty much on schedule, and everything is feeling good. Next week end will prove to be a challenge to my dedication though, as I will be vising my hometown of Mississauga for the holidays for 11 days. The cold weather and vising friends and family will surely get in the way of my regular schedule, but hopefully I can get myself out of bed early enough and get in the work outs I have planned.
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