It looks like the present weather of rain, rain, and then some more rain is supposed to last for a few days longer. The reason for all that is what used to be Hurricane Gordon, who has by now crossed the Atlantic. It’s no longer a hurricane or a tropical storm, just miserable weather with gale force winds and lots of water. At least the wind seems to have subsided by now, but the rain is here to stay for a few days longer. Anyone interested in the Ryder Cup can see Gordon’s effect on that competition him/herself.
At least I’ve overcome my cold, despite running in the rain every single morning. I did do the planned speed work on Wednesday, 9 miles with 5x600. That didn’t seem a lot of ground covered whilst speeding, especially compared with Sunday’s 5x1000, so I added a sixth repeat, but then I definitely got the old feeling of enough is enough. As always, I’m unsure if I’m doing them at the correct intensity, but I estimate I’m doing them at roughly my 5k race pace, just as described.
Wednesday afternoon brought an unwelcome surprise; I had to fly to Dublin today for a work meeting, and then fly back to Kerry in the afternoon. I really didn’t want to, but wasn’t exactly offered a choice. It meant getting up at 5:40 to cover 6 miles before jumping into the car and driving to Kerry airport. The flights were a bit bumpy (thanks, Gordon), and the meeting was as pointless as I had predicted, making this a completely unnecessary trip. At least it meant coming home at 4:30, 90 minutes sooner than on a normal workday. I felt really stiff from sitting in airplanes and meeting rooms all day, so I decided to head out for another 4 mile recovery run, just to loosen up, and ignoring the fact that it was absolutely bucketing it down. As a matter of fact, Pfitz called for a double recovery workout anyway, so I was just following the schedule.
The second I came home I had to leave again to collect Lola from the next-door neighbour. I was still in my running clothes, and completely drenched. God know what he must have though of my appearance.
I’ve just heard that the calm winds at the moment are just the eye of the ex-hurricane. The weather forecast for tonight is pretty grim. I hope, I can still do tomorrow’s 20 miler.
20 Sep: 9 miles, 1:11, 7:54 pace, with 6x600 repeats
21 Sep am: 6 miles, 55:14, 9:12 pace
21 Sep pm: 4 miles, 33:49, 8:27 pace
Good job slaving away Thomas. It's drudgery sometimes when the weather is that bad, but it will pay off. 5K pace sounds fine to me for those repeats.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up taper soon, Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteGreat run under tough conditions. I was impressed that you got off the plane and went out for another run. I usually head home for a beer after a useless day of traveling.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a miserable few days Thomas. Way to go in sticking to your running schedule. My favorite part about running in nasty weather is the warm shower after and that virtuous feeling I get for having done it!
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