Sequence

Monday morning I finally got tired of the same 5-mile route to Ard-na-Sidhe and went on a different loop. I decided to circle one of the local hills beside Caragh Lake called the water-witch (the actual name is in Irish, of course, but I can’t remember it now. I might look it up, if someone’s interested). The road climbs quite a bit and passes between the water-witch and another, higher, mountain called Seefin. I guess the elevation gain is a bit more than 100 meters in just over a mile. Running uphill felt much easier than expected, and I tried to relax on the way down. Halfway down the mountain I came across a dirt road that I had planned to scout out, and headed that way. What had not taken into account was the fact that it had been raining for several days, and the dirt track had turned into a muddy mess; at 7 o’clock in the morning the light wasn’t exactly ideal, especially for someone as short-sighted as me. I originally tried to avoid the deepest puddles and gingerly found my around them, but of course I managed to step right into one eventually, and from then on I just ploughed my way through the ankle-deep mess. Once I nearly lost my shoe, but apart from that I didn’t encounter any problems. Eventually I ended up back on the road, right beside Caragh Lake, exactly 3 miles from home. That’s when the rain returned with a vengeance, but I guess coming off a muddy path a premature shower isn’t such a bad idea.

Today I nearly broke my sequence. No, not the one about running every day, the one about running in the rain every day. It had been raining all night, and when I initially woke at 6 I could still hear the wind and rain against the window. I got up about half an hour later. The boys woke as well, and after preparing some breakfast for them and getting ready myself I went out and was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the rain had stopped. It was time for another mundane Ard-na-Sidhe loop, but after about 3 miles my left hamstring started to tighten quite badly. I’m not sure what caused it, but I kept feeling “something” all day. I can’t tell for sure if it’s an early sign of an injury or just another twinge, but I’ll do the same as always – I keep on running and if it gets worse, I’ll think of something else. And I’ll ice it. Anyway, about a quarter-mile away from home the rain returned, thus keeping my sequence going. That makes eight rainy runs in a row. Let’s see how long I can stretch this one. Oh, I’m counting the hail as a rainy run as well; frozen water is still water.

20 Nov: 6.25 miles, 54:52, 8:46 pace, avg. HR 154, one big climb
21 Nov: 5 miles, 43:49, 8:45 pace, avg. HR 153