All Downhill From Here

Thank goodness for the Tuesday group run commitment! It got me out in my running shoes and Krista and I put in a solid effort in the rain. We followed other Gord’s Store runners down the hill to the Langevin bridge. Once we crossed to the south side of the river and were heartily cheered on by drunks on a park bench we took a walk break at about 15 minutes and I set my watch for speed intervals.

We ran 4 x 2 minute intervals (I estimate about 350m each), with 2 minute walk breaks in between. The first one was great for the first 90 seconds, and then my heart and lungs were very challenged. By the third one my cardio system seemed to jive with my legs better, and I actually kept up with Krista. The fourth one was harder again. That effort took us to over half an hour, and we turned back at the 10th St. bridge. We took a long walk break and gently jogged some more before trying one more short burst of speed, for just one minute this time. I liked the one minute time frame much better! It was the perfect night for speed running, as there were not as many folks out on the paths.

Krista took the curling club stairs back up; I took the hill. It was hard, but I managed to run all the way up the darn thing. The rain had been a gentle, misty drizzle for most of our run, but now it was starting to come down harder. I wore my cap low over my glasses and just focused on the path a few yards in front of me. I liked the cool breezy gusts, the moist air and the tingle of raindrops on my calves. I thought up a tongue twister on the way up the hill: Runner wins a rainy one 🙂 I remembered how Mark likes to run in the rain too.

Now to nail down some race goals, so I have a good reason to be working this hard…