In spite of the fact that the half marathon was cancelled for this weekend, I decided to continue this week as a stepback week and run the 13.1 instead of jumping up to 19.
Hurricane weather was a huge threat that I did not want to have to deal with during the course of my run, so I decided not to do an out-and-back. Today's run was along a measured mile around the apartment complex. By running repeats on this mile, I could track my splits - as if I were running a race - and I could get inside as soon as possible if it began to thunder.
There were two ways that I went to achieve one lap. One was 1.05 miles, and the other was 1.15 miles. To make the full 13.1 miles, I did five laps of 1.15 and seven laps of 1.05. To keep track of how many laps/miles I ran, I did three laps in one direction, then reversed, for a total of four sets of laps.
I believe that running laps is harder mentally than running on the treadmill. The scenery rarely changes; it is the same buildings, cars, bushes, and (for the most part) people. Being so close to home makes it very tempting to run back inside and call it quits.
During my sixth lap, the hurricane reached Northern Virginia. At first, the sprinkles were a nice reprieve from the humidity, but soon it began to rain harder and my shirt and shorts were drenched. I followed my rule of thumb and did not stop running, because no thunder was heard and no lightning was spotted. Still, during that lap, I was very tempted to go inside and stop. I considered how if I were on an out-and-back, this would not be a possibility, as I would have to go an equal distance back to the starting line. I did not stop, and I pushed on. Soon, the rain became a constant, and I was counting down the laps until the finish. Thunder and lightning never came into the picture.
Although today's long run outdoors was somewhat uneventful (minus the beginnings of the hurricane), I will carry the strength of completing it with me to marathon day. Today's run was the first in a long time that I have had to deal with the rain, so if it returns on race day, I will not be panicky. Plus, I had thoughts of giving up, but I pushed through.
One of my runner buddies in one of my running groups posted this quote this morning, presumably because of the hurricane conditions and people like me who thought about quitting but didn't give up. I will use it to conclude my post:
"Conditions are never perfect. 'Someday' is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. If it's important to you and you want to do it 'eventually', JUST DO IT and correct course along the way. So whatever dream you have been holding off on chasing, do it now. And when you look back at the end of it all you can say: I DID IT." - Shannon Neinas
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