Rain Puddles

Oh boy, was this a day of ups and downs. I was half certain there for quite a while that I wasn't going to get a run in at all. I had originally planned to take Kami with me out to Enumclaw, where we would hook up with my dad and take a lovely journey through the country, them on bikes, me on foot. Of course, I woke to the site of pattering rain this morning, but after several scans of the Doppler I determined that the clouds were moving South and that we would probably have clear skies soon. Sadly, and much to my chagrin, the clouds were in fact moving north, and the rain continued for almost two hours after we arrived. I was just about to give up and head back to Tacoma when the downpour slowed to a trickle. A group consensus was reached that we should make an attempt at the trip, although shortening it a bit, and off we went.

Of course, there were more problems. My Camelbak got a plug in it right off the bat because I hadn't mixed up the powder in it sufficiently, I forgot both my cell phone and the bagel I had been planning to bring along, and my pedometer's battery died about a mile out, so I ended up running the whole thing having my dad shout out mileage and speed to me from the other side of the road. On the whole though it was very pleasant, with only a few light sprinkles of rain here and there, and even a bit of sun during the middle of it. Totaled out to somewhere around 23 miles in about 3:15, although I can't be certain of the exact distance.

In other news, I'm still reading away though the novel Once a Runner, although I've also started reading Brendan Brazier's Strive book on the side. Kami and I have been adopting a bit of his Vega brand of products into our workouts, and I wanted to know a bit more about the philosophies behind them. Haven't read much of it yet, but so far it seems to confirm that I'm on the right track with what I've been doing about my training and recovery plans.

So, while three more weeks of tax season remain, I should only have 2 more Saturdays where I go in. After that I can begin expanding my training regime a bit more, traveling a bit farther for my workouts. I've got plenty planned here locally, but I've also got some ideas for a few more exotic locals to travel to do some running. Of course much of that hinges on the weather, and if the rain continues in the coming months like it has been, I'm going to be sorely undertrained for Sun Mountain regardless of how many miles I put in. So here's to hoping for some clear skies!