Rain, Rain Go Away!

Let me start off by saying I LOVE my Wednesday night running class and am not sure what I am going to do with myself after next week when its over.  I have met some fabulous people and while I know the friendships will continue, they all live way too far away in my opinion! hah!  Thank you "L" and "C" for being my Wednesday night running partners.  And a big thanks to "J" too even though I know he probably doesn't read this blog - its been great getting to know all of you guys and I know each and every one of you will blow your goals out of the water at F4F next week.  

Did I mention I am uber sad about this class ending?  Seriously, we have a blast in class!  Our running coach has been fantastic too - he is way better than most of us will ever be, but he has a way of relating to runners of all levels.  Honestly, for anyone living in the Ft Wayne area, I would recommend 3 Rivers Running Company's half marathon class.  

I went into this class not sure what I would be able to accomplish, and here I am just about 10 days out from my first half marathon.  I thought for sure I would be employing a run/walk strategy because I didn't believe I had it in me to run 13.1 miles.  My race plan at this point is to run all 13.1 miles, but I will allow myself 2 (maybe 3?) walk breaks.

We got some good suggestions tonight in class, our topic was final goal setting and such.  Of course, being so close to the half we are in a taper week.  This should mean that we are cutting back our mileage but keeping the intensity about the same.  "E" warned us tonight about being careful not to push too hard during runs as a result of feeling rested from the decreased mileage.  That's something I will have to be very mindful of the next 10 days. I am also going to have to be VERY careful during my 5k on Sunday.  I don't want to push too hard and hurt myself. I think it will be a struggle because I am always competitive with myself, it will be hard to go into it and not give it 110% percent. 

I ran alone tonight because "L" and "C" didn't have clothes to change into after running and it was cold and rainy.  I am still a bit envious of them - I am sure they had a great dinner and enjoyed talking about race strategy.  I had never run in the rain though, and I figured I should give it a shot so that if it rains on F4F day I won't be totally taken by surprise.  So, we said our goodbyes and I zipped up my new Asics Storm Shelter jacket and took off into the nastiness!  It was definitely less pleasant than I was expecting.  The rain was so cold and it was making it hard for me to see, and it was accompanied by a cold breeze. 

My first mile was in about 8:20 which was a bit speedier than normal but I got faster the longer I ran.  My overall pace was 8:10 minute/mile.  While this isn't uber fast, its 20-30 seconds faster per mile than I have been doing in my training runs.  I don't know if this extra speed was a result of my energy due to the cut back, or maybe it was a result of wanting to get inside and out of the cold?  I have a feeling it may be the latter.  

So now to try to counteract any leg soreness I am rocking my "new" Zensah calf sleeves.  I can't thank the person who sold them to me enough.  I honestly never thought my legs were that sore, but after putting these babies on tonight I can tell the difference!  LOVE them! 

Now I just need a full body compression garment to help with the ache in my hips and knees and everywhere else! Haha! 

Last but not least, because its still eating at me, I am REALLY going to miss my running class and seeing my half mary peeps! :-(  I am uber excited to run my first half marathon but sad that doing so will signal the end of this wonderful weekly ritual I have become accustomed to!