Here Comes the Sun...

Today was a day that reminded me why I don't drink before I run.

Granted, I didn't have much. I had probably the equivalent of 4-4.5 drinks from 8:30-12:30, which is average, but just having that stuff in my system was no bueno.

Natilie didn't come with me, as she's realized that along with the physicality of her job and running every day really hurts her right now, particularly her knees.

But it was such a beautiful day! There were a few small, white clouds in the bright blue California sky and the sun was warming the cold air. The view of the mountains was unobstructed and the higher peaks were covered in snow! Thankfully, the trail dried for the most part, and the flooded areas were manageable mush at the worst. There was a rather strong wind blowing from the north, which is atypical, as there's usually a headwind coming from the south when going counter clockwise on the west side of the park. I knew it was going to be tough.

And it really was. With Natilie absent, I entertained the idea of upping my run to 3 minutes, and keep a 3 minute rest. I did my warmup lap, and without Natilie I did my brisk haulass walk which shaved a lot of time (I must be back in shape in order for me to walk like that), and the run laps weren't stellar. It wasn't so bad compared to yesterday, but definitely not as great as earlier in the week.

LAP 1: 18.36.32
LAP 2: 16.46.71
LAP 3: 17.14.95
TOTAL: 52.37.98

What was bad was that I it hurt. It wasn't a pain from the muscles, but it was just my body was fatigued and I was winded even on my first sprint. In the middle of the run, I knew that I couldn't do the 3 minute run that day, and I would have killed myself if I forced myself to do it. Still, considering the circumstances, I did pretty well and I'm still alive, so there's that.

What I think would have helped was that I probably could have made the 3 minute run happen. Fatigue aside, I could have mentally set myself to do it. I really was trying to prep myself for it during my first lap, even to the point I had changed my watch to the proper intervals, but my body was refusing, and my mind just shut off from the thought of it shortly after that. I have to really see if I can push myself to do it soon.

I've decided that I should make a goal to be able to run the entire trail in 15 minutes. That's how long my miles were while training for the marathon, and even though this is a bit shy of a true mile, I want to at least strive for that.

I've come to realize that running alone isn't all that bad. Aside from the fact that I was a wreck today, I've noticed that I don't hurt as much when I'm running with others, maybe because even when we're not always conversing with each other, at least I know the other one is there. It sucks to be out there alone, but it's also good that you don't have to be mindful of another's pace. Having Nat with me while conditioning may have helped with consistency, but maybe now that I am slowly getting stronger, I can up back to my old pace, of which she may not be able to do at this point. It's sometimes nice to get lost in your own thoughts and just go as you want and push yourself when you think you need it...there's something satisfying in encouraging yourself, because it's just you out there.

I suppose that were technically out there on our own all the time, and as nice as it is to go at it solo, I think I ultimately would be in the company of others. I think that's what made my Saturday morning runs made it so worth it. It wasn't a sacrifice to not drink Wednesday to Friday, because it meant I could keep with my group and feel strong, all of us together, encouraging each other and making that journey as a unit, yet still be able to get what we individually needed to get out from such an endeavor.