Animals started to gather, lining up two-by-two...

If the rain comes, they run and hide their heads.
They might as well be dead.
If the rain comes. if the rain comes
---The Beatles

Last week was one heck of a week and just reminds me of why I don't beat myself up on training for a marathon and do it for the fun and adventure. I put in exactly 10 miles (well, not exactly as the path around Lake Galena was flooded and couldn't do a full lap. More later.)

The week started with a 2AM start time for work on Monday morning. I'm not a morning person. I'm grumpy when I'm tired. And, boy, was I tired. I got home around 3:30p that afternoon just flat out exhausted.

Tuesday night I flew down to North Carolina for business. I had a chance to try to get a run in on Wednesday night, despite the rain they had and so desparately needed. I had about two hours to kill after work and before meeting up with some people for dinner. The hotel I stayed at was in a crowded area so I wasn't comfortable running in the streets (or, more realistic, highways). I was only about 4 miles from North Carolina State University so I took the chance and ventured that way to see if I could find a track. I was hoping to do a few laps around the track to, at least, just loosen up a bit. I did find their football stadium and, was hoping, there was a track there. But... The traffic around the stadium suggested there was going to be some kind of event there that night. (Found out later the NHL Hurricanes have their stadium around that area and they were playing a home game). So, no run that night as well. And, I came back Thursday night not arriving home until 11p (due to flight delay).

I had every intention running in the Skeleton Scurry 5k in Hatboro, PA on Saturday but it rained and rained and rained... My mother did teach me to come out from the rain!

By Sunday, I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I intended (notice the theme here. Intended IS a key word) to meet up with people at 8a but I felt I needed to sleep in at least one day. I did get out (ta-da!) to Lake Galena at 9:15a.

Part of the path around the lake was flooded out so I (and almost everyone else) ran to the flooded area and ran back and around and back. We looked like a swarm of bees around the lake. Usually, there is a certain rhythm you have running the loop, saying hello to people, knowing where you need to press and where to take it easy. All thrown out the window that day. I ran across the dam for three miles and then back for another 3 miles. Then I ran towards the flooded area (which is only about 1/8 mile from the 2 mile mark) and then back again. And, I had so much energy from NOT running the whole week that I nearly burned myself out in the first 3 miles. I was trying to reign it in but I kept on picking up the pace unintentionally. I used to run with a Garmin GPS for training and, when needed, still do. But, I find that I wind up being a slave to the time rather than running what I feel like. I know I am running a faster pace than normal but is it critical to know how fast all the time? Not sure.

And, it was windy that day. This year's Marine Corps marathon was held on Sunday and the day reminded me so much of when I ran it last year. It was also windy that day and it just killed my legs. The same happened this past Sunday around the lake but to a lesser degree. With a year removed, I blamed my conditioning for the time I had in that race. But, in the back of my mind, I always felt the conditions of the day played a part in it. So, in truth, it was a bit of both--I was not in good enough condition to run on windy days.

Only three more weeks to go for Philadelphia. We are starting to organize on going down there and how we are meeting up. Steve has called me to let me know when he was coming down. The excitement is starting to build. I'm looking forward in completing my fourth marathon.

Note: Congratulations to Harvey, one of my colleagues in North Carolina, who finished the Marine Corps marathon on Sunday. Harvey sustained a foot injury leading up to the race and gutted it out finishing only a 1/2 hour behind his goal time (the way he described it, finishing became the goal after 18 miles). I plan on doing 20 miles on Sunday doing a 5:1 run/walk ratio. I've changed my mind about the marathon and plan on using this ratio for the race instead. Having done it for my 18 mile long run last week, I felt great afterwards and think this might work better than 9:1. We'll see.