Running With Jack

It was pouring down rain as I stepped outside and began my run to the trailhead to run with my running club. Fortunately it was still reasonably warm (18°C/65°F), and I had my rain jacket, so I was good to go. I took a slightly longer route to the trailhead which gave me 5K by the time I got there, my goal for the evening being 21.1K (a half').

I chatted with a couple club members as we waited for the rest of the group to show. The rain, which had let up on my way to the trailhead, started pouring again, so we decided not to wait any more and took off early on our run.

There were lots of mud puddles on our forest route and the frontrunners were gingerly running around them. After a few minutes I figured out they weren't going to run any faster, so plowed my way through the next big puddle and took the lead. A couple other runners followed and we moved on ahead at roughly a 5:30/km (9:00/mi.) pace. We cruised around the 11 km (7 mi.) loop, actually picking up speed the last few kilometers.

When we got back we learned that most of the runners behind us had taken the shorter 8K loop and were already gone - what's up with that, it's only rain people?

I chatted a couple minutes with the remaining runners until I started feeling a chill, then headed home, running the last 5K+ at a slightly slower speed. I ended up with 21.2 km (13.2 mi.), my second "half" for the week.

This weekend is my last long run before the Baden Marathon in Karlsruhe. I e-mailed the Heidelberg International Marathon Club a day or two ago about joining their club, they ended up inviting me for a run on Saturday. They are only running 22 km (~13 mi.), so I will need to add an hour on somewhere, but it should be fun running with some new friends.

Last but not least is the local 10K race on Sunday that I will be running with my running club. I suppose after running the 20 miles on Saturday, especially in hilly Heidelberg (yes, up to the castle), I won't be seeing any new speed record.