The Rowe Family Blog

Last weekend we had beautiful weather in Rochester.  No, really we did!  It was 70+ and sunny.  It was just the sort of weather that I would want to be out running in.  But I didn’t run in that beautiful weather.  I decided to give my legs extra rest time and to work on my never-ending-and-ever-growing indoor todo list.  My plan was to run on Monday evening after work.  The weather forecast said there was a chance of rain and that it would still be near 70.

Towards the end of the work day it got cloudy and it rained.  I was not happy about that but the clouds cleared and by the time I got out on the road it was sunny again.  My plan was to run 9.7 miles.  I wanted to run the Rowe Quarter, starting at my parents house, stop at my mailbox for water, and run the three mile loop.

The run started out well.  It was nice out.  I didn’t need a shirt and I was still warm.  I got sweaty and I remembered how much the heat can take a toll on you.  After about 4 or 5 miles I started to want the water that I had stashed in my mailbox.  At about that same time it started to rain.  It started with just a few big drops but I knew there’d be more.  I took my mp3 player off my air band and held it in my hand powered off.  And then the skies opened up.

It rained.  It rained very hard.  I don’t remember being outside in rain that heavy since I was in hurricane Charley in Florida a few years ago.  And it was windy.  Luckily for me the wind was at my back.  My sneakers got soaked and squished on each step.  The rain made my thoughts of water disappear.  It cooled me down so much that I no longer felt that I needed water.  Since there was some lightning in the distance I skipped returning to my mailbox and continued on the 3 mile loop.  That shaves .2 miles off of the overall run.

I finished the 9.5 miles in 1:23:33.  That’s an 8:47 pace!  I really didn’t feel like I was running all that fast but I guess I was.

I gave my legs two full days to heal.  On Thursday I ran an easy 2.2 mile loop.  I did that in 19:15 which is an 8:45 pace.

Today I’m planning to run 3 or 5 miles at an easy pace.  It’s sunny out but it’s not terribly warm (about 55).  I want to do 6 or more miles but I’m going to try to take it easy so that my legs will be ready for a long run in the early or middle of the week.