Through the wind and rain
Well that was fun. This was one of those runs where all the normal people ask if you really went out running in that. It was raining when I arrived at RunTex, and a good-sized crew of us gathered while we waited for everyone to show up who had told somebody they were coming. We ended up leaving just after 6:00 for a tour of a lot of the Austin Marathon course.
A couple of us pulled out ahead after a couple miles, and we never saw the main group again. The first water stop was on Lake Austin Blvd by the boat docs, and I was reminded there of how difficult it is to tie my shoes while wearing cold wet gloves. The hilly section came next. At only four miles in, it wasn’t too bad. The next water stop was unexpectedly early, somewhere around 6.5 miles in. I figured the next one would be properly placed, so I made sure to stop and fuel up.
The only part of the run that really hurt came right after that. We were running straight into the wind and rain on Bull Creek, and it was hitting my face pretty hard. Fortunately, that didn’t last long. I did think about how we should all be wearing shirts that say “it’s what we do” or something like that, though, for anyone that happens to see all the crazy runners out and about.
The route cut across on North Loop to skip a few miles of the marathon course and picked it up again over by the UT IM fields. I was cruising through that section feeling pretty good. We chopped off another little bit by heading straight down Duval, and that’s where the last water stop was. From there it was just a trip through the campus and a cut over to Congress to get home. In all, I had just under 16 miles at a pretty nice speed, and my heart rate was right where I wanted it to be.
The highlight of my run had to be finding the “your speed is” sign on and working on San Jacinto. It only clocked me at 7 mph, and I know I was going more like 8. Maybe my angle of approach was off. Or maybe it’s trying to be a little generous to the cars. Either way, it was good for a laugh.
I did a few strides in the parking lot when I got back, and then I skipped out on the stretching. It was too wet and cold! I did stretch at home, though, where it was much warmer. It’s important to do that.