Muggy run, but done

Statistics:
Distance: 8 miles
Time: Approx. 1:30:00*

*It looked like rain this morning, so I didn't take my gps/phone with me to track my route/time. We were on an 11-minute per mile pace, though, so figure about one hour thirty minutes.


Observations:

This was a gut-check morning for me. I went to Ribfest last night, ate yummy pork products, and drank beer. Didn't get to bed until about 12:30, and I didn't sleep well, either. So getting up at 5:30 this morning was pretty ugly. I felt like a mouse trying to push a car through molasses. Plus, the weather was 75 and very humid, the combination of which made it the most challenging weather we'd have to face yet, and I wasn't looking forward to that.

But I made it out of bed, scraped together my stuff and carted myself off to the train to get down to Old Town for the run.

The run itself started out as expected. I was sweating a lot, trying to keep my fluid intake up without running out too soon. Thankfully, Fleet Feet had a water/Gatorade station set up about 1.5 miles in to our run, so we could also top up our bottles there. Also thankfully, the weather gave us a bit of a break. It was very overcast, and looked like it was threatening rain. A breeze came up from the lake that was about 10 degrees cooler than the ambient air. It didn't last but it helped.

The path was crowded today, too. CARA (Chicago Area Runners Association) started their training today, so we frequently had to contend with other groups and stay alert. Really, though, the groups aren't so much of a problem. They know path etiquette. It's the single runners, or the groups of three that take up the whole path and don't know that they should collapse down when overtaking/being overtaken by another group. Add to that mix the bikers trying to thread the needle between two packs, and it makes for a crowded path. We got through it without incident, though. Like I said, just being alert is really all there is to it.

On the plus side, the 8 miles wasn't that hard, really. Sure it took a long time, but I feel good about my pace, and can sustain it through the whole run without difficulty, which is what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm not going to say it's easy, because it's certainly tiring and sweaty, but neither am I destroyed at the end of the run.

Oh, and I tried the Gatorade "recovery 03" formula drink (strawbetty/kiwi flavor). It's got protein added, which would help with muscle recovery after a run. Also, it's awful! Tastes really bad. I'll stick to protein-rich food after my runs, thanks.


Next:
Monday - 45 minutes (about 4 miles probably)