Seven before 7:00

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July 15, 2011 by Amy B

One should not stay up until 12:30 am working when the alarm is set for 5:30 am for a seven mile run.

It took me 30 minutes to wake up, eat a Kashi granola bar and get dressed. I reset my watch, adjusted my running hat, and opened the front door to find the weather less than desirable.

It was raining. Raining when it was only supposed to have a 30% chance of rain.

It’s not that I don’t like rain. But when it comes to running, I have bad experiences with water. Simply put, I chafe like a mofo. To start with, I sweat like a pig. Those people who come to an aid station during a race and dump water on themselves to cool off? That is so not me.

On any other morning, I would have just taken the rain as a sign to go back to bed and attempt to get the run in later. But I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I knew it was now or never. And it wasn’t really raining *that* hard, right?

I decided to run the four(ish) mile route I ran earlier in the week plus my regular three mile route. It ended up being 7.48 miles total.

Random Splits (times taken at landmarks I checked when I got back home):

PART I

• 2.39 mi mark – 24:20 (10:11 avg mi)
• 3.24 mi mark – 33:07 (10:13 avg mi)
• 4.29 mi mark – 44:17 (10:19 avg mi) (10:38 avg mi pace up the big LONG hill)

PART II

• 6.42 – car wash 1:04:38 (10:04 avg mi) (I did try to noticeably pick up the pace on this stretch)
• 7.48 mi mark 1:14:30 (10:02 avg mi) (last mile 9:52)

The worst part of the run? I left the house wearing my rain parka, which ended up making it feel like I was running in an oven. I ditched the jacket when I ran past the house after Part I. (Note to self: remove one item before leaving house because I have undoubtedly dressed in one layer too many.

Today is all about Tabbouleh.

From the Keweenaw Co-Op. Quite good.

And tonight was all about Quinoa Tabbouleh.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Good with chicken!

Here’s a link to the recipe. My variation: added half an English cucumber, used half the recommended parsley, less than half the amount of mint, and didn’t combine the feta (saved it to add sparingly on top).

A year ago I ran a local 10 mile race.

It’s a fun race, a nice course. I decided to bag it this year to save on the entry fee and not cut my long run short (scheduled 14 miles).

Sophie was more interested in the ice water.

Races are always more fun when you have a cheering section.

With my buddy G, his first race

I’ve got an early wakeup call in the morning if I’m going to get my run in before the sweltering heat. We’re watching Deathly Hallows Pt I. I often give myself a food reward after these long training runs. I’m thinking an even better reward would be Part II. Am I right?