So, I ate a little extra food, and headed out into light sleet, rain and wind for a run. Yay.
Shortly thereafter I realized I was in a bad mood.
I drove south trying to escape the graupel and rain, with the entire metro area haunted by hovering rain clouds, and Chatfield was a bit less rainy, so I went there.
It was gloomy, and I had a couple of false starts with too much clothing, and finally settled on shorts, waterproof top, knit cap and gloves. It worked for the 3 hours.
The sun shone a couple of times, but it was just a reprieve in between the 45-minute cycles of drizzle. Nonetheless, it was pretty comfortable for running and gradually I got into the rhythm and felt a bit better.
I ran up to the little cabin near park headquarters, on a bluff above the lake. I followed a "trail" along the water but only got gravel in my shoes for the effort. Wood along the reservoir:
This recent moisture is going to cause an explosion of vegetation when it turns warm again. The trails were lined with shoots and new leaves.
At 9.2 miles I got back to the car, refilled water and got some Shot Bloks, and took off again. It was sunny, but that didn't last for long.
I tend to stare at big incoming storms with as sense of detachment, only to realize too late that I'm going to get doused. In this case it wasn't that bad, and it was worth the view. In spite of their ornery appearance, those clouds produced no lightning.
Distance was 15.88 miles, time 3:22 (moving time 2:43), elevation gain/loss 378 feet.
Two 15-milers this week, and 6th in terms of miles in a week, ever. 47+ miles, done in 4 runs. I am trying to get my endurance up by regularly running 10+ when possible. It will come in handy this summer, with the added difficulty of high elevations.
Focuses for the run: lift the knees, let the feet float forward, keep the right foot contact brief (thus reducing the weight I'm putting on that leg). I feel pretty good.
