A soggy new year

This morning I woke up at 5:30, heard the rain pounding on my roof, and decided not to go out running.*

It wasn't quite that simple, of course. First there was a little snooze button action. Then some mental deliberation. Then I flipped on the TV to check the forecast and determine that tomorrow is expected to be less rainy (if not perfectly dry). Then I rationalized that my legs were a little tired and achy from my 13.1 mile run yesterday (they really were). Then I told myself that a little change of plans never hurt anyone, and running on Tuesday instead of Monday was perfectly fine. Plus, I pointed out, many training plans make Monday a rest day, so there are lots of people not running today (this one is a little attenuated, I know).

Okay, decision done. Not going to run this morning.

However, then the next decision was staring me in the face. Do I really make it a rest day and just stay in bed until I have to get up for work, or do I do the responsible, prudent thing and go to the Y for the elliptical instead?

A lot of waffling ensued. Yes, I'm going to the Y. No, I'm staying in bed. Do I want to be able to eat today? Then go. But I'm going to be late already (meaning less time on the elliptical). But it's still better than nothing, duh. (True enough.) But I read all the new stuff in my Google Reader last night (thinking I wouldn't be at the Y till Tuesday)! But there will probably be more new stuff this morning (and there was). Plus there's all the old stuff that you didn't get to before and have since been avoiding because it is old. You could read that. True....

The final incentive: cold coffee in the kitchen that I could heat up and take along in the car. Okay, I'm going.

Good karma was with me for deciding to go, and as a reward I got a nice parking space near the door (less distance to walk in the rain). I had time for 70-some minutes on the elliptical, and I didn't regret getting up at all.

Despite my wimping out** this morning, I do think that I am continuing my strong start in 2010, with a 13.1 mile long(ish) run yesterday at a pretty smart pace (9:22 average per mile).

I made myself a nice early breakfast at 7 a.m., a single serving of Kodiak cakes pancakes (1/3 cup dry mix=130 calories). I pumped them up with some potassium (chopped banana) and Omega 3 (walnuts) added to the batter, and topped with anthocyanins (mixed berries) plus a little manganese and zinc (maple syrup). Also some lean protein (cooked egg whites) on the side, with lycopene, flavonoids, phenolic, and caroteniods (salsa) on it. YUM!

All this healthy goodness did, however, require a period of digestion (accomplished by lying in bed watching the Food Network). There may or may not have been a little bit of dozing involved.

Followed by some time on the computer researching vacation packages to Kona. (Also mapping my run.)

Finally, though, I was dressed and out the door!

Even though Sunday long runs are supposed to be at a slower, easy pace, I often find myself going a little faster than I intend to. It is so much easier to hit a good pace in mid-morning daylight hours than it is pre-crack of dawn! I really didn't push myself much at all until the last two miles, but I managed to be sub-10 minute pace throughout except for the first mile, and sub-9:30 after the first few mile. (Sub-9 for the last two!)

I ran down to the Everett Marina, although I had to do some tweaking to get the distance over 12 miles. Actually I decided to do 12 but I tweaked enough that it ended up longer.*** My route was a little convoluted but it works as a good 13.1 mile plan for future runs.

Here are the splits:
10:06, 9:41, 9:31, 9:35, 9:15, 9:24, 9:25, 9:24, 9:27, 9:18, 9:11, 8:54, 8:38, .10 mile at 8:16 pace.
TOTAL: 13.1 miles, 2:02:45, 9:22 average pace.



*A fine decision to make on the day I signed up for my next marathon! More on that in a different post.
**And I do consider it wimping out, considering that a little (or lot of) rain is minor compared to the snow and bitter cold in other parts of the country!
***I ran about 2.25 times around the Marina Village, which is a one-mile loop, in order to make sure I was over seven miles by the time I headed toward home. I guess I really only need to be over six miles to make it a 12-mile route (but 13.1 is better anyway!).