rainy days and tuesdays get me down

imagine success. that was my mental plan for today. i was coming into this workout with fresh legs after a week of recovery miles, 36 of them, but still recovery miles. coach james had emailed me some mental tips to help me get through the workout, and i was confident i'd have a good day.

75 degrees and humid. that's what it was at the start of the run. the mile warmup was slow and easy, and i just let my legs open up on their own. i started the first repeat and got on pace immediately and stayed on pace. i was excited because i typically start out way too fast or too slow and have to speed up too much to get on pace. 7:49, nailed it. sipped some water, felt some sprinkles, did the recovery, and started again. this time, i did not find the pace. i felt so good that i wasn't understanding it was easier because i was going slower. i was blaming it on my Garmin. it was cloudy and my Garmin has not responded in clouds of this kind before so i thought it was not catching up to my speed as quickly. wrong! between the half and 3/4 mark, i realized i was slower and i was not going to be able to catch up. i didn't think that sprinting that last little bit was a good idea to get the pace i needed. so that one was 7:59. i was annoyed. recovery, a few more sprinkles, and back on track. third was was spot on again at 7:49.

during the second mile repeat, about halfway through it, the wind shifted quickly and immediately it was cooler. i've been outdoors when cool fronts passed through and they were gradual over an hour or hours. this one was almost instantaneous, and during our workout the temp dropped over 10 degrees. crazy! great scenario right? wrong again. remember those sprinkles? at the end of the third mile repeat, the bottom fell out. i thought it was one of those bursts of rain that stopped as quickly as it started. wrong again for the 3rd time this morning. i grabbed a quick sip of water and attempted the cool down, but the rain got harder and was blowing in sheets - there was a strong crosswind coming in from the north. i was drenched and it got cold quickly. after my recovery, i took shelter under the gateway restrooms. a cyclist was doing the same, and had his phone. the radar showed a small cell, and we both thought it would move quickly. i was thinking i could finish the workout. it did not move quickly and 10 minutes passed. i also got cold. when the rain didn't stop, i decided to call it a day. my body had cooled down for too long, and i would need to add a longer warm up before i did the last 2 repeats. plus, the time was getting away from me, and i would risk being late for work. i ended the workout with 5.5 miles and 3 repeats, 2 on pace.

i am ticked that i messed up my second repeat because i know it was there. and i am ticked that the weather ended my workout early. i was feeling better than i have in almost 2 weeks, and i was ready to put some intensity into these legs. i'm disappointed things didn't go as planned, but finding the silver lining, i'm very happy with how i felt. it's encouraging for the rest of the week.