Wind & Bad Drivers

Forecast for today: wind. Seriously. Although it's a lovely 54 degrees here, it is super windy again - 20 to 30mph winds. Ah, coastal living.

But I knew I couldn't put off today's run if I wanted to stay on schedule and keep motivated. After having a lot of trouble falling asleep last night (what else is new), I figured I'd push off the run until around 11:30am. My goal for today was to run 3.4 miles again in 38 minutes or less. With the wind as a big factor though, I wasn't sure that I'd make it. Good thing I'm so stubborn.

I started off slowly, but since I check my time at certain landmarks, I knew I was managing to run close to my usual pace. The first ten minutes were tough - my legs were tired from running three days consecutively and it takes me about that long to push past the initial muscle fatigue. But although I was running slowly, I felt like I was keeping up a steady pace and not struggling too much as time went on. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing in every direction, so I didn't get a break from it when I switched directions - if anything, it got stronger! Although it made it harder to run, it did keep me cool. It's not very hot today, but I feel like I overheat quickly when I'm running, and the breeze kept that from happening.

On the second half of the run, I was reminded why I wear my RoadID when two cars passed me around a turn and actually swerved INTO the bike lane. I run far enough over that they weren't anywhere near me, but pay attention people! It reminded me of a story that Miss Ive wrote about a run where a group of her neighbors didn't get out of her way when she was running, and she ended up crashing right into a tree. It's hilariously told (albeit resulting in non-funny bruises), so I definitely recommend giving it a read. I always think of her whenever cars pass me (since there aren't a lot of people standing in the bike lanes), because there seem to be three types of people:

1) Those who worry that I don't see them (though I run against traffic) and so they drive practically or entirely in the oncoming traffic lane at far greater peril to themselves than to me;

2) Those who use their common sense and adjust a little bit so they don't blow past me too closely; and

3) Those "runner haters" who ride the side of the road so closely that I could probably touch their side mirrors as they pass me.

Fortunately, they're few and far between. I can understand their road rage to a point, because I get all riled up about people who bike in packs on the weekends, barely obey traffic signals and hold up entire streets' worth of cars as if we just want to check them out in their spandex while driving 10mph. But here at the beach, there's a very wide bike lane for me to run in (which I do unless it's flooded, and in those cases, I wait until cars pass me to run in the road), and the road itself is plenty wide enough that they don't need to be swerving towards me! I should probably mention that two of the three drivers that passed me were talking on their cell phones. Where is a cop when you need one?? If a car ever does hit me, I am prepared to punch the driver right in the face. After I call 911, of course.

So anyway, back to my run. As I got closer to the end, I could tell I'd have to speed it up a bit to finish in 38 minutes, so I picked up the pace as much as my protesting lungs and legs would let me. And I finished in EXACTLY 38 minutes. I was hoping to finish a bit faster, but taking into account the wind and this being my third day of running in a row, I've got to be happy with it!

Tomorrow is definitely a rest day, though I will be making sure to get some yoga in there. Then, I'm running on Saturday and Sunday, but this time, back to back 3+ miles. Since that's what I'll be doing next weekend, I'm curious to see how my body will react!