11th June - long and wet, 18.5km - 86min (V)

Today I was determined to take advantage of the long weekend shorter work day by getting in the long run I missed on Saturday.

Alarm set for 6.15am – who was I kidding?? 6.25 – nope, 6:35 – nope, 6:45 – nope…..eventually up and out just after 7am.

Just about out the door when I realised that the ground and trees and air and everything was very wet….it was raining.

Immediately – must have still been asleep – I went for the sensible option of grabbing my light climafit jacket.

This was odd since I’ve never run a serious training run in my jacket before.

The plan was to run for 90min. With a range of course options going through my mind I settled on one that was a big loop of roads I’d run before, including some that I’ve not visited in some time.

CP to Edwards to Kimberley Reserve to Black Springs to Lyons to Maroondah to Croydon Rd to Hewish to Hull to Manchester to CP.

A nice mixture of elevations with nothing too taxing and mostly able to run on bitumen rather than gravel or concrete. Except the drag up Manchester, I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy that bit of road.

Again I was struck by the sheer lack of activity for the duration of my run. I know it was raining, early and a public holiday, but to be on some usually busy roads and to not see a car in sight was a little eerie. Then to only see 2 people out and about, it was very lonely. But, I did seem to get one friendly toot….that was nice.

Not being sure of the distance, it was a case of being flexible to adjust for time. Nearing home I realised I was going to be short so a little loop added some time and distance. At 86min it’s a bit shorter than planned but a very wet runner was thankful to be home and able to shower and dry off.

SDM reckoned 19km, but that would mean 4m31s pace….I don’t think so, G-maps reckoned 18.3km. I’ve opted to call it 18.5km.

Either way, it seems I must have been lost in thought or groove or rhythm since I definitely didn’t push the pace at any stage, so I suppose it’s a good thing for a run like that in the lonely wet to feel effortless.

Back to the jacket: My biggest fear with wearing a jacket has been the over heating factor, and then having to take it off and tie it around my waist. I do not enjoy having things hanging off me when running. But today, I felt comfortable early, and then warmed up a little. So I pushed the sleeves up slightly, and lowered the zip a bit. For the rest of the run I was very comfortable and even appreciative for the protection.

I think I’ll experiment again on a cool morning / night without rain to see what its like. But for cool weather running in the rain, I’m happy to don the jacket again.

On reflection I remember reading / seeing something about Buster changing to running in long pants for training to protect his assets (legs). So I guess this is kind of in that line. I know I can run in such weather without a jacket, but if wearing the jacket provides some added comfort and does not cause trouble, then why not.