Sprint Triathlon Distance Run? Check.

Last night I woke up around 2:30 to some of the loudest thunder I can remember hearing in recent memory. I stayed awake for a while because I was mesmerized (and a little terrified) at how quickly the thunder was coming after the lightening struck. I was convinced, of course, that it would strike too close to my apartment for my taste, but I somehow survived and fell back to sleep.

When my alarm went off around 5 for the Terrier run, it still didn't look super inviting outside. I checked the internet and it looked like the group run was still on, but I didn't think I was up for the chance that the rain could come back and I'd be soaked at 6 AM. Instead, I lucked out because by the time I left work the rain had stopped. I got home and checked out the routes in the park so that I could map out a 3.2 mile run as practice for the sprint triathlon.

I really wanted to prove to myself that I would be able to finish the run without stopping and do it in a reasonable amount of time. I figured out that if I started at the south-west corner of the park and then ran up to 86th Street and then back down, I would do exactly 3.2 miles. How convenient for me!

So, finally, I did it! Not a great time, but I did it. My time was 34:25 (10:45 pace). Right around 30:00 I started to get a little frustrated and antsy wondering why I couldn't just be done running, but I hung in there, kept going and finished. The funny thing is that I actually felt really good while running today. I managed to pass a couple of people and then I would try to pick a person running ahead of me and match their pace. There was a girl in a gray t-shirt who was running at the exact same speed as me, so she was a really great person to follow for a while (until she turned off and left).

This was my first time running in the park just on the regular road without the Terriers. I actually sort-of liked it. The weird thing was that when I ran up a couple of the little hills that I hate on my bike, I didn't really notice that I was running uphill. It's probably all the gear shifting that gives it away on the bike. I think the most important part of today is that now I've got this under my belt. I know I'm physically capable of doing it, which will be a huge mental help during the triathlon.

As an aside, I just got my USAT e-mail and it had this really interesting article in it about the importance of pilates and yoga to triathletes. Makes me happy that I've been trying to incorporate both into my training as much as possible.