Outdoor Training Run - Singletree Trail - Wednesday, April 28

A semi-impromptu outdoor run. Wednesday is always our "longer run" day at the gym. But we had plans to go bowling at the same time we are normally gyming. So, I decided to leave work a bit early and meet L on an afternoon work break so that we could still get a run in, have dinner, and go out.

The weather was not nearly as cooperative as the last run, and I wasn't feeling very gung-ho about this one. 76 degrees, partly cloudy, and WINDY. I loathe the wind. It is my least favorite weather element. Not to mention RUNNING in wind is particularly obnoxious. But. The run was scheduled and I have come to the conclusion that (for the most part), I need quit being such a sissy about the weather. I am signed up for a ton of runs and the weather will most likely be less than pristine for most of them.

So anyway. The run starts off sucky. Big time. Running against the wind, at an incline, on rocky trail. Incredibly hard. The original goal was around 4 miles, and it became almost immediately obvious that was never going to happen. L was allowing a max of 40 minutes and our pace was certainly not going to cover that much ground, so I settled for less time and stopping at roughly a 5K. The only good thing about the first half of the run was the change of scenery. Almost every run I've done here in Colorado has some water (creeks or ponds), the mountains, and random "wildlife."

Posting this pic was made possible by the cool running pouch I got a few weeks ago. I've been wearing my neon green running skirt for just about every race - not just because it's awesome - but for convenience, as it is my only piece of running gear that has a zipped pocket big enough for phone and keys. So, I got the pouch so that I can hang onto my phone, keys, and gum for when I'm racing. I have been testing it out the last few runs, and so far it has been spectacular.  All it does is clip on a waistband, so far I've tried it on a pair of shorts and different running skirt, and I'm pleased.

The second half of the run was exponentially better. I could tell that I wasn't working nearly as hard, and I didn't have to look at my watch every two seconds to see how much longer we had to go. Check out the timing chart, you can certainly tell where the turnaround was (I forgot to hit the lap button). Where it looks like I stopped is where we had to open and close gates - you know, to keep the cattle from escaping.