Running in the rain

So, this morning we woke up and saw a gray sky outside. But, as we didn't run yesterday, this morning we braved the cloudiness and got ready to go outside. It wasn't supposed to be an especially long run, but I did want to get about 45 mins of running in knowing that I won't have a chance to do so in the evening. So off we go to the forest. M decided to do his recovery run and keep me company. But his "recovery" tempo is my tempo run so it took a lot out of me to be able to keep up with him. But I did. Then, I thought I felt some rain, but (as we are usually lucky with running weather) we kept on going. It got darker and darker and then a real DOWNPOUR. We were exactly in the middle of the run. Thought it would be a quick rain so we went into a shed. It wasn't easing up though. Anyway, as we were already wet it didn't really matter. So we ran in pouring rain. Trying to avoid streams of water (more for danger of slipping). But it was all kind of fun. Plus, there's no guarantee whatsoever what marathon weather we may get, so it's best to go out in something like this every once in a while....

2:14:48

That was my time for 25km run this past Saturday. Very happy with this time. I didn't push myself very hard. Just stayed with my tempo and tried to enjoy the run. Walked only through the aid stations, which is a lot better than during my past runs. Nutrition-wise - just had one gel which I split in half at km 15 & 20. That worked very well for me. Oh, and paid a lot attention to the breathing - I think that's what caused the stomach cramps in Radzymin last weekend.
Today - suprisingly, almost no soreness. Still took it easy though - just went for a long walk. But tomorrow, back to training!

It's been a while.....

I don't believe that we're almost half way through August. And busy have I been up to now. First - Tatry Tour 100km race - done! I was pretty unsure about my cycling prior to the race having almost no training up to it. Plus, this 100km would be my longest ride ever! But I did it and enjoyed it a lot. It was a bit discouraging when I discovered that I'd be one of the last finishers of the race. But somehow I didn't let me bother that (besides I was one of 9 women doing the race - out of approx 170 competitors), and just enjoyed the ride. The views were amazing, road perfect, climbs just a bit challenging, but in a good way.

After TT, we spent a few days in Zakopane, and did some training there as well. A few nice hikes, bike rides and one very hilly run. Then, of course, U2 concert (amazing!) and the last 2 days we spent near Zywiec. There again - nice hilly bike ride.

So, now we're back and in full training mode. The past week was a bit easier since we ran Radzymin halfmarathon yesterday. Finished in 1:52. Just less then a minute off my PB. Would have hit a PB was it not for some stomach cramps I got in the last 4km of the race. Either way, it was a great race, very nicely organised and a nice, flat course. Good running experience. Even though my time hasn't improved by much, I did notice how much I've improved since March (Warsaw Half). I finished this race with very little soreness nor do I have any now. So, this week back to speed work. Hoping to make the 25km on Saturday in Powsin.