MRP #4

Just like that, the fog lifted.  It must have been my Summer Visitor post from earlier this week that drove the clouds away.  Sometimes the Redwood Curtain feels like an invisible barrier, where things are the very same on both sides.  This summer has felt more isolating, at least in terms of the weather.  There have been at least a dozen wildfires burning within 100 miles of here.  Their air is hot and smoky.  Everyone complains of the poor air quality and smoke headaches.  Out here on the coast, there’s absolutely no sign of that other than what we see on the evening news.  It is business as usual.  If nothing else, it is foggier this year because of the prolonged heat and drought inland.

Matt and I took our MRP runs to Samoa yesterday.  Samoa is essentially a sandbar that includes a handful of small towns and shipyards as well as our local U.S. Coastguard station.  This is typically the foggiest of our running spots.  I decided that I didn’t want to do any more miles than I needed, so it would be MRP straight from the beginning.  The first mile felt like heaven.  My skin drank in the delicious sunshine, as if it had to gluttonously swallow every moment before the clouds returned.  Our route moves gently up and down as we glide over the paved sand dunes.  Somehow it feels like we go at a slight uphill the whole way.  By the 2.5-mile turnaround, I realized I was far ahead of pace.  I couldn’t believe how wonderful I felt.  Instead of slowing down my second half to make it an even 8:00/mi average, I decided to see if I could hold it.  Not a big deal doing MRP runs too fast at this point, I’m sure they’ll be closer to prescribed pace once I add faster-than-MRP-pace speedwork in.

As soon as we turned around, the 10mph north wind hit us.  It felt incredible.  As someone that sweats so profusely in the 90%+ humidity we have every day, I actually thrive in windier conditions as it cools me off more quickly.  By mile 4, I realized I was actually going uphill and it wasn’t one of those sand-induced mirages.  My main goal was to keep from using Matt as a wind break.  Here are my splits:

After half a bottle of water, Matt and I set off on his MRP run.  Since his goal pace is 6:40/mi (he’s going for a 2:55 marathon), I jumped on the bike.  The wind completely dried my sweaty clothes and I felt refreshed.  It was a nice active cool down for my legs, and again, they absolutely loved the sunshine.  Matt nailed his race pace run too, averaging a 6:38/mi.

Apparently, I also did some swimming as part of my run was three feet below sea level.  Thank you Garmin, for giving me a triathlon today.

Matt pointed out something encouraging on the run that day: Even though my MRP runs are faster than last time, I seem to struggle less with them.  I can actually hold a conversation with him until the last mile when it gets difficult.  Last time, I mostly made grunting sounds and forced words like “So. Tired. Must. Stop.  Hurts. So. Much.”  I suggested it was because I’m running more faster stuff and am just getting used to the pain difference that comes with speed rather than endurance training.  He just thinks I’m getting stronger.  Lord, I hope so, because some days I think that going for a 3:30 marathon is downright terrifying.  But if I keep at it and train smart, there’s no reason it shouldn’t happen…eventually…right?