Racing Fog MRP

Sunshine at home.  Clouds on the peninsula.  Always clouds on the peninsula.  With how rarely it is sunny here, I find myself struggling more in the sunshine than in the fog.  I'm used to the penetrating chill that eats through my clothes as I run along.  A little bit of sunshine mixed with that ocean moisture and I overheat.

That is how Matt and I found ourselves on my MRP run on Samoa.  Since I've been running all my MRP runs too fast lately, I figured I'd choose a straight shot, out-and-back, with small inclines on it to try and iron out my pace.  This week would begin official speed training specific to the marathon.

We ran along into the lowering clouds.  "Are you sure this is your race pace?"  Matt asked, "It feels slow."  Just one day after his very own 8-mi race pace run, this pace obviously felt easy.  I admit it felt easy to me, so I glanced at the watch.  "A little fast, actually." I reply.  We glance across the water to the mainland.  Our neighborhood is still under sunny skies.

The first half of this run always feels effortless.  As we move closer and closer to the North Jetty, we descend practically the whole way.  It isn't until we turn around that I realize, oh yeah, it is a bit uphill on the return trip.  Matt and I joke the whole way.  This route has so many less obstacles than my usual MRP route that we're able to take a more relaxed approach and run side by side.  I begin to fade about six miles in and ask him to be the wind break for me.  He makes a few inappropriate jokes about "breaking wind" in front of me and we continue on.

He says a few encouraging words as my energy wanes and respiration increases.  I feel like a wilted flower.  "You're doing great!  It's funny, yesterday I didn't tell you my splits because they were a little slow.  Today, you're not telling me yours because they're too fast."  Somehow, my wonderful husband has found the right thing to perk me up.  He always knows the right thing to say.  I wouldn't be the runner I am today if not for his support.

 Looks like the same photo, but it is about 3 miles from where the last one was taken.  No awesome views today.

The fog visibly overtakes the road ahead and the parking area that holds our car.  We run into the white sky. Moisture collects on my chilled skin.  I speed up the last mile, just because I'm ready to be done.  Matt runs ahead and snaps a photo.  He seemed surprised at how close I was behind him.  :)

I was a little scatterbrained in my splits, so the "average pace" column is more accurate.  Oops.

8 miles. 1:03.03.
7:53/mi.

Drama Queen.