Melting Snow, Sunshine and a Long Run

I have been dreading my long runs that are coming up. Not the runs themselves, but where the runs were going to take place! I was dreading running 10+ miles on a treadmill in a stuffy, hot gym! I did run 8 on a treadmill a few weeks ago and I actually felt great. But I also know that feeling great in that situation might not have been the norm.

I was getting excited last week when the weather forecast for the weekend was supposed to be really favorable and warm for this time of year. My training plan was calling for a 10 mile run on Saturday and I was planning on running outside in the sunshine. But due to being at a car dealership most of the day, that didn’t happen. It was a good day though because we got my husband a new truck! When I got home, I did have time for a short run, so I still got out in the sunshine and did a couple easy miles.

When Sunday came, it was even warmer than Saturday, the sun was shining, the snow was melting and I headed out for my run at about 10 am. I had an idea where I would run, but the route came together as I went along. Those are my favorite ones. The route I decided on took me on some major hills that I wasn’t expecting, so my 10 mile run turned into a rather challenging, hilly endeavor! But, I would take every one of those hills over a run on the treadmill any day!

Living in a small town, you have to get creative with the longer runs. I mostly had to run on the streets because not everyone had shoveled their sidewalks, and the snow hasn’t fully melted. I would try the sidewalks and would end up having to go to the street anyway, so I just gave up on the sidewalks all together. I had to try to dodge the many water puddles, but after a while, I gave up on that too. I kind of felt like a kid again just splashing through the puddles! The backs of my legs were all muddy when I got done (yes, it was nice enough I wore shorts)! I felt amazing and finished my 10 miles in 1 hour, 41 minutes and 41 seconds. My pace was 10:10 which was way better than what I was expecting, so I was very pleased with that. Maybe it was how fast I was able to go while running down all those hills!

I plan to enjoy this nice weather as much as I can! I also know that living in Kansas means we probably aren’t fully done with winter, but I’ll take the warmer weather any day I can get it!