Let's just say that, overall, this week has been abysmal for running. Bronchitis is kicking my butt, so I've laid off enough to not totally kill myself, but still logged 14ish miles overall. Hopefully this coming week will be conducive to catching up on miles. Though, truth be told, I'm not behind for the month given last weekend's 25 miles logged in two days. Anyway, I digress...I seem to be good at that these days.
On to today's run. Brie and I are back in action...sort of. As I already said, I've got bronchitis and can't breathe real well and Brie's still got the IT band issue, so we're not in tip top running form. That's never stopped us though, and since we are running a half marathon next weekend, we set out at 6:30 this morning for a semi-longish run.
The weather was fantastic. It's not been this good in months and was wonderful for stretching the legs. The first couple miles felt very familiar. Brie and I chatted about all the super duper news and goings on in our lives...and there seemed to be a lot this week. We headed toward Annapolis, down Main Street and over to City Dock.
Once we were on the Naval Academy "Yard," heading toward the sea wall, things got a little weird. First we saw the DNR boat come up to the sea wall with its lights on. An then at the bend before College Creek, we saw a MP sitting next to his car on the sea wall, that's when we saw the fire truck up on the Academy Bridge with its lights flashing. What the heck was going on? We thought immediately it must be a search and rescue. Jumper? Cap-sized vessel? Who knows? Our thoughts on the search and rescue were confirmed when a state police helicopter also came onto the scene, circling the Severn in the area between the bridge and the entry of the river to the Chesapeake. I hope it wasn't a sad day for a family, but I've not been able to learn anything more than what we saw with our own eyes....which admittedly wasn't much.
Well, we finished the spin around Hospital Point and had two options - head back through the Yard and downtown toward our start point or exit gate 8 and head straight back for the start point. Gate 8 was only about 2 miles versus 4ish and my lungs were straining and Brie's IT band was also bothersome, so we took the shorter route. It wasn't a cop out, just understanding the limits and needs of our own bodies. This has probably been one of the greatest unexpected lessons I've learned throughout this year of running to meet my goal - you can't get it done if you don't understand what your body is telling you and when. Sometimes you can still push a little further, and if you listen, you know when those times are. And sometimes you've got to end a run sooner or risk not being able to run for several days or longer (why I've taken the past couple days off).
We got back to the start while planning our packet pick up, race schedule, and what we're going to do for fun the day before the race. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I love these runs. They are my therapy, my exercise, my time with friends and my fun. Thank you Brie! Happy trails!!!
Stats -
Miles: 7.42
Time: 1:16:26 (average pace of 10:18 per mile)
Location: downtown Annapolis and the Naval Academy
Feeling: the lungs were very rough but the legs felt decent
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