Passing the Test

I’ve long known that this weekend would mark the end of intense training. With less than two weeks to go before I start running from Saskatchewan, training starts to taper off after this weekend. On the agenda Sunday was running 30 miles, the equivalent of navigating from Rosenort to St. Norbert. 

The 4 am wake up call served several purposes. With 30 degree heat in the forecast, I wanted to get as many miles under my belt as possible, before those temperatures arrived. Starting in the dark also allowed me to see if I’m ready for night running, should the need arise. I know the body can run anytime of day but I wanted to test running with a headlamp and a new reflective vest I bought.

The weather for each run was so uniquely different today. The air was so thick for the 4:30 am run and it was already warm at 20 degrees. I could see lightning off in the distance to the north, but for the most part it was just me, the chirping birds, some noisy frogs and a couple of cats.

The 7 am run was in a full-on thunderstorm. Wow was that refreshing!

The wife Perspective: Shortly before 7:30am, I was awoken from thunder, I tried to ignore the interruption of my sleep but then I heard another loud bang followed by rain pounding the roof. I bounded out of bed to see if Shannon was home or out running. I found a note, confirming he was indeed outside in the thunderstorm. Still in my pj's,  I grabbed a beach towel and jumped in the car to go track down the runner. While the windshield wipers were going, almost full speed, and the thunder & lightning took up the sky, I found who I was looking for, making his way north on the school road.  Seriously, a big smile on his face, when I rolled down the window and asked "should you be running in this", he couldn't have been happier with the current circumstances. Since I couldn't convince him that running when there is an active lightning storm is not a wise thing, I drove beside him, hoping that lightning would sooner hit a large 2003 car (with over 400,000 kms) instead of a stubborn runner. Instead of using the beach towel to try and keep the passenger seat from being drenched from the body of a wet runner, I used it as a barrier to keep the rain that was pouring in my open driver window from drenching me and the car interior; since I was unsuccessful in convincing the dedicated trainee from postponing his run, I figured I would keep him company with conversation.      

The 9 am run started in what felt like a hurricane. It was so windy for the first mile and with it still raining, it felt more like hail when it hit the body. By the time the run ended, the sun was peeking through the clouds.

And, the 11:30 am run was HOT! Enough said.

I accomplished today what I set out to do this morning. 30 miles represents the minimum distance I want to run daily on my journey across Manitoba. I tested a few new things this morning and I would say each product passed the test. But maybe my most favourite part of today is that I can now taper off, being confident of what lies ahead.