When of the few times running is bearable in the summer in Southwest Florida is when a tropical storm comes through. Debby officially arrived on Saturday although it's been raining off and on since the middle of the week. I headed out the door Saturday afternoon to enjoy the relatively cool weather (under 80 degrees) and the relentless, sometimes heavy rain.
Running in tropical storms is a lot of fun. Debby is more rain than wind. Although Debby is producing more than its share of tornado warnings in our area. Fay which came in 2008 packed a lot more wind and a lot less rain. What's odd is that this late spring/early summer has been amazingly lacking in humidity. The rain from Debby will go a long way in easing our drought conditions.
The biggest right now problem is my conditioning. Since hurt my left hamstring in early May training has been at best, sporadic. It wasn't until the middle of this week I could tell the muscle was ready for me to resume running in earnest. Despite biking and using an elliptical I have lost a ton of conditioning.
Saturday's run told me a lot as I crawled along at 10 minute pace for just 3 miles. I know two things. I am not going to travel to Kansas to run Lake Atwood in three weeks. I probably could run 10 miles at just under 8 minute pace but it would be a less than enjoyable experience. The other is that rushing to get into shape to be able to do that would put me at risk of hurting the leg again.
Our racing season is a good five months away so I have refocused my goal. I'm looking ahead to the Sand Rat Race in early October. I haven't run it in a half dozen years or so. It will give me a chance to go back to Kansas, see friends and enjoy the trails along the Kansas River.
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