And then, there were the monster cobwebs. *shudder*
But I digress. I was really feeling good last night when I left work at 6:30. Not too late for a run, by any standards, especially at this time of year, but it was drizzling steadily, and very, very overcast. I could see a small break in the clouds heading my way, though, so I was hopeful that I wouldn't get too wet by the time I got to the trailhead in Elizabethton.
If you don't already know it....I hate running in the rain. I really, really have to set my mental cap to run regardless, because I despise it so much. So, now at this stage of the game, I just do my best not to think about it.
By the time I got to the ballpark, the cloud break I had spotted had almost caught up with me, and by the time I got Runkeeper booted, it had all but stopped raining, so I did my stretches quickly and headed out. The trail was soaking wet, and the trees were still dripping pretty good, but fortunately, I had downloaded a new track mix on the Rock My Run app that I was really looking forward to trying out, and so I was able to focus on that instead of the rain. I was really psyched about the run, wondering how far I'd be able to go, considering how well my body has been responding all week to me just pretty much giving it it's head, so to speak.
That's when it happened.
My Runkeeper app skipped calling the first interval cue. I didn't know when to start running, until the first interval had ended. I knew then that my time was going to be totally screwed for the run. It doesn't happen often, but it always gets me when it does. I almost started the whole thing over right then, but the sky was growing darker by the second, so I just went with it. When I started clipping along on the first interval after that, I could tell I was in for one heck of a run. Everything just felt right. My pace was dead on, my arms were pistons, my form was amazing.
That's when it happened. I plowed full-tilt through a massive spider web sprawled across the trail at a dead run.
*cue master-level ninja dance*
OMG. The only thing I hate worse than rain is spiders and snakes....and in the rapidly-deepening gloom, I couldn't see either. But I was determined to get the run in, so I just kept pushing just as hard as I could on each interval. Bear in mind that the grade on that section of the trail is pretty much straight up until you almost get to Johnson City...I was running straight uphill the whole way. My legs got very tired a couple of times, but I used my body to power through, and I'm so glad I did. It's starting to come easier to me to push like that, probably because my core is getting stronger with every run, and my form's improving drastically, too.
Because it was getting so dark and my glasses had become so steamed up that I literally couldn't see any more, I decided to cut my run short and only do 3 miles, so I turned around at the halfway point and headed back toward the car, picking up steam as I went. It concerned me that I couldn't see where I was stepping, though, because if there had been a large limb, or God forbid, a snake laying there, I'd have tripped over it. 
It seemed like it took me no time to get back to the car, but as much as I was loving that run, I have to say I was very relieved to get there...it was almost pitch black by that time, and it wasn't because of the time, either, because it wasn't even 8:00pm yet. But I only passed two people the whole time I was on the trail, and that kind of creeped me out, too...I don't like being the lone ranger under those circumstances.
I couldn't wait to see what my pace looked like after my last interval...it took a second to stop the app, because I was dripping sweat all over the screen of my phone. But I was totally amazed that even with all the stops and missed cues and spider webs, I had still managed a 12:23 pace! I couldn't wait to see my split times...but for whatever reason, I can't access that info on my phone, so I have to wait until I can actually get online to see that part. I knew, judging by my overall pace that my splits would have to be amazing, and I was not disappointed when I looked this morning.
The first interval was the one I walked when I missed my cue. The first interval I actually ran was 12:19...traditionally, the first interval is always pretty slow for me, so it blew me away that I was that fast right out of the gate. But then....10's and 11's?? Holy cow! And my next to the last interval was 10:00 flat!
I couldn't be happier with these splits. I know I am improving with every single run, and even though it may be unconventional, and I was half-way kidding when I first brought it up, this 'intuitive' training is really working for me on so many levels....far better than I even imagined!
The question remains to be seen as to whether I can sustain these times at longer distances, but truth be known, I'm not really concerned with that right now. I'm really loving where I am at the moment, I feel like I could run in the center of the pack during a 5K (and possibly a 10K), which is really where I've always wanted to be, and I know that as long as I keep up the consistency with my training runs, I will continue to improve. By this time next year, who knows where I will be? I may look back on these splits and think, "aww....how quaint".
Wouldn't that be amazing?
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