We were warned last week that Monday night's Abe's Army training session run was going to be five miles. After hearing this, I got myself ready earlier in the week. I ran 4.2 miles on Thursday and four miles on Saturday. I was a half-mile off my goal because of a lack of energy.
But on Monday, I was ready for the full five. Alas, the weather worked against me. It rained early Monday afternoon, and I thought the weather would clear by the time training began at Lincoln Park.
But as I headed to the park, the clouds darkened again and, every once in a while, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky in the distance. The organizers decided to cancel training. We could run in the rain, but not in lightning.
Several fellow runners, including me, stayed around. The lightning stopped. And since the rain cooled things off and provided relief from the furnace of heat we've been feeling recently, we were more encouraged than discouraged from running. So we went out on our own.
We all decided to divide into a couple of groups. I trained with those who can run a mile in 11 or 12 minutes.
The cooler temperatures helped me keep a good pace. Yet, as we were heading back to Lincoln Park from the cemetery to complete three miles, the skies opened and it poured. I made it to my car soaked, and everyone headed out of there.
As it turned out, this was more of a rain delay than a rain out. After having dinner, I noticed the weather cleared again. So I decided to complete the five miles scheduled for Monday.
I ran 2.5 miles back and forth to Washington Park in 25 minutes and logged my most miles to date: 5.5. It feels pretty good to know that, even if it wasn't all at once, I am only 0.7 miles away from the 6.2 miles I'll tackle during the Abe's Amble race Aug. 22, the final day of the Illinois State Fair.
Now that the skies are clear, I think I can see the finish line.
My earlier columns:
Still many miles to go before the race
The hills are alive with runners
The halfway point on the way to Abe's Amble
My training hits a rough patch
My debut in the Abe's Army training program
Preparing myself for the Abe's Army
Where to go to comment and keep up on my training?
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