I Got My Swim Trunks and My Flippie Floppies

16 min. w/u (2 miles)
Target: 3 miles "uptempo"
Actual: 6:26, 6:23, 5:58
22 min. c/d (3 miles)
Total: 8 miles
Wind: 19mph gusting to 24mph

We woke up this morning to discover that the water wasn't working in our apartment. As in, sinks, shower, toilet, nothing. Awesome. With little recourse, our plan was to go for the run and hope it was fixed when we returned. (Sort of like my technique of going to the bathroom when we're waiting on our food at a restaurant in hopes that the waiter will see that as his cue to bring the meals out. I boast about a 50% success rate with this tactic.) As soon as we left the house and crossed over Gray we identified the problem, as there was a large crew of men working assiduously over what appeared to be a busted water main. Double awesome.

My main workout for the week was a three-mile uptempo effort with no specific parameters set for the pace. Since Jordan had 10 steady on his agenda, the plan was to run a few miles warmup, have him (and Mr. Garmin) pace me through my uptempo section, then part ways for the remainder of the run. While the wind was gusty at best, Jordan did a great job of navigating me through some sheltered neighborhoods and keeping the wind from blowing straight into my face for most of the workout, which was nice, and overall I felt decent but not great on the quicker section. The last mile by far felt the most relaxed, due in part to the final half mile being with the wind largely at my back. Still, I was surprised to split sub-6, especially after my only pace-related thought was "Hey, I might split under 6:20 on this one." A pacing whiz I am not.

The remainder of my run was breezy at best, and I returned to the apartment sweaty and parched. To my chagrin, the water was still not operational. Luckily Jordan had a plan, and upon his return his first words were, "Let's go shower in the fire hydrant!" Sure enough, the hydrant on the corner was blasting water full-force, and it took little convincing for me to throw on my swim trunks and my flippy floppies and trot over there. We had a grand time frolicking in the water, and attracted looks of bewilderment (from passing drivers), amusement (from the crew trying to clean up the mess) and envy (from the eight-year-old boy looking on with his dad). Normally I don't give Jordan's grand ideas much credit, but he was spot on with this one. I can't think of a much better way to end a run on a hot summer morning.


Okay, so it wasn't quite this dramatic.