The last two days have mostly been consumed with working the expo, but today was my afternoon off so I decided to go for a long run as part of my training for whatever half-marathon I can run during the remainder of the tour (likely San Antonio). I set off expecting some rain, but I ended up facing a torrential downpour for nearly 4 miles, and hard rain for much of the rest of the run. I found out what it’s like to run with lead weights for shoes. Given the rain, wind, and extra water weight, I felt great and was really happy with the run. I ended up doing about 12.8 miles in an hour and fourty five minutes, with an average pace of just over eight minutes. Compared to how I felt after running the half in Philadelphia, I feel great today. A little sore, but I’ve definitely come a ways from running that half untrained. I ran miles 7-9 at a pace just over 7:00 per mile, and I feel like that should be manageable for a half marathon if I continue training in the meantime.

During the run while getting pounded by rain and spray from passing cars, I experienced what many runners would refer to as the runner’s high. As I was soaked to the bone running through 6 in deep puddles, I felt completely happy and at peace with the world. The endorphins kept kicking in for a few hours after the run, and I was feeling rather bubbly as I rode the metro back to the expo and perhaps a bit too energized when I got back to help break down our booth, as the coworkers were a little more worn down than I was.

Lyndsay stared off into space…

While Molly dozed against the wall tops.

At least we get to sleep in tomorrow! Instead of getting up at 4AM as normal, we’ll be able to get up around 5:30 and walk two blocks from our hotel to set up our tents. That will be a welcome change.