Outside, I Miss Running In You.

Got up today fully expecting to do my ladder workout on the treadmill, especially since the winds were so strong they were rattling all of the old windows in my house.  It is treadmill Tuesday, after all, people!  Let's get that treadmill a-rollin'!  All aboard the Treadmill Tuesday Train!

I did get on the train, but had to get off at a very early stop, unfortunately.  After about 0.75 miles I realized I was not going to have time to run a 400, 800, 1200, 1600, and then work my way back down that ladder and be able to get to work on time.  Damn myself for getting up too late.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist about my speed work days; I just like to do an entire speed work workout rather than cut it short. And this is a workout I've never actually done before.  It was a challenge to be conquered, and I wanted to conquer the entire thing at once.  So I decided to come home after work and run it on the treadmill when I would have the luxury of time.

And then I checked the weather forecast for this afternoon just as I was about to leave my place of employment.  I about jumped out of my pants (don't worry; no one was around to see it) when I saw that the temperature would be hovering deliciously near the 30s and there would be basically no wind.

"I CAN RUN OUTSIDE!!" I exclaimed in my classroom to absolutely no one, much like a teacher who desperately needs a break.  Or years of therapy.

And run outside I did.  This is what the sun was doing when I pulled into my driveway:

I knew I'd have to strap on the headlamp and get all gussied up in my reflective gear since the sun was sinking fast, but I didn't care.  I knew I would only have to wear two-ONLY TWO-layers of clothing.  I was all aglow with running excitement.

Still glowing, I trucked outside and ran that ladder.  It only took an hour, and I managed to piss off every damn dog along the way, leaving a wave barking in my wake that sounded much like off-kilter barking metronomes as I ran away from them as quickly as I could.  I don't think they were barking at me; I think they were barking at the headlamp.  ("Hey--what is that glowing thing bobbing up and down out there?  And where is that heavy breathing coming from?  We should bark like crazy at it.")

But enduring the barking and having my pepper spray at the ready several times was worth it.  The weather was perfect.  I was running at speeds that I would break down in a mental pile of goo about if I were doing them on the treadmill.  In the dark you can only see the moving circle of your headlamp (and the errant zombie lying in the cornfield.  I'm sure one of those shadows in the cornfield is a zombie), and you don't see the hills or the scenery or anything else--you can just focus on the run.

I conquered the workout.  I just hope the weather holds for Thursday so I can conquer that 8.5 mile tempo run on the training schedule this week (unlike last week).