LS(S)D

174.4
48:00, 3 miles

Runners, especially marathoners, regularly incorporate LSD (long slow days) into their training schedules.  Basically the idea is that you are going to run further than usual, but at a slower speed than the pace you hope to run whatever event you are training for.  LSD are a different kind of beast all together than a regular weekday run.  For some reason the start of LSD runs is easier than a regular work out, and I can usually go longer before I start getting tired. 

Yesterday was supposed to be my LSD, but I woke up too late to fit it in before a class I wanted to attend.  So today I was going to get up and run at least 4 miles (was feeling like 5 might happen when I first woke up).  Now what a minute!  That's a goal of 4, but the start of this post shows 3!  Yep, I fell short of my goal, but still went longer than my body wanted to. 

By the time I arrived at the park this morning at 9:30, it was already 88 degrees, and it reached 95 by the time I finished running.  When I trained for the OKC Marathon, it was almost always cold night runs, sometimes down to 30 degrees.  Since the marathon, I have not done very much running, and most of it has been inside at the gym lately. By the time I was a mile and a half into my run, my head was killing me from the heat.  My body said to quit, but stubborn Jessica said NO!, so we struck a compromise.  I would run until I ran out of water. 

Last month I bought a 1.5l Camelbak, thinking that would take the edge off of summer running.  Since my trail running backpack holds 2.5l and I have never drained it dry on even a 4+ mile trail run, I thought surely a 1.5l would be more than enough for any street running I would do.  Nope, I underestimated my summertime thirst.  I ran out just before 3 miles today, and I honored the deal I had made with myself and stopped when I made it back to the car.

Today I was extra good at the slow, and less good at the long.  I also threw an extra S in there: Silent.  Today and tomorrow, I am not speaking.  A few years ago I read Listening Below the Noise: the Transformative Power of Silence by Anne D. LeClaire, and I have wanted to try quiet ever since then.  It has taken that long to reach a point in my life where I have the luxury of taking the time for myself.  So far it is going pretty well, I have only slipped up once, and that was when I impulsively said hi to a mom on the trail at the park.