Just Missed It!

The rain, that is. When I woke up, it was raining, so I was looking forward to running in it. I realized that it's been months since I'd run in the rain. In fact, we've had far less rain this year than last. The weather forecast called for the rain to continue throughout the day, so I planned to get in a mid-afternoon run.

Unfortunately, by the time I arrived at Forbidden Drive, the rain had subsided, the sun had reappeared, the humidity rose, and the weather forecasters gleefully admitted that their prediction had been mistaken. I was left to run on a muddy trail and without the benefit of extra cooling assistance.

Due perhaps to the humidity or to sleep deprivation, I ran more slowly than usual. While I'd intended to take fewer walk breaks when I arrived at the orange trail, I found that I needed them more. As I've noted before, though, perhaps I push myself too hard when I'm running on the trails.

The duration of my run coincided almost exactly with that of Pierre-Laurent Aimard's recording of Ligeti solo piano music. For me, this is near-perfect running music. I note, too, that upon arriving at a particularly steep part of the trail, the track that happened to be playing was "L'escalier du diable"--"The Devil's Staircase." From now on, I know that I'll know that stretch as such.