This morning I broke the rules. Not the “return to running” rules from my MD, but my own rules about never running outside with lightning in the area. I was scheduled to run with Nathan at 6am today for the first time in exactly 6-weeks. When I woke up around 5:30 the rain was coming down in sheets with lightning cells scattered throughout the passing front.
Nathan texted me about whether or not I wanted to chance it, and against my better judgment I replied:
It turned out to be miserable conditions, but it was still an enjoyable run with Nathan even though I was drenched to the bone and COLD! We completed right at 4.4 miles by doing 3 sets of 10-minute run / 1-min walk (with warmup and cooldown walks). The increase from 5-minute running sets to 10-minute running sets was quite noticeable and my heart rate even got into the 170s. Nathan and I joked about the fact that when we used to compare heart rates after an easy run like that, I would almost always be 10+ bpm less than him (he’s 10 years younger), and would usually be in the 140s at most.
After the run, Nathan posted the following on Facebook:
I’ll get to the “Captain Awesome” reference in a bit, but would have to concur that there are very few people on the planet that could motivate me to run in the conditions we had this morning, other than Nathan. It was extremely nice of him to join me for a “run/walk” when he is in absolutely peak condition (no need to slum it with me), when the weather was nasty, and the day before he will be running the Murfreesboro “Middle” Half Marathon.
As for “Captain Awesome,” several years ago Olivia started calling me “Captain Awesome” after one of the characters on the TV show “Chuck.” Eventually she started using the nickname in public and when she posted things on Facebook. Now it is beginning to spread beyond the confines of our family.
However, instead of getting annoyed at the occasional ribbing, I’ve decided to just embrace it … since it is a pretty accurate description 😉
I’m kidding….
On a serious note….Good luck tomorrow Nathan. Go crush my Half Marathon PR!
Beast Mode…ON!