Day 4,512—Full Moon and Altitude Training #3—

 

Start time: 4:32 a.m.

Weather: High 60s wind .4  mi/h, Humidity 87%

       It was difficult to get started this morning. My phone wasn’t fully charged, and I had a crick in my shoulder and neck, which reminds me I should try acupuncture next week. I stumbled awake and did the usual things, only failing to make coffee early enough to drink much before I left. I had my altitude mask on the next higher setting, but figured I would lower it before I finished my run. My goal was to keep it higher until after the first mile and then dial back from there. I wasn’t sure what route I wanted to do, so I went towards the moon so I could gaze up at it and marvel at how big and gorgeous it looked as the trucks and machines began their work on the road. I like what they’re doing, and they're making more progress to complete the road and sidewalk every day. Still, they always start a new section before finishing a previous one, so it makes it tricky to know where I can run without gaps in the sidewalk. I didn’t change the setting on my mask to make it easier, and I was surprised by how much faster I was able to run compared to yesterday with the more difficult setting. By the time I was getting closer to heading home, I realized I would need to add some distance to get my full hour of running in! Only one more day this week of running with this mask. I don’t know if the lack of continuity is going to make Monday’s run with the mask all that more difficult, but I don’t want to do any long runs with this thing. I don’t know if this is a good strategy. I haven’t read a ton about it, but so far I like my plan. Three Weeks from today, I will be driving to Colorado for the race.