Hurricane? What Hurricane?

Originally, we were supposed to get a couple inches of rain from the remnants of Hurricane Charley. So when it started to rain Saturday afternoon, I was expecting the deluge to come at any time. However, it rained lightly for a few hours and that was it. Charley must have been further east than originally forecast.

Since the rain was less than expected, the course for Sunday's race was not wet, except for a few muddy spots in the wooded areas. I ran 19:55 to finish in 10th place. I'm happy that I ran 24 seconds faster than last year, but I didn't feel like I had any wheels yesterday. I picked up the pace a bit at the end and passed someone about a half mile from the finish, but overall I felt kind of lethargic. Maybe it's a function of the longer runs and less intervals I've been doing to get ready for the half marathon. I'm going to do some shorter, speedier running over the days I have left before Sept. 12.

I learned an important lesson during the race Sunday--don't run in my new spikes without socks. I have a quarter sized blister on the ball of my foot. It was more painful yesterday during my cool down than it has been today, but I'm still taking at least a day or two off to let it heal before I run again. I want it to heal as soon as possible and I certainly don't want to make it any worse.

I'm anxious for track and field to begin at the Olympics. I'm particularly interested in seeing Geb try to defend his 10,000 meter title--and it doesn't look good for him if the reports that he's injured are true--and Deena try to take the marathon gold from Paula Radcliffe. I think the heat will be a big factor in the marathon and keep Paula with the rest of the field for most of the race.