25 down, 16 to go

Ah, summer. Where did you go? Today really felt like autumn, a cool, overcast day that ripened into a crisp, sunny afternoon with cumolonimbus clouds fleecing the late September sky.

So here's one last photo of summer. It's of me and Nelson, on the west shore of Lake Tahoe on an early August morning.

Running Update: Once again, I did not make my marathon training group run this morning. I woke up at 6:20 a.m., and had I jumped up immediately and thrown on shorts and a sports bra, I would have missed the 6:30 a.m. presentation on tapering, but I might have made it for the 7:00 a.m. 16-mile run. Maybe.

But it was so lovely to stretch my limbs, eat breakfast and read the paper. Plus, my hamstrings and quads are quite sore from an overzealous cardio/weights workout on Friday. So instead, I took Nelson out for a long walk, then roused E. out of bed and together we ran a hilly 5.5 mile course through our neighborhood.

Tomorrow, I'll do 16 miles by myself. Looking back: On Tuesday, I ran 5 miles fast. Same on Wednesday. I missed my speed workout as I worked late, so I ran with E. over hills on a balmy night.

A drenching: On Thursday, I ran 9 miles despite thunderclouds low on the horizon. It started raining midway through Mile 1. I pushed forward, and by Mile 2, the rain stopped.

It returned with a vengeance just before Mile 7. Within 2 minutes, I was completely soaked. As if I'd jumped into the ocean fully clothed. Big, fat raindrops fell so hard and fast they felt like pellets, stinging my face, shoulders, and neck. Thunder crashed in stereo surround-sound.

It was hard to see through the wall of water, though I did notice the lightning that lit up the sky every few minutes. It illuminated the bridge I ran over as bright as high noon, and made it actually shiver. I ran faster down the now-deserted trail. Too wet for the bicyclists, joggers and walkers. Water sloshed in my shoes with every step, weighing me down. Total time: 1:20:02.