T Minus 7 Days...

One more week to go before my half-marathon. Today was my last big run, about 15-16 km. It went pretty well. I felt a little sluggish because I was wearing a lot of clothing. This past week has been rainy. This morning when I started out it was about 5 C. But it was a no-brainer to don my rain suit and run outdoors versus doing a 1:30 run on the treadmill in the gym. If I was doing a short run,  I could have stuck it out on the treadmill. But the thought of having to run on a belt with no change of scenery for so long just didn't do it for me. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I'll do easy 5 km runs. 

It was raining pretty hard, but I stayed dry. My rain suit is old, but trusty. When I run in the rain, I put my iPod in a Ziploc bag and then put it in my jacket pocket. I also wear my son's "Slovakia" baseball cap to keep my hair dry. The Slovakia hat serves a dual purpose. In addition to keeping my hair dry, it also keeps people from stopping me and asking directions. While I'm all for helping tourists, I don't like to have to stop during a run to do so. 

I think that next week's half-marathon will be a little rough because it's supposed to get hot next weekend after rain early in the week. It figures. I'd rather run in rain than in heat. Plus there won't really be time to acclimate to the heat. The good things are that the race starts at 8 am and most of it is in the shady English Garden. I'll just go out and do the best I can under the conditions. One thing that has helped me to get used to running in warm conditions is my rain suit. I bake in it because I have to wear tights and longs sleeves under it. I hate how the rain suit's fabric feels on my bare skin, thus the long sleeves and tights. 

On the subject of Slovakia from a couple of paragraphs ago...it's amazing how many people mix up Slovakia and Slovenia, at least from the comments about the World Cup that I read on US sites. They're both Slavic, but they're two different countries. Slovakia is the eastern part of the former Czechoslovakia. Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia. A lot of US reporters are having a field day with making fun of little Slovenia, a country with a total population of about 2 million. One thing is true--most Americans probably couldn't locate either Slovenia or Slovakia on a map. Even though Slovenia is small, it has a very good football (soccer) team. The Slovenian team is topping its division after two games and has a good chance of advancing to the second round. They're ahead of both the US and pre-tournament favorite England. In qualifying for the World Cup Slovenia beat good teams such as Russia. The Slovenian team also has a cool name: The Green Dragons. I'll be cheering for the Green Dragons in their match against England.

The teams that I really like at this World Cup so far are the South American teams. Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay all have a good chance to advance to the second round after two games. Chile was very impressive in its first game. I love the Latin American style of football because the players look like they're having fun. Latin American teams are entertaining to watch, whether they win or lose. 

Till next time...