Haboob.

Tuesdays I’ve dubbed 10k Tuesdays since that’s the longest distance my running group goes on that day. I’ve been practicing my 10k pace with this and it’s been fun seeing my time improve. I’m actually pretty pleased as I’ve been seeing mid 8s pretty consistently; I’d love to see that in some of my longer runs.

Anyway, yesterday was just like any other. I was home all day with my two little ones and we waited (im)patiently for dad to get home. My phone jingled an alert and I went to check only to see that it wasn’t a regular text message but a weather advisory–a wind storm was approaching.

We get these haboobs, or massive wind storms, right around monsoon season which typically starts around June so to see this in late March was a bit of a surprise. But there it was as I opened the curtains and looked out.

A haboob view from my backyard last summer

A haboob view from my backyard last summer

I was almost caught in this one driving home last year

I was almost caught in this one driving home last year

I decided I’d still go for my run. If no one from my group was there then I’d take it indoors on the treadmill. I was getting in my 6.2 someway, somehow.

It was a small group but we were there and we were ready.

I warmed up the first mile and was hoping for negative splits miles 2-5 with a cool down the last 1.2. Miles 2 and 3 were going great and then it was the turn around. Helloooo wind. Mile 4 was slower than I would’ve liked but still in a range that pleased me. I decided I’d make mile 5 a good one and picked up the pace.

Now I’ve ran this route a billion times to the point where I can pretty much tell when I reach each mile. In my head, I knew mile 5 was getting closer so I was just waiting for the beep.

Any beep now. Beep? Beep, where are you?

The beep never came and when I knew for certain I had passed the 5 mile mark I looked down at my watch to see what the heck was going on. 4.99 miles. I kept running and looking at my watch waiting for it to beep.

No beep.

I finally clicked to the next screen and then the next and I could see the time passing but no beep and no mile 5.

After clicking away a few times, my watch finally got it together and mile 5 sounded off. 14:10. Ummm…..I hadn’t stopped, slowed down, or paused my watch. 14:10??

I figured the haboob must’ve screwed GPS and I finished my run frustrated at not having an accurate time. Oh technology.

When I got home, I saw on the news that the haboob had actually been pretty intense. I missed it when it was full throttle (luckily) so I hadn’t seen it during my run but on picture it looked pretty cool.

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–Have you heard of or seen a haboob? (I seriously can’t say haboob w/o giggling.)

–Has your watch (or technology) ever gone wonky during a run?

I’m leaving my 87 degree haboob weather today for the polar vortex that is happening in Ohio. Gotta see what the hype is all about. You can find me (if you’re looking) on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook 🙂