Wet

Today's run was wonderful.  Today's run was smooth.  Today's run was relaxing.  Today's run was WET!

This afternoon I am taking Cody to a nearby elementary school for a career day.  I am excited about this, and I want Cody to be well-behaved.  He was groomed yesterday, and I knew he'd have a little extra energy this morning, so I had planned a long run.  Things changed, though, when I woke up.  I got up, let the dogs out, and I saw the rain.  It was not just a drizzle or even a sprinkling.  This was a nice, steady, fat-dropped rain.  It basically meant that I was NOT going to turn around and change into my running clothes.

Instead, I checked the weather to see if maybe this was just an early-morning rain.  Nope.  It's supposed to rain all day.  I thought about it, and I deliberated as to whether or not I really wanted to go out in this weather.  I knew Cody needed some exercise (and I needed some exercise), but running in a heavy rain isn't always fun.  After about an hour, the rain had lightened, so I took my chance.  I quickly changed, put a leash on Cody, and we were off.

About a kilometer (0.64 mi) into my run, this lull in the rain ended.  I wasn't anywhere near ready to turn around, and I was already kind of damp, so I kept on going.  I ran to the spot where I normally turn around during shorter runs, but I felt really good, so I kept on going.  I got to the spot where if I turned around I could still have a really great mid-length run, but I didn't want to stop, so I kept on going.  At some point, I stopped and put my GPS watch in my pocket to help protect it, but then I kept on running.  The rain came even harder, people were starting to stare, as I entered the city I encountered more and more puddles, but I kept on running.  I ran all the way to Hans' work.

When I got here, I had two options.  I could stop, get the car from Hans, and drive home, OR I could keep running the additional 3 miles home.  Physically I felt great.  I seriously considered continuing the run.  However, a few things made me stop.  First, my watch.  It's not a cheap watch, and I didn't want it to drown in the rain.  Second, my clothes.  I was drenched to the bone, my feet were squishy, and my jacket was weighing heavy on me.  It just wasn't very comfortable anymore.  Third, and most importantly, Cody was done.  Physically I think he could have kept going if the weather had been decent, but this boy was cold.  He'd shiver when we had to stop for traffic, and I knew he needed to get to a dry spot.  We had run far enough.


The total run was only 7.59 km.  It was not our longest nor was it our fastest.  It was, however, very fun.  It was fun getting odd looks from people in their cars.  It was fun being the only one out there.  It was fun feeling like I was combining swimming and running for one awesome sport.  I don't know how often I'll run in the rain.  It can be cold, and my shoes really took a beating (luckily I wore old running shoes), but at least I know that I can.  I'm grateful for the fact that I'm capable of doing it.  I'm grateful that I had the determination to keep going.  I'm grateful that Cody needed some exercise, because I probably wouldn't have gone out without him.  Oh, and I'm grateful that I have dry clothes to change into!

Happy Thursday!