Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Wednesday Workout Update - No Weather Wimps Here!

Well, our 9 miler on Saturday happened.  So did the rain.  Heavy, heavy rain.  But no lightening, so that was good!  And it wasn't cold, so that was good as well.  But holy moly, is it ever difficult to run in pouring rain.  And as we started just after 6:00 am, it was quite dark.  Which means that it's hard to see giant puddles and avoid stepping in them.  But honestly, we were so soaked that it was more of a mental thing to not step in the puddles than anything else...we were completely, thoroughly soaked from head to toe right from the start.

We set off running with the rain just lightly falling.  Got about half a mile in and it started pouring down...I mean POURING.  No one in their right mind would be out in this kind of rain - and yet, there we were.  Just another example of the insanity of running, I guess.  But we were already so wet that we figured, might as well keep going.  If it was really cold, that might have been a different story.  At least I now know that I can run in the rain like this if I have to - but I'll probably only do it again if it's during a race.  Coach Dale told me afterward that he checked the weather on his phone shortly after we started and saw the heavy bands of rain on the radar and thought about driving around to pick all of us up - it was that bad.  Instead, he went and got breakfast tacos for us so we'd have a hot meal when we finished - nice!

I was wearing a hat to help keep the rain off my face, but my glasses were rain-spotted and fogged up so my overall vision wasn't great - add the headlights of the cars coming toward us and I felt like I was running blind.  We were on the sidewalk for the majority of the run so it wasn't all that dangerous, just more of an annoyance.  Once the skies lightened up a little it got better.  

We hit our first crosswalk and in the darkness, couldn't tell that the road was covered in water until we took our first step in...up to mid-shin.  Yikes.  There were several times where we had to slog through water;  running became wading as we moved forward on this adventure.

Early on, Jeff and I decided that if we felt like we were getting blisters, we'd cut the run short at the 7 mile mark but we ended up not feeling any so we kept going.  And although I tried to Body Glide everywhere, because I knew that the rain would make for some extra chafing, I still ended up with some random spots of chafing plus a really bad area on my left upper arm.  Next time, I'll break out the big guns of Aquaphor - apparently Body Glide isn't enough when it's raining.  And when we took off our shoes and socks, we were blister-free - I'm still pretty amazed at that!

When we finished the run, I laid face down on a picnic bench.  Couldn't move for several minutes.  Then Coach Will squatted down next to me and asked quietly, "Does Jeff push you too hard during these runs?"  I considered his question, and then replied "Yeah, a bit" expecting some long-overdue sympathy.  Do you know that Coach Will just laughed and said "Good!"  Mean.  So very mean.

Much later, I'd recovered enough to get my camera out...and funnily enough, when I asked Coach Will to take our picture, he was sitting down and didn't look thrilled at the prospect of getting up, so we've got a bit of a weird angle going...because I was sympathetic and didn't make him stand!
 
My shirt says it all...
(actually, the back says "Where's The Finish!?!" but anyway you look at it, it was the perfect shirt to wear during that crazy run)

This was the hardest run I've done - even worse than the 12-mile death march from two years ago.  I was more exhausted than I've ever been after a long run and didn't do much of anything else over the weekend.  I figured everyone felt like me, until I saw one of our runners post on Facebook - first she ran the 9 miles in the rain, then she went to a tailgate party, then she went to the football game (where we won, yay!), then she posted asking where the after-game happenings were!  I honestly don't know where she found that kind of energy...I'm guessing it magically appears when you're still in your twenties? 

It wasn't a great run.  It wasn't something I'd choose to do again anytime soon.  But I am extremely proud of myself, and my fellow running club peeps, for making it through 9 rainy miles early on a Saturday morning when most of the sane world was still snug in their beds.
 NINE, baby!

17 comments:

  1. Dear Shelley, I'm so proud of you! This was a hard run. Living in a country where this kind of weather is pretty common in Autumn and Spring, I know how hard it can be. You did so well my friend.

    I always move on too when I'm already wet. Turning around doesn't make me dry. But I hate stepping into puddles, such a waste for my beautiful running shoes :)

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    1. My shoes actually look cleaner now - bonus? Truthfully, I'd rather have them dirty and stay dry, lol!

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  2. Shelley - you are so amazing! Running in the rain is so hard when your shoes are wet and feel like lead. I can't believe you didn't get any blisters. Your socks must be awesome :D

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    1. We were shocked at no blisters - Body Glide all over the feet, plus good socks (Experia for me, Feetures for Jeff). :)

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  3. Where's the Finish? Most awesome shirt ever. WTG on the running in the rain. That is just amazing as the rain makes things about a bazillion times more difficult. I hope you are sufficiently proud of yourself. Woo Hoo! and Gig Em!

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  4. You rock Shelley! Don't ever say you're not a real runner again!!

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  5. I am in awe right now. You have more energy than you realize. I will not complain about the skunks again :-)

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  6. I am AWED by my ODD friend who is willing to run in ODD weather because she is AWED by what her body can accomplish despite ODD circumstances.

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  7. You are a running rock star!! No seriously, you totally are. I'm just going to let you do all my running for me, k? Thanks. :)

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    1. Haha, no way! You are a runner, my friend - not letting you off the hook. ;)

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  8. so proud that you pushed through the rain - pretty sure I would have used that as an excuse to quit.

    LOVE the t.shirt!!! And yes, I think kids in their 20's have a bit more energy than us - dammit!

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  9. Late to the party---STILL IN AWE.
    and love the shirt.
    and laugh.
    and know in three seconds my six year old will learn what that means :0

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