Monday, December 29, 2014

WWU - 7.36 = 8?

I know, I know - it's Monday, and I'm confusing you.  But Wednesday is New Year's Eve, and no one will be reading blogs then, and my VERY IMPORTANT TALE of our run on Saturday shouldn't go unread, so I'm imposing my editorial directive on you and posting it today.  

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Because we have the Houston Half Marathon coming up in a few weeks, we are still in full-on training mode, and we had 8 miles on tap for Saturday.  Yes, two days after Christmas, and with bellies full of not-particularly running-friendly food, we set out for a run - in the rain, no less.  Dedication?  Insanity?  I was there, and even I'm not sure which description is more true.

Running in the rain is not one of my top things to do, but since we are training for a race, and we don't know what the weather will be like on race day, we might as well get used to running in all kinds of conditions.  At least it was a warm rain - it was 66 degrees when we started.  Wearing a hat helped keep most of the rain out of my eyes, but there were several bouts of heavy downpours, so we were completely soaked.  Still, it was a decent run, although I wasn't feeling as good as I normally do, thanks to a combination of holiday eating and the extreme humidity, and it took me several miles to get into my groove.

I ran with Julia - we were catching up on the holiday happenings and making good progress, when we noticed that the sky was getting really dark in the direction that we were running.  We had just made our turn into the fancy neighborhood when WHOOSH - the wind picked up, only now it was a very cold north wind.  We literally ran into the cold front that was supposed to arrive later in the morning - just our luck that it came early.

About a minute later, it started pouring.  OK, this was not fun - Julia was wearing a running tank, while I had on a short-sleeved shirt, and with the cold wind and the rain, we were freezing!  I couldn't even look at Julia because she was shivering and I felt bad to see her suffering like that.  All we could do was to keep moving forward at that point, and that we did - at a much faster pace.  We hit mile 7 when we heard thunder - yikes!  We ran even faster, and I knew that before too long we would be near a pool with a small building where we could take shelter, in case lightening appeared.  Just as we were getting near that shelter, I saw Jeff driving toward us - he'd heard the thunder and hopped in the car to round us (and Amy, who was a little ways behind  us) up.  I will say, I was happy to get in the car, get out of the wind and rain, and feel the heat that he had blasting!  The outside temperature was 51 degrees at that point, but with the wind and rain, it felt even colder.

So that is how a run-of-the-mill 8 mile run turned into a memorable 7.36 mile run.  If we didn't have a big race in just a few weeks, I would have skipped it - but hey, this is what makes us stronger, right?  Any case, here's hoping the rest of our long runs will be dry!

15 comments:

  1. You poor thing! That run sounds absolutely miserable! I hope you didn't get sick
    running in the rain and cold. Thank goodness Jeff came and fetched you guys off
    the course he's a good guy that one. I hope your next run goes well with no bad weather!
    Happy New Year!

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  2. Been there done that and totally get wanting to get the run ini. As I was reading, my first thought was what I hate most about running in the rain is the eventual cold feeling. If it doesn't happen while you run, the minute you stop you're cold! Glad Jeff was there to be your knight in shining armor!

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    1. I had packed dry clothes for Blue Baker, and sat with a blanket, but it felt so good to take a hot shower and crawl into my heated bed with Paco and Henry and really warm up!

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  3. Really Jeff is the best! Driving towards you to pick you up? That's true love!

    Well done on almost completing it.

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    1. Yes, that was nice of him. I would have been OK with finishing the run at that point, had it not been for the threat of lightening...but had he come by when the front first blew in? I would have gladly hopped in the car, LOL!

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  4. I actually don't mind running in the rain if its warm, but cold - no thank you! Close enough to 8 in my book though!

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  5. No words. I just can't imagine doing that. Tell Jeff he just got another gold star!

    Well, on the upside, you will definitely be ready no matter what the weather on race day!

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  6. Do you have a certain goal in mind for this half? I see your times are quite varied. I never really cared about my times, but then you start making little goals as you get closer to goal. I am one year older than you (52) and would like to do a half in 2015. I haven't ran one for a few years now. My best time was 2:00:59, but I doubt I'll see anything near that anymore....which is fine.

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    1. Being that the Houston route is supposed to be really flat, and I've increased my intervals to 2:1, I'm hoping to break 3 hours. But who knows - if it turns out to be hot and humid (a definite possibility in Texas, even in January), all bets are off.

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  7. I was going to say that I never really minded running in the rain. I detested running in wind though.

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  8. Jeff rocks!!!! So do you Shelley! Love the WWU on a Monday! :)

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  9. Insane dedication, to be sure! You have my admiration, Shelley. And thank goodness for husbands with warm cars!

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  10. Uhm... I'll read blogs on NYE LOL

    Weather can turn on a dime and cold wind with rain is the *worst*. Glad you made it through!

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  11. I'll be here with Lori, on NYE. I guess we can read past entries or something. :)

    Good idea to go ahead with the run, just in case you have icky weather on race day. I don't think that far ahead. LOL

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  12. I have run in rain and snow and it has taught me a lot about dedication. It has actually been beautifully warm here the past few days and I regret that I can't get out and run!

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