18+ miles in the rain
yesterday morning, i ran 18+ miles in the pouring rain. now that i'm sane again, can hardly believe i did such a thing. blame it on peer pressure, i guess. the running club was organizing a supported 20-miler, meaning that there'd be water/gatorade/GU every 6 miles or so. they said that the long run was on, rain or shine. and the fact that it had been raining the past week or so, it's not surprising that it turned out to be raining the very morning of our long run. now, we're not talking misty rain (as we were fortunate to have for the Boston half-marathon). we're talking drenching rain. but we were troopers and about 20+ people showed up to run. the temps weren't too chilly so once we got started, it was quite pleasant, actually. of course we were dripping wet but once you were wet, you didn't really notice getting wet by the pouring rain anymore. i was wearing a cap to keep the rain out of my eyes, a long-sleeved Dri-fit shirt and shorts. other than squeezing out excess water from my shirt every few miles or so, it didn't feel that different from any other run. well, i must say i didn't enjoy running into puddles and running in wet shoes/socks though. along the way, one guy turned to me and asked, "What? are you crazy?". i would almost agree with him but by then, i was in a rhythm and had only one goal - to keep running. also ran by an elderly couple and the man turned to his wife and said, "Those dedicated runners!". this is so ironic. not too long ago, two and a half years ago actually, i was the one who thought people who ran (esp. those who ran in less than perfect weather) were crazy. i guess i've become one of the crazy idiots out there. not that i'm hard-core or anything, but i guess every now and then i lose my marbles and get out there when sanity would dictate i shouldn't. i definitely would NOT have gone running if i weren't running with the club though. i pretty much ran the whole thing by myself (lost the group since they run much faster) but just the fact that we had to meet up by 8:30am and go running forced me to get out there instead of lazying around in bed.
it was quite exhilarating being out there in the rain. arms and legs in sync, endorphins flooding your body - you are in the zone. it's a zen moment. almost an out of body experience; it feels almost surreal. the run was probably one of the best runs i've had recently, in the purely mental sense. i was on a high.
since i was running by myself and the course map i had disintegrated in the rain, i lost my way. i knew pretty much the general direction so i ran accordingly...which, it turns out, meant i ran many more miles than i intended to. it was at least 18 miles. was out there running for almost 4 hours (!). was not my intention but that's how it turned out. i got quite lost the last 2-3 miles close to where we were all meeting afterwards. unfortunately, that was when the rain became a torrential downpour. being lost, tired, wet - that was when the run was no longer fun. i just wanted to be warm and dry (and fed). i finally made my way back. did i mention how grateful i was to be back??! changed into some dry clothing and had some waffles, donuts and warm coffee. ahh. it's all about the little things. =) went home and took a long, hot shower. HEAVEN. and it was only 2pm on a saturday. a great start to the weekend.
it was quite exhilarating being out there in the rain. arms and legs in sync, endorphins flooding your body - you are in the zone. it's a zen moment. almost an out of body experience; it feels almost surreal. the run was probably one of the best runs i've had recently, in the purely mental sense. i was on a high.
since i was running by myself and the course map i had disintegrated in the rain, i lost my way. i knew pretty much the general direction so i ran accordingly...which, it turns out, meant i ran many more miles than i intended to. it was at least 18 miles. was out there running for almost 4 hours (!). was not my intention but that's how it turned out. i got quite lost the last 2-3 miles close to where we were all meeting afterwards. unfortunately, that was when the rain became a torrential downpour. being lost, tired, wet - that was when the run was no longer fun. i just wanted to be warm and dry (and fed). i finally made my way back. did i mention how grateful i was to be back??! changed into some dry clothing and had some waffles, donuts and warm coffee. ahh. it's all about the little things. =) went home and took a long, hot shower. HEAVEN. and it was only 2pm on a saturday. a great start to the weekend.