Running in the Rain

Today's Run: 8 miles, 1:07:00, 8:22/mile (Nike+ stopped working)

Today I went out for a run when it was already cloudy. I half-expected it to rain a little bit but did not know what I was in for. Using the Nike+ mapping feature, I was able to plan out an 8 mile run that took me to a different part of town than I normally run. The bonus part of that decision was that I know I finished my run even though it did not log correctly on my iPod. Another bit of news I was able to get from this run and my run on Thursday of last week was that I might need to recalibrate my sensor. My pace has been increasing but according to Nike+ it has been taking it longer for the iPod to register a mile.

Now that the technical stuff is out of the way, let's get to the run. First - this was probably my favorite run in a long time. It really made me feel like a kid and it was a refreshing feeling. The run started out like a normal run on an overcast day and somewhere around the 3 mile mark, it started to drizzle. By the time I hit mile 4, I was running in a torrential downpour and it felt awesome. The rain stayed heavy until I was about 2 miles from home and by then I had no music (my iPod stopped making noise at about 5 miles in) but I was in a great mindset by then.

Running in the rain is very different than any other running. Today there were 1-inch streams flowing down the road, huge puddles on the sidewalks, and my shirt weighed about 5 pounds. There were a bunch of times when I wanted to say "Screw it" and walk the rest of the way home. The turning point was around that 5 mile mark when I lost my music. As I was running down a hill, I saw a group of 3 women running towards me on the same side of the road. As we got closer, we both started whooping it up and exchanged high-fives as we passed. This moment showed me that I wasn't the only crazy person out in this weather and pushed me through those last 3 miles.

In the end, this run was great. I ended up with a great time and didn't overdo it. It sounds cliché but this run was both refreshing and cleansing. The rain felt good coming down and splashing in the puddles made me feel like I was 8 years old again. I didn't care that my shoes were soaked or that I had no music. It was just a pure run that gave me time to think and just focus on having fun. Today's run is definitely one I will remember for a long time and try to duplicate the feeling every chance I get.