Thursday, April 06, 2006

10 Miles...in Pouring Rain?? Check!!

Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain…beautiful Rain…

Yes, the thunderstorms they promised actually hit today…It was raining, but not hard and I was so excited to get out and get running in it. Yes, I have a bit of insanity, but it’s sitting at upper 50s/low 60s for temps and a light rain isn’t bad. I headed out in windbreaker pants, singlet, Chicago marathon jacket, shoes and wright socks double layer socks and my 26.2 hat, which was good for keeping the rain off my face. Started out and it felt great, I had loaded up some good music on my MP3 and people probably thought I was nuts as I was getting into stride dancing along to Shania Twain (not normally a big fan, but I had to hear Any Man of Mine for some reason), so I’m jamming along on a 10 mile run, in the rain, and it felt FANTASTIC, again…this is scary, how can all these runs just be coming together like this?? It was raining to much to hear and/or be able to tell what pace I was hitting most of them in, but my goal was the 10 mile tempo at 8:20 pace, which I’d been doing on the t-mill for the last few weeks…anything better than 8:30 I’d be happy with though, considering the weather wasn’t perfect and I was running over some hills that aren’t horrible, but aren’t easy either (some are a bit of a killer, including the double one I always think of as the rollercoaster twice)…so I get done and look at my watch and it says 1:21:48…8:10 pace!!! That includes 2 stops for stoplights, one was a little longer than I would’ve liked. Wow…I finished the run a little before my place and it was raining still but I slowed down and walked part of it, big smile on my face cause it felt so good, I was then singing along with my MP3 (good thing it was raining, no one else was out, they would’ve been tormented with my singing, I was listening to Bon Jovi at that point and not sounding good!!), dancing, smiling, being insane…Ah well, it’s what is great about being a runner, being out in the rain they already think I’m insane anyway!! I saw one other person the entire 10 miles, including 2 loops around the path where I always see a few people…the one other person was out for a walk. We smiled and waved at each other!!

I even learned some things!!

  1. Shania can start off the run right
  2. A great rain really lightens the mood
  3. Water repellent clothing is only water repellent for about a mile in a steady rain (not even a downpour!)
  4. Bon Jovi is kind of cool sounding with thunder and lightening in the background
  5. You can avoid puddles but once you hit one and the feet are entirely soaked, you might as well just splash through the puddles
  6. The “rollercoaster” is easier when you have “Talk Dirty to Me” blasting over the MP3
  7. “Here I Go Again” has an interesting sound with a chorus of frogs in the background
  8. Frogs don’t like to sing in a downpour (second trip past they were no longer singing and it was coming down really good)
  9. You can run pretty fast when you’re trying to beat the car to the puddle that will splash you (not that it really matters when you’re already drenched anyway)
  10. It's hard to sing along with Bon Jovi when you have just finished a run of 10 miles at 8:10 pace
  11. A hot shower feels sooooo good when you get done with a run in the pouring ran (which it was pouring by the end)
  12. If I could keep that pace up for 16.2 more miles I could go to Boston...:)

4 comments:

Kurt said...

Good run! Yes you will make it to Boston. No doubt in my mind.

Brooke said...

Wow Dani....EXCELLENT run.....EXCELLENT pace. You are really making some impressive progress.

I can relate to the feeling of feeling like people look at you like you're nuts...especially those days Geo and I were out running in the ice and snow in 17F weather. I felt proud that I hadn't allowed that to keep me indoors, as I am sure you also felt during this run.

Now I have to go find that Shania Twain song!!

Andy Emerson said...

What a positive run in the rain! I actually sometimes look forward to running in a light rain.

I'm going to have to try running with music sometime. I'll see if I can figure out that MP3 player we have somewhere.

BTW, you can do a tri on a trail bike. Some people just use what they have to make sure they really like it before investing in a road bike.

Lace Up And Run said...

It sounds like you had alot of fun with that run Dani. But I can't believe that you were not steaming after running in 50/60 degree weather with that chicago marathon jacket on. That would have killed me.

I have a special pair of shoes I wear for running in the rain because of what you talked about. They just get SOAKED!

Bon Jovi...good choice of music. No wonder you were happy. :-)

Btw, you are really getting fast girlfriend.