The Wetter The Better.......

Having burnt my rest day on Monday due to the snow you can imagine my horror when I discovered there was a 45% chance of rain between 4pm and 6pm The classic between a {hard} rock and a hard place......run in the rain and run the risk of getting sick OR saying to hell w/ it and staying on track for a 40 mile week....having just gotten back into the realm of 40 mpw last week I wasn't about to fall at the first hurdle....off w/ the excuses,on w/ the rain gear!!!

Earlier in the year I'd dusted down my old Royal Mail waterproof jacket to allow me a run so it was no shock to system to have to resort to that again....it kind of justifies keeping that bad boy for coming up on 27 years i may only use it 2 or 3 times a year and it takes up closet space I don't have but on days loke yesterday when it's not only the difference between running and not running but also staying on pace for a 40 mile week then it's well worth it.
Setting off just after 4.20pm I figured it was time to use the old "standing under the shower" mentality there come a point of saturation where you're just not going to get any wetter so rather than fixate on how wet i was getting I kept my eyes open for rain puddles...it's one thing getting soaked while running but it's another when your shoes and socks are full of water,of course running in the rain while wearing glasses presents another logistical problem,one that I rectified at the red light b4 the South St bridge.....thanks to the pockets in my rain jacket.

It's amazing the difference a day can make,Tuesday was sunny and 46 degrees,today was rain and 45 degrees.....and needless to say only the hardy and hard core were out running now....the fact I was one of them helps reinforce the beliefe that I've turned the corner this season,granted it's a whole lot easier to run in the rain at 45 degrees than it is when it's just below or just above the freezing mark and while I'll stop short of painting myself into a corner by saying I've used up all my excuses not to run this year{foolhardy in only the 3rd week of March!!!!} I will say this today was the first time this season I used the time honoured mantra"running on days like these is the difference between standing on the podium or standing next to the podium at Nationals"
Outdoor Nationals are 17 weeks  away and I'm painfully aware that unless the  hard work and the hard miles aren't put in now then I'm looking at a 4th consecutive missed Nationals  and that's NOT something I want on my resume, so not so much "making hay while the sun shines but more like making progress while the rain falls"!!!!

After back to back 67 min 6 milers in considerably better conditions imagine my  delight to clock 65 mins last nite,granted the lure of getting out of my sodden running/rain gear probably helped not to mention the prospect of a hot shower at the end of the run but having now ran 7 out of the last 10 days it could also mean I'm building momentum...... a warm fuzzy feeling if ever there was one!!!