Another Rainy Friday Evening

I was debating whether or not I should run tonight. Well, not so much debating as just not knowing. I hadn’t made any plans to run, but I hadn’t decided that it was a rest day either, so it was just kind of up in the air. Around 6pm I decided that since I didn’t have any food in the house, that I should go to the store and since I was going out to go to the store, I might as well run. So I did just that.

I left the house and ran up to the nearby trails. I decided that I would do a 3 mile run and then nip into the store, pick up a few things and walk home (the store I was going to is essentially across the street from the trails).

The sky looked a bit angry before I left the house, and it wasn’t looking any happier when I got to the trails. As I ran, I could hear thunder rolling, but it didn’t sound too close. I kept going and noticed a lot of downed trees from the storms that occurred last weekend and the weekend before. I hoped this was not any sort of sign of what was to come tonight.

About 2 miles into my run I started to feel a few drops. That’s alright. I don’t mind running in a little rain at all. I don’t even mind running in a moderate amount of rain… but then it happened… 2.5ish miles in, it started to POUR. I could see some flashes of lightning and I could hear some thunder, but it still didn’t sound very close, so I wasn’t too concerned. I was almost done my run. I just needed to finish up in the trails and head across to the store.

As I made my way out of the trails and crossed the street, the rain drops were hitting hard. They started to feel almost like they were solid. Luckily, I was where I needed to be, so I stood under the overhang of the store for a few minutes just to let some of the water drip off of me so that I didn’t make their floor TOO wet as soon as I set foot inside. It’s amazing how quickly you can get drenched in that kind of rain.

I did my shopping, the rain died down, I walked home, and then it started again. But this time, I’m in my house. I am now warm and dry and I am about to make some pasta and pour myself a glass of shiraz-malbec.

Worth the wait

I played the “watch the weather” game today. The forecast called for some showers and a bit of snow, but also some sunny, partly cloudy parts of the day. I checked out the hourly forecast last night to see approximately when I might want to head out for my long run today and decided mid afternoon seemed like the time. 2pm was showing no more chances of rain.

When 2pm rolled around, I looked out the window and it was still very cloudy. I checked the Weather Network and saw that the temperature was only 3 above. I decided to wait.

Around 5 o’clock the clouds broke up and the sun came out. This was what I was waiting for. I put my Garmin in the window to find satellites, I filled up my Fuel Belt water bottles, got dressed in some running clothes, grabbed my iPod and headed out the door.

The weather stayed very nice for the whole run and I was still back before dark. Definitely worth the wait.

Today’s Run:
Distance: 18 km
Weather: 7 C, sunny, virtually no wind