Making Peace with the Rain

I have spent the better portion of my life avoiding the rain at all cost.  I have a general aversion to things that make me wet and cold.  As a result rain (and to a much greater extent snow, but that is a post for a later day) and I have stayed far, far away from each other whenever possible.  Even over the last 15 months as I've been running a lot I have studiously avoided the rain.  If it rained I still ran, but on a treadmill.  Inside.  Away from the rain.

This led to a lot of anxiety as my first 10K approached and I thought I was going to have to finally run in the rain.  That led to a pretty funny incident mainly due to my inability to read simple instructions that I encourage you to read about here, but I digress.  The bottom line is, until this weekend I have had to brave rain for exactly 3 minutes at the end of one run during the last year.  

I knew the day would come when this would have to change.

Yesterday, after passing out T-Shirts to the 11,000 plus runners registered at the Run to Remember (more in a second) I knew that two things were true: 1) I needed to get in a small 3.5 miler to continue on my recovery from my first pikermi and 2) the rain was going to persist for at least 24 more hours.  So I grabbed my trusty hat, wrapped my ipod up in a ziploc bag before putting it in the little pocket of my  favorite chillier weather top, and started a loop around my favorite Lake Q.  

I was thoroughly prepared to despise every minute of this run.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this run.

For starters the lake was quiet, the hundreds of people I usually swerve around had disappeared.  It was me, and 5 other people, nodding politely around the lake.  The weather beneath the rain was perfect.  It was 55 and cloudy, and the rain I was dealing with wasn't a miserable downpour, it was almost misty at times.  It was like the perfect cooldown while running.  It was as if someone had invented this particular type of weather just for runners (You may already know this, but I can't believe I've been missing this for so long).  It was really one of the most enjoyable 3.5 mile runs I've ever had.   Plus I felt as though I finally *got* it.  I used to see all these runners in non-sunny conditions and marvel that they were out there, I had no idea some of those conditions might actually be *nice* to run in, for reasons all their own.

I'm very glad I had this experience because it made today substantially better than it would have been otherwise.

This AM I volunteered to work at a water stop at Boston's Run to Remember.  I woke up at 3:30 am, on my day off, to give a little bit back to the community I have already gotten so much out of in my short time running.  I was at miles 3/9 right by the Longfellow Bridge handing out water to thousands of amazing, inspiring runners.  I was in awe of the front runners and their speed.  I loved the crowds upon crowds of runners of all shapes and sizes who ran in the middle.  I loved seeing the police academy cadets go by all together.  I loved watching the last few people push through, so strong and determined to finish.

I was also freezing.  It was high 40s, there was quite a bit of colder rain than my lovely run the day before, and there was wind.  And we were covered in water that had spilled at various moments.  Sometimes a spilled cup sometimes an accident, whatever.  But most importantly, despite the cold, wet, persistent chill, the precise conditions I have studiously avoided for my entire existence, I loved every minute of it.  I thought about how the rain must feel to the people running at mile 9, and how even though it was cold to me, it probably was a little better for them.  I knew I could go home and change and that the sun would be out in time for my long run later today. It, in fact, came out just as the last runners were making their way to the water stop on their way to a fantastic finish.  

I drove home in awe of how inspiring races can be, whether you are running in them, or just helping out.  I took a brief nap at 1pm, since I'd already been up 9 hours, and when I woke up the conditions were amazing for my own little 7.5 miler.  It was really a perfect run.  Super easy, splits were: 10:23, 9:45, 9:42, 9:19, 9:22, 9:21, 9:09.  The end was probably a bit faster than I should go in a long run, but I felt amazing and was running by feel (didn't see the splits until I looked at my app at the end).  The sun was out, but not too hot (57) there was a breeze off Lake Q.  I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this run.  Particularly the minute, long about mile 5, when I smiled realizing I would have enjoyed every minute of this run even if it were raining.