Rainy Run

This morning I woke up to a surprise – rain; steady rain, not a light mist or drizzle, real rain! Rain will drive some runners to the treadmill, or worse back to bed, but not this runner. This runner loves to run in the rain.

There is this wonderful metamorphosis that happens between the start and finish of a rain run and it never ceases to make me giddy to go through it.

Stepping out for a run when it is raining is a tremendous act of willpower. People run to get out of the rain; watch any city street or store parking lot while it is raining and everyone is running for cover. I am fighting those instincts when I purposefully step out in to the rain and that first step is a deliberate act of defiance. I will not give in to the urge to find someplace safe and dry and hunker down until this rain passes. However, there is still that first moment when my shoulders scrunch up to my ears and my eyes squint under the brim of my hat, which I pull down further on to my head. I know it is raining but I still want to fight it.

Then that moment passes and I take off on my run.

An autumn rain can be confusing because it isn’t quite as cold as I expect it to be but then again, it isn’t exactly warm like a late summer sprinkle. Although I’ve purposefully defied the rain by stepping in to and remaining in it to run, I still gingerly avoid the puddles. I jump over them. Shuffle from one side of the trail to the other around them. Rain is falling steadily from above and yet I still try to avoid it from below for as long as I can. Why?

Who knows? Who cares? Leaping over the puddles is fun and it quickly becomes a game. Can I make it over this one or should I run around? How high can I jump this time? “Weeeeee” is the sound going through my head as I sail over them and by the time I hit the turn around point, 2.5 miles out, I am thoroughly and completely soaked through and through, including the beginnings some very wet socks.

Up to this point, about three miles, I manage to keep my feet relatively dry. I navigate the puddles and the rain is steady but not hard. That all changes as I run up the twisty-turny hill around mile 3. It starts to pour as I run up the hill. Harder and harder it rains as I work harder and harder to get up this hill and by the time I make it to the top, every inch of me is not only wet but soaking, dripping wet. My socks are squishing inside my very wet shoes.

As I approach the next big puddle, assessing it for depth, length and circumference I realized that my efforts are futile. I may as well accept my wet fate and run through the puddle.

Once you give up on one puddle and run through it, the change is instantaneous and the next thing you know, you’re splashing through all of the rest. Two more miles of running, splashing, splishing, sploshing, and kicking up water. No, giving up isn’t correct. It is better described as giving in.

I gave in to the rain this morning and had a great time.

I finish my run with pools of water gathering in my rain shell (it stood no chance against this steady rain) and forming in my shoes. Peeling off my wet clothes as soon as I get in the house, I am truly happy to have been a part of this rainy morning.

Plus it feels pretty bad-ass to be out in the rain running an easy 5-miler. I bet all the people in their cars that I passed along the way thought I was absolutely batty.

Daily Dozen:
5 easy miles in the rain