Crossing the Line

No, today is not about crossing the finish line. It is about crossing that line that you say you will never cross. For me, I have always championed the fair weather running attitude. Each morning I would judge the weather and base my run on that. Raining? Forget it! Threatening to rain? I have better things to do!

I have with much trepidation been dragged out on the threatening to rain days and I dare say I have gotten wet as the threat became a reality sometime during my run. I have even come really close to running in the rain after I was challenged to try it because (the poor misguided fool thought) I would love it. “Running in the rain, what fun!” They told me. “Best time to run!”.

And then of course there is the knowledge that one race day my luck will run out and I will wake up to a deluge. The dilemma then will be, stay inside or go out and race?

All of these thoughts were racing through my head as I listened to the rain on the roof throughout the night. I nervously got out of bed and got changed into my “rain wear”. That is, long pants and a thin jumper. I got teased for this last when I showed up to training, as everyone said it wasn’t worth carrying the sodden water weight the jumper would add to my run. Sure, I may have used the jumper for just 2km before tying it to my waist, but without said jumper I would not have gotten out of the car at all, so it was all worth it.

And thus, I crossed a line I said I would never cross: I ran full out in the rain. Non-stop rain. (And yes, I have done previous rain runs, but unlike those runs, this run was raining quite a bit from the start and didn't stop the entire way through). I have always categorized rain runners into the crazy-obsessed section. I guess this means I’ve joined the funny farm .

And did I discover the best thing since sliced bread? Did I wonder why I’ve never run in the rain before? Nope, because I’ve always known the answer to this: it sucks. Every step was miserable. I must have looked at my watch every 100m or so, hoping against hope that it was a magic teleportation device and would tell me my run was finished and a car could pick me up and drive me straight back home. My knees ached, my hips hurt, and I just wanted it to all be over from the first couple of kms. The only thing that kept me going was one of my fellow 16kers who kept an easy steady pace throughout the run. My goal was to keep up with her and I did. We didn’t talk much. What was there to say amongst all that misery?

Total distance: 16.46km

Total time: 1.42.20

Avg Pace: 6.13min/km

Elevation: 164m

And to the people who swear that running in the rain is the best thing ever: you can keep your rain, thanks. Give me nice sunny mornings anytime.