Run 79, 2010 …running in the rain

I can easily remember running in a snow storm or a blizzard, but I can’t remember the last time I ran in the rain. And what a rain it was! It hit me about 1/3 of the way into my 11 km run today on the trails and it was not only a lengthy torrential downpour, it had some sharp needle like hail mixed in with the rain. What joy! What fun! I was ecstatic! It was exhilarating! The hail part stung a little and I am glad it was not very large hail. But the rain was so intense I could not see clearly because my eyes were just drenched. I was soaked. Even my wet bits were wet. The trail I was running on had so much water running down it, it was exactly as if I were running through a creek upstream. To use a cliche, I felt like a child again! I delighted in splashing my way through this “flash flood” with wild abandon in in ankle deep water!

But the run turned a little uncomfortable towards the last two kilometers as I suddenly needed to find some bathroom facilities. There were none so I literally had to stop and walk for the last kilometer, but even so I did have a small accidental leak. If you have a history of many years of long distance running, I should not have to go into any messy details. Fortunately these events are extremely rare.

So that makes my yearly total a healthy 1020 kilometers since January 1st, 2010. In other news, we had our last karate lesson for this summer season and we are now on a short break. The fall season begins September 21, 2010 and it will go back to a twice weekly lesson of 2 hours each. I will enjoy the break because it will give me a chance to heal up and focus more on my upcoming trail half marathon. Plus it will help me to focus on what I need to know (ie: memorize) for my grading to brown belt.

Next run: Friday, 11 km, followed by another trail/hill training (18 km) on Sunday in preparation for my half marathon on the trails at the end of September.