Rainy Days and Sundays
Posted on August 23, 2010
With all due respect to Karen Carpenter….(who sang so beautifully about Rainy Mondays)…
It was a perfect Sunday – for staying home. Overcast skies…the threat of a shower (if a shower can threaten). A fresh pot of coffee brewing in the kitchen. Intriguing political guests on early morning ABC news programs.
68 days to the Marathon. Fresh coffee. 68 days. Cozy sweats and the love of a huge Golden Retriever keeping me on the sofa. 68 days! Startling, since the last time I looked the countdown stood somewhere in the 85 day range.
Enough. I dressed for a run. A damp, cool run. For me, the lover of all things hot and sunny, this would be a challenge. I actually wore a LONG SLEEVE tech jersey. Ten minutes on mapmyrun.com and I had a 13.1 mile run in the little zipper pocket that held my cell phone and a hard candy. I decided if I was going to make the effort to get out, I would come back with a training milestone under my belt.
I set out at my humble pace, and realized with surprise I was at mile 2 before I even turned my ipod (err…shuffle) on! Flipped the switch, picked up my pace to TubThumper (“I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again” , followed by Lady Gaga) Off I went, familiar with the roads, the neighborhood and the mission. Umm..why is it I have lived in this area for a lifetime (minus stints in Germany, DC, Florida, California) and never recognized/appreciated the HILLS?! Seriously, after 40 minutes I all but LONGED for the flat Reservoir pathways. (In an effort to prove myself to myself I’m afraid I left dinner from the night before at the top of Prospect Street after a particularly hard push up to the top. How crazy is it that I thought that was COOL and HARD CORE at the time? Clearly I’m reading too many marathon training blogs. )
A mile later, a little drizzle, a little shower and BAM! Full Blown Rain! Before I left I decided to wear a hat for the first time all year, (ahem – a little token from the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon) and I’m glad I did as it provided some protection for my eyes – I had long since taken my sunglasses off since they were actually blinding me. Choices, choices….my mind raced. Should I call for a ride home? What if I get blisters and ruin my feet for the next week? What if – umm…nothing, I had nothing else. Just concern about blisters. Anyway, it didn’t matter because my phone died from the water logging it received. (Done. Dead. Bricked. Poop.) On the other hand, what if it rained on the day of the Marathon? I had to prove I could finish – even in the rain. The loop eventually took me close to home, and I actually debated the importance of finishing the whole route vs. cutting it short. Just then a a huge truck hit a more-huge puddle and I was showered with curb-side debris and mud…well, I took the second left instead of the second right and headed home. I logged 11 miles instead of 13.1 My time was slow(ish). It was hard.
But I was really, really, really happy I did it anyway. I’m not a quitter, I’m just smart. And I love Sundays, even rainy ones.