I mentally prepared for this run for at least two days, maybe three. Rain was in the forecast and I’ve been watching the weather around the time that I run in the morning. Every time I checked the weather it showed the same thing; 67% chance of rain at 5, 6 and 7 A.M. I was finally going to get the chance to run in the rain. I was grateful it was a short run though; just 3 miles and some strides at the end. I had already vowed to myself to suck it up and run in the rain and not resort to the dry treadmill.
Gearing up
Temperatures were only supposed to be in the 60’s, so I laid out a technical t-shirt, long tights, a hat (instead of a visor) and my rain jacket the night before. I also selected a shoe I don’t normally wear but I thought would be extra stable on the wet streets. I picked out my ASICS Gel-Nimbus 23 Lite 2’s which I can’t decide if I like or not, so I keep trying them.
As I headed out the door at 5:40 A.M. It was completely dry but the wind was blowing. I thought, the rain is probably blowing in now and it’s going to start while I’m away from the house. So glad I’m prepared with my rain jacket! Honestly, I felt really smart being so prepared.
It started to drizzle soon after I started running. Then, it stopped. Completely. I finished my entire three miles and I was totally dry with the exception of dripping sweat inside my rain jacket. So much for preparation. Oh, well. I guess I’ll run in the rain another time. I just hope it allows me to test out my gear and mental toughness on a short run.
Strides
Following the three mile run I added 8 strides. I used the same program as last week, running 20 seconds fast and resting one minute in between. My fastest stride was the fifth interval and my slowest was the first.
Then, wouldn’t you know it started to lightly rain on about the sixth stride? I had taken off my jacket earlier and decided to put it back on because I was getting cold as the sprinkles gathered momentum. But, just a couple of minutes later I was done with the workout and headed inside to stretch and get ready for work.
The rain must have been delayed because by the time I got out of the shower it was apparent that it had been raining consistently. You can never trust Southern California weather predictions when it comes to rain, and especially not the timing of the rain. It is nearly always wrong. However, I was prepared nonetheless.
Workout
- 3 miles at conversational pace
- 8 strides (20 seconds fast with one minute rest between)