Shameless blogging

The purpose of this post is solely to get another entry into a give away contest at by my favorite running blogger - Shut Up and Run. She is giving away some cool stuff just because she is a cool gal! Check it out. She is even giving away stuff for MEN - and she is still cool!

One of those mornings

It was one of those mornings.

I almost didn't set my alarm because the weather said there was a 100% chance of rain at 5:00. I know it will surprise you, but the meteorologist isn't always right. So, I set my alarm anyway.

I knew it wasn't good when through our open window I couldn't hear the pitter patter of rain drops or the trickle of water down the rain spout. I took a peek out the door and the sidewalk look dry. So dry in fact, that I didn't go out from under the porch and do my turn around with arms out and hands up to see if I could feel a rain drop. I did check the radar before leaving and the rain was approaching... but not was not here.....yet.

As I pulled out of the garage I saw the first few drops on my windshield. At first I had the naive thought that it was just condensation from dew. I know that those of you who are more with it than I am at 5:00 will have already asked.... dew? In the garage??? Yeah well, I will chalk it up to positive thinking rather than stupidity.

However, on the way to the meeting spot it became clear that it was indeed sprinkling. Luckily the Cousins didn't check the weather and they showed up too. We decided to run a loop that didn't take us to far away and brought us by our cars mid run. The rain steadily increased - of course. It wasn't that bad until we headed back east which turned out to be gale force winds (with rain). I really don't think I am exaggerating.

Christy bailed when we neared our cars. She said the dog had had enough. Dog??? I will have to tell Bryan to take the dog back to the breeder since it is apparent that if it can't run in rain then it can't be a good hunting dog.

Mike and I decided that we were wet anyway, so we might as well finish the run. Not the smartest move we have ever made. We did stick to a mostly north/south route to avoid the wind, unfortunately it is one of our longer loops. So although we avoided the wind, we ran longer than normal.

It started a conversation though..... It could be worse, we could be running 26.2 miles. Hmmmm.. So what would I do if race day was weather like this? I have been fortunate that the 5 marathons I have done have been without rain. Some heat, some wind, some cold, but no rain. I don't know if I could do 26.2 miles in steady somewhat cold rain. How would I avoid being hypothermic by the end? I think I would be tempted to bail and look for another marathon the next weekend. Hard to say.....except to say it would be MISERABLE.