We have rain in northern California! Which makes the people of California happy because of the crazy drought conditions. However, for this mama to three boys… the rain makes life a bit more crazy. Three caged little boys in a house all day… or outdoors cold, wet, muddy (their happy place). Plus I wear glasses 95% of the time… the rain means I need to pop in the contacts. Rain. Rain. Rain.
I am four weeks away from the LA Marathon and am super excited. Training is going well, and I feel both physically and mentally strong. My training plan scheduled me to run 16 miles. I was debating battling the treadmill for my run… but opted to run in the rainy/windy weather. Growing up, living in the mid-west, my favorite weather to run in was light rain and temps in the 40’s. I knew that a little rain, wind, and temps in the mid 50’s would be just fine.
To be honest. This 16 mile run is the only time that I will be by myself all week. Pretty much all my long runs are my solo-me time. A time where I can just be alone with my thoughts. I like this time. I need this time. I crave this alone time. I run to be a better me.
My solo run went well. I enjoyed catching up on the pod cast Another Mother Runner and then listened to Air 1 Radio the remainder of my run. I was cold starting out, then warm, then super cold again (rain soaked through clothes). But once I hit around 4 miles I got used to the squishy/wet feeling in my shoes and the wet clothes acted like a barrier to the wind gusts.
I remembered to charge my garmin for this run! Yay! I also tracked my mileage using my nike+ on my phone. I like having both to see the differences. I paused my garmin at all stop lights, 1 Running Zone stop to buy fuel (honey stinger), and 1 emergency bathroom break. I left my nike+ time run continuously. According to my Garmin (that I stopped as soon as it beeped 16 miles), I ran 16.01 in 2:41:54 (10:07 min/mile). According to my nike+ (continuous running) I ran 16.6 miles (it counted my .6 mile recovery walk) in 3:03.
Mile 1 – 9:45
Mile 2 – 9:52
Mile 3 – 9:35
Mile 4 – 10:01
Mile 5 – 9:54
Mile 6 – 10:04
Mile 7 – 10:46 (phone call)
Mile 8 – 10:17
Mile 9 – 10:09
Mile 10 – 10:27
Mile 11 – 10:28
Mile 12 –10:27
Mile 13 – 10:17
Mile 14 – 10:18
Mile 15 – 10:10
Mile 16 – 9:21
Around mile 7, I received a text from a friend saying that she would be unable to watch my boys for my husband and my 11 year wedding anniversary. I then called (while running… I do not recommend that because then your husband thinks you are either crying or being chased by a wild hyena) my husband to tell him that plans were cancelled tonight and it would just be our little family celebrating.
I think miles 10-12 were rough because the wind picked up and I had to really dig in and lean into the wind as I ran. It was fun… but definitely added the challenge to the already adventure filled run.
There is a quote that goes something like this, “There is no such thing as bad weather. Just soft people.” I find it to be somewhat true. I have run in hail, snow, ice, extreme heat and more. I ran the CIM Relay in 2012 in ankle deep floods and pouring down and sideways rain. I ran the CIM marathon (my first) in super cold (for us) temperatures! I believe running in crazy weather helps build mental toughness!
When I got home, I was soaked to the bone! I stripped at the door and ran upstairs to soak in a hot bath. Not my normal routine (normally it is a shower) but I was so chilled I just wanted to sit in something warm for a bit.
After I warmed up, refueled, and hung out with the boys for a bit… we loaded the family up to head out to dinner to celebrate. Nothing says romance like dinner at Red Robin with your family. Thank goodness the boys were on top notch behavior. I enjoyed a yummy Western Burger that was super filling (and my eyes were bigger than my stomach).
While at dinner, the boys enjoyed people watching and the occasional super cool Olympic sporting event on the TV at the bar. Yes. Super romantic. But hey, this is life. This is my life. Romance really isn’t our thing. It hasn’t been the past 11 + years… so why should it start now?
While at dinner, I did enjoy playing a fun game that I learned at my Mom’s Bible study group… it is 50 questions to ask your spouse to connect and open up with each other. These questions range from: What movie do you think deserves a sequel? to What is your favorite cereal? and more. But as with all great ideas… with kids… sometimes things fail miserably.
So here I sit and type. Recapping me running in the rain and celebrating my 11 year wedding anniversary to that handsome man photographed above. What a wild ride these past 11 years have brought: 3 states, 6 moves, 5 jobs, 3 kids, 1 dog and many adventures!
The rain is still coming down. I don’t plan on running in the rain today… but I do hope to put on my rain boots and take the boys out in search of the biggest puddle to splash in! Running in the rain was fun… but I think playing in the ran will be more fun with the boys!
Yvonne says
You’ve being tackling your training like an the amazing mother runner I know you are. Nothing to stop you rain has nothing on you — glad you were still able to enjoy and celebrate your anniversary with your loves!
Camille @ Challenge Mantra says
Congratulations on 11 year anniversary!! I don’t think I’ve ever been able to motivate myself to run in the rain, but I know that many of my friends enjoy it like you did. Great that you’re staying the course for your LA Marathon training 🙂
Laura says
Happy anniversary! Lol, red robin sounds like something we would do. We rarely go out without kids anymore, so I feel ya on that one.
Good luck with LA marathon, I’m running it too (my first)!
stephanie says
Nice job! Way to stick to your training! Happy Anniversary! We have been in your shoes before =) It just reminds you where you started on that wedding day and how blessed life has been since that time!
Carla says
the child and I RAN IN THE RAIN too!!!
yay OAKTOWNRAIN 🙂