Rainy Long Run Saturday

Rain....Rain....Go Away

My fingers were crossed that the weatherman was going to be wrong. I was hoping it would not rain over the weekend. The week was beautiful and I was hoping this would carry into the weekend. This was not the case when I woke up on Saturday morning. I could hear the rain hitting the roof. Immediately I began to think what type of rain is it, a light drizzle, a monsoon, or a let's go grab the arc type of a rain? My next thoughts were on the clothing I would need to run 9 miles in the rain. I had decided that running 10 miles inside was not an option I wanted to entertain.

I checked with my run group to see if they were still planning on meeting. After receiving confirmation I had a pre run meal, grabbed my belongings, and headed out the door. By the time I left my house and headed to the lake trail we would run for the day the rain had let up to a light drizzle. Well alright, I thought, this is doable. Bring on those 9 miles!!!

You know you're a runner when....

Arriving at the trail it is always a pleasant sight to see fellow runners out and about. Even if it is on a early rainy Saturday morning. Pure commitment if I may say so. I met up with my sole sistahs and began our pre run routine. During our pre run routine, guess whose bubble guts showed up. Yep, mine!  One of these days I am going to find that combination that works wonders to keep my stomach at ease. I quickly hurried to appease my angry GI tract. I prayed that it would go away and I would have a good run that did not involve me spending half of my time in the porta potty.

My other thoughts for the run were focused on my constant knee pain and swelling. Over the past two weeks I have been incorporating yoga at night to stretch and relax my body prior to bed. I can say it has been truly a blessing for me. I feel so relaxed after a yoga session. My body feels limber and in the morning when I wake up I notice that the swelling in my knee has subsided. Seeing that this was the furthest I had run since my last 10 miler race in May.

Easing on around the lake

My group's mileage for the day ranged from 8-10 miles. For some in the group this would be their first time running more than 6-8 miles. We began our run at a slow pace which allowed us to stay together and to encouraged one another along the way. The slower paced helped me to not overdo it early in my mileage. We ran for a good 3.5 miles before reaching our first stop. I tuned into my body and breathing.  So far so good. After everyone was set we headed back out to run.

5 miles, 6 mile, 7 miles all came and went. My knee was feeling fine, but with each mile I felt my energy stores being depleted. Luckily, I packed with me enough beans and GU to feed me and 2 other runners. My run sistahs teased me about this, by saying "Geez K, you think you have enough GU for all of us!" What can I say....I like to be prepared on my runs. lol On this run I consumed my beans to keep me going. One at a time or I would be running for the nearest porta potty.

Mile 8 and we were still trodding along. At this point, the rain was coming in on again and off again spurts. The rain only added to the wonderful back drop for the run. Mix that with good converstaion along the way, and you have yourself a gret Saturday long run.

Mile 9-10.1 I was getting even more tired and ready to give up. Thankfully my sole sistas helped motivate me to keep going. Before you know it the run was over.

I can say it was a great run and one that I was truly happy to have my sole sistas along for the ride. I even got a kick out of my running with out my run singlet on. The singlet I had on was wet and I did not want any more parts of it near my body. So out went the shyness and I ran in my sports bra. Very liberating.

Looking forward to week 5 and all its goodness. Adios Week 4 of training.

Cheers!