Treading water

I woke up this morning and didn't want to go out running at all. I looked at the weather app on my phone to see it was saying 100% chance of heavy rain for 0700hrs, 0800, 0900, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400, and a reduced 90% chance of rain at 1500. The wind was above 20mph too. I considered the treadmill and then disregarded it. I wanted to see how I would feel after 6 weeks, doing the same route I did on my very first training run for the 24 hour race. Would I get through it quicker, would I find it easier? I wasn't sure. I had had a few days of annoying pain... piriformis on my right side for an hour, groin pain on my left side for 4 hours, shoulder pain for 24 hours... these taper pains are frustrating!

So, I put together a full weather proof clothing system. I don't usually wear a buff but I borrowed Graemes and I wore a running hat along with a cap to ward off rain in my eyes, waterproof trousers and my Gore jacket with full thermals and a thermal pair of gloves. I put my phone and Gymboss inside a plastic bag to save them from water damage and hoped the weather app was wrong and it would all improve so much quicker than predicted.

I set off from the house and my feet were submersed in water before I'd even got 0.2 miles from the house. Great! It was at about half a mile when I remembered I was supposed to do my "Super compensation" of 3 sets of 50 deep squats prior to running. Damn it. I'd been so consumed with the weather I'd forgotten. If there had been a quiet side street I could have gone down and done them, I would have. I resided myself to the fact that I'd just have to do them when I got home and hope that that wasn't defeating the object!

At 3 miles I tried to console myself with the fact I was almost 1/3 through the run. I talked myself out of turning back and I talked myself out of phoning Graeme for a lift home. I was running through huge puddles that were as deep as my ankles and I was not enjoying it one bit! The rain dripped off the peak of my cap and it also dripped down the back of my neck... maybe I had the buff on wrong!

At 5 miles I considered that the wind had fortunately been on my back the whole way, and then considered it was going to be in my face all the way back. It was. It was irritating. I wondered when the rain was going to slow, and then was very grateful that at least the run wasn't difficult. Nothing ached, nothing hurt, no blisters were forming and to be honest I wasn't really tired at all. I was just wet. Before long I also became very cold. The wind blowing in my face on the way home made my hands freezing and as I now ran through streams (the puddles were now merged into one big river) my feet were also absolutely freezing.

In the last few miles I had to run ankle deep (and occasionally shin deep) in brown muddy rivers where paths used to be. Cars drove past me and some drivers took great delight in sending a cresting wave over me while others tried not to do the same and failed miserably in the soaking wet weather. I hate this sort of weather, it's my most undesirable choice of meteorology!

I got home 3 minutes faster than the last time I ran this route (surprisingly) and stood in the kitchen and peeled each soaked item of clothing off me. I then did my 3 sets of 50 deep bodyweight squats (which didn't ache at all... quite a surprise as the 2 sets of 25 in Grand Cayman hurt like hell) and I had a bath (which STILL didn't warm me up). God, I hope the weather is not like this next weekend, or I'll feel quite miserable!