Caught By the Morning Rain

Many people would see rain forecast and decide to stay in and wait for the weather to get better, and if it doesn’t, just to spend the day indoors. I did not. I got dressed, I got ready, and then I went for a six kilometre run in the rain.

It was wet and my feet and socks did get wet when I ran through puddles that were deep enough, but other than that I remained dry. I mention this because going out in the rain doesn’t automatically mean that we will get soaked. In fact, I got wet because of the puddles and inadequate drainage, rather than because of what was falling from the sky.

I saw others running at the same time, faster than me.

I wasn’t aiming to be fast today. I was aiming to run a “long” distance as Runna desired me to do but the pace was reasonable. 6:20-6:00 per kilometre, in three steps, from slower to faster. It was happy with that training session because I stuck to what it wanted.

I did struggle slightly with this workout but i don’t know whether it is fatigue from running three days in a row, or because the heart rate monitor belt might have been a little light, and thus slightly restrict my lungs filling up. That’s a hypothesis, rather than a conviction.

I suspect that the rain plays a psychological role, and running three days in a row plays a physiological role, and the belt plays a superficial role. I also think I could run lighter to free up my movements.

I wanted to run early, because I have found that running in the afternoon, after lunch, is a bad idea. We’re also forced to run before the sun sets at this time of year.

I did head out again, but because I saw that the sun had come out and I felt that getting some sunshine was a smart strategy. At this time of year, if the sun comes out we should take advantage, given that soon we might be stuck under the clouds for weeks at a time.

And finally, running in the rain might seem gloomy, but it doesn’t make much of a difference. You just change socks as you get home, and wear layers that prevent the rain from cooling your core. Tomorrow I will almost certainly rest from running.