we may not have gone rouge this morning...but we sure as hell went Gortex!!
a couple weeks ago one of the folks in our running group sent out a link to an article that talked about 'Epic' runs and the impact on fitness the winter weather has on the sport. i thought it was pretty timely given the fact that we had been done with the Half Marathon for a few weeks and the weather was just starting to turn.
lucky for me one of the gals in my group is still training for the Las Vegas Half plus my father and i are running the Turkey Trot...so my motivation is still pretty high.and i've kept a pretty regular running schedule..but the thought of yukky snow and cold rain was not appealing to me. my parents must have been seeing it..cuz they all made a point to outfit me for the impending stinky weather....my father sent me a rain suite last week and the jacket is made of Gortex....i'll admit..i've never EVER owned anything that was made of Gortex...and the only thing in my life i've ever worn that smelled like this was the Safety Patrol poncho in 6th grade at Courtright Elementary.
looking at the weather last night i saw that starting at 4am the rain was called for...we were planning on leaving for our run at 5:15am...so....i pulled out my Gortex and layed it out with my runing clothes and started getting my head in the game.
when the alarm went off at 4 i quickly looked out the window to see if it was raining....and indeed....it was raining....
i recalled what the article said...
.. those of us who exercise in all sorts of weather will attest that there is a certain thrill that can come from terrible conditions. “It makes us tough,” Jen said. She calls our runs in horrendous conditions “epic runs.” And she’s right. They are truly memorable, ones we actually recall fondly.By GINA KOLATA
Published: November 10, 2009 New York Times
i was ready for my first Epic run!!
i met up with the girls.
decided that i wouldn't wear my glasses...would be too much of a pain...and then i couldn't see the worms (which appealed to me)
and off we took....
the rain was soft for quite a while...for probably the first three miles...soft...and i was acutally getting overheated inside the gortex. kept thinking about those 'fat plastic suits' i've seen advertised over the years...
after our water stop and at teh begining of our second three miles the rain really started coming down.
i had hit a puddel (or two) and my shoes were soaked already and i could feel water squishing between my toes.
we all put on our ipods
so we were in our own little world....
we were running down a hill toward a path
the rain was coming down hard enough to splash my eyeball actually
and it was by this time dripping off my nose...
i was totally jamming inside my ipod music world...
i'd swear i was a nigerian for a minute or two!! ha!!!
we were clocking along....
we were in our gortex And we were goin Epic!!!!
i offer thanks today for my gortex jacket and the pops that sent it to me
i offer thanks for my running gals...for the motivation and partnership
i've had my first Epic run!!!
2 comments:
Will I look like that if I wore those???? No...I'd look like a big bear in hunting garb.
nana
Here are my thoughts, missy:
And this is just as they came to me:
4 A.M.??????!!!!!
Running at 5:30 in the MORNING???
You look out the window and it's RAINING???
Sweet Jesus! (And I mean that literally, not as slang,)
WOW! That girl is PUMPED!
Then....
aaahhhhhhh.... I remember those days...............those lovely rainy days..........(well, maybe not quite the way you described it!)
But, "yes", there was some glory in it. And definitely memories! When I attempted TOSRV in 1989, it was just such a morning --- but then the headwinds started and it got COLD really quick. (And guess who didn't even finish HALF of TOSRV that year?) Even though I was riding with 2 cool dudes, (welllll, so what if one of them was my then, fiance? I still wasn't psyched enough to keep that pace going. My legs were like 2 blocks of ice!!) But it was FUN!!! '89 was a GOOD YEAR, I must say.)
Recently my family & I took a nice little WALK in the rain. And it felt darn good. It was nice because you knew you were doing it by choice, ya know?)
So I can relate.
I could also envision you in your yellow patrol ponch back in 6th grade! And I know that "aroma". It's funny how the sense of smell can take us right back like nothing else....
Not because of smell (well at least BEFORE I wore them,) was the feeling I got when my oldest brother who lives in the Pacific N.W. got me my first pair of polypropeline long underware! He is seriously athletic & he got them for me so I could come out & hike in the mountains with him. ---I was so excited about those underware!
I think I had one of those "fat burning suits". It looked like I was stuffed in a big foil turkey rosting bag. I guess I WAS a turkey for even buying one of those!
Oh well...young & foolish. I also had a MOOD RING! Imagine this: it got dark & cloudy when you were cold! What technology. Well, my baby brother had a "Pet Rock", so what do you expect?
I like what nana said!
So, those are a few of my random thoughts....
Here's how it translates:
"You go, girl!" Your running group has inspired you & you are inspiring me. So thank you for that. You have me thinking that this "fat old Mama" might still have some life in her. Maybe I can actually RUN for 15 minutes non-stop again?!
I can already hear the "Chariots of Fire" music playing. I think I will go look at my 2 running medals again!
OH NO!!! Has it come down to this? I am finally the person I have always heard about. The old geizer who says, "Uhh, in my day sonny, I had to walk 25 miles to school, everyday, rain or shine." Look at my ol' shoes over there in the corner. Still have them darn things. I should have them bronzed for posterity. Whaddya think about that you young whippersnapper?"
Now take me back to my rocking chair & no one will get hurt. HA!
Keep up the good work, S.
WE shall overcome!
I have another name for those icy cold runs, but it starts with "Pain" and ends with "A..."
(Arse, it what I was gonna say...)
I have given this some serious thought, S; it sounds good, but I think I will be satisfied to live vicariously through you!
No, really, you are very inspiring!
I have now added "WALK" to my Things-to-Do List for this evening. (Seriously.)
Now I just have to get pysched up to look over my "low gyclemic index" diet planning sheet that my breast surgeon personally handed me. And he is one of the few men that have............. well.... never mind. It's a SCARY thought!
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