Cold, wind, and rain. That was the “story” behind today’s run.
I woke up about 4:30 to the sound of rain hitting the house — hard. It was pouring. Of course, being 4:30 AM, I rolled over and went back to sleep for awhile.
When I finally did drag my sorry self out of bed, I got dressed to go running. It was very dark and gray. I put on a blue longsleeve New Balance tech shirt and a pair of Mizuno running shorts. From the forecasts, I knew it probably wasn’t a glove and hat day (as yesterday was). I walked downstairs. Flipped on the Weather Channel. Confirmed that it was warm enough to do without hat and gloves: pouring rain, 51 degrees, wind sustained at 21 mph gusting up to 28. What wonderful weather.
I had planned to do some fartleks (haha) but decided due to the chilly temps and the strong winds that speedwork — even of the informal variety — was out of the question. With all the leaves getting blown off the trees it was rather slick anyway. So I just ran the usual course at the usual pace.
I was soaked when I got home, although the free running cap I got from Road Runner Sports did seem to do a decent job of keeping my head dry. There is a sort of feeling of triumph that you get from completing a run under ugly conditions. I was most certainly the only runner out. I imagine most people who ran in the Cleveland area today did so on treadmills, not outside in the elements.
As much as today’s weather was gross, cold, wet, and bone-chilling, I still think I prefer it to running when its above around 65 degrees.
