"I'm [Runnin'] in the Rain"

I will make all sorts of excuses to not run. Now, I really love running. I feel great every time I go, and I like how much energy I get and the fact that it's helped me manage my weight since college. But sometimes all that succumbs to the excuses I make.

Yesterday, I was tired. So I came home and watched TV. Then I was hungry. So I ate dinner. Then it was rainy and dark, so I couldn't run outside, right? And I just knew the HPER would be insanely busy, so I didn't want to go over there. So I sat at home and went to bed.

Today, I didn't get up early because it was rainy (and the rain affects me like that). So no AM workout. But I knew I needed to run. You see, I'm training for a marathon. And if I skip more than one workout a week, I feel like I'll be sliding down to not running at all, and I'll lose all momentum.

It was raining. It'd been raining all day, thanks to Gustav. It was sorta miserable outside, but my options were to haul my butt over to the HPER or to run outside. I suddenly wanted to run outside. When training for a marathon, one is advised to run in a variety of conditions and terrains, to prepare for the race. Rain is definitely a possibility in Arkansas in March, so I needed to run in the rain. Ok, I thought, I'm going to do this.

I needed something to shield my eyes from the rain. A hat! Alas, I'd given away my baseball hats because I never used them. I even had a visor once that would have worked. Drat. Then I remembered I have guy friends who live close by. I ran down to my neighbor, Mason, and asked if I could borrow one of his. He said, "sure!" and handed me one off the top of his head.

The run was great...and freeing. I've never run in the rain, and I did it. I also ditched my iPod, which is my usual running companion, and that too was liberating. It was just me, the pavement, and the drip of rain all around. From now on, the rain is my friend--or at least not an excuse. Also, if I had stayed in or had gone to the HPER, I never would have seen the guy riding a unicycle holding an umbrella. It was a scene from a circus movie, I swear to you.