Rain Soaked this morning

With the rain rolling into Charlotte yesterday evening and it being expected to continue at least through part of today, I knew at least some of my runs would be rainy ones. This morning I headed out for a 10 mile run with a 6 mile tempo in the center.

First, the temperatures were in the low 50s but it felt like 60s. My clothes were soaked from the outside from the steady rain and soaked from the inside because I over dressed. Literally, I was soaked all the way through and chilled to the bone when I headed into the wind.

And that was just clothes, my socks and running shoes seemed to act like sponges. They absorbed all of the surrounding water that they touched. By 5 miles, my legs felt like they were lifting two huge weights.

Put all of this together and it wasn't one of my more spectacular efforts. Upon reaching the 5 mile point of the run, I had clear thoughts of just shutting it down and running to the finish. But some reason, I choose not to. Maybe it was mental toughness or maybe it was just the desire to not give in under such adverse conditions, I am not sure which was true. But either way, I kept going and actually did pretty well over the last 3 miles.

Days like today take me back to a Lance Armstrong saying "Pain is temporary, but quitting is forever".

Quitting is just word that I will freely admit; I want to remove it from my vocabulary.

And "True Champions rise above adversity"

 

 

Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner