Sunday, April 23, 2006

Rain Drops Keep Fallin’ On My Head

Today was the Adidas Run For The Parks 4 Miler in Central Park. I also needed to work in my last long run in anticipation of the Queens Half Marathon. What to do…?

Well, combine them of course!

I figured that since the race didn’t start until 10:00AM that I would be able to get about 8 miles in prior without having to get up at some utterly ungodly hour. Harry, our alarm clock, er, I mean our Yorkshire Terrier was good enough to wake me up with time to spare. Thanks buddy.

Unfortunately for both Harry and me it was pouring rain this morning but I am happy to say that a little precipitation wasn’t going to deter us. Oh no. I have a personal record to set in Queens and Harry needed to ah, sniff, the neighbors’ fence.

After fortifying with a little breakfast, consisting of toast, I was off into the rain again. This time bound for Central Park, by way of the Queensborough Bridge. And oh the rain kept coming. First a drizzle, then a downpour, then a drizzle again, but never once did it stop.

As I got into Central Park and began to do a couple laps of the lower loop, I noticed that it seemed to be raining harder on the West side then the East. I’m rather certain that’s impossible since Central Park is probably less than a half mile from east to west but it did seem that way.

10:00AM approached and it was time to line up for the race. I cut through the park near the Mall to the start at Bethesda Terrace - 8 miles exactly. Nice.

8 miles into a 12 mile run I had no intention of running all out, so after getting around the masses I settled into a comfortable, if quicker than I anticipated, pace of 7:21. My last mile was sub-7 minute (I just can’t resist picking up the pace at the end of a race!).

And the rain kept coming… At this point, I was soaked. My lightweight technical gear and expensive shoes probably added a good 10 pounds. So after chatting briefly with some teammates I headed to the Subway. I left a huge puddle on the floor of the subway car. The upside? Nobody wanted to sit next to me…

After a hot shower, lunch and a nap, Harry and I went outside again…In a mild twist of irony the rain had left and in its place was a beautiful day.

I suppose I could have looked at the weather report and waited out the rain. I could have enjoyed the morning, warm and dry.

My run in the rain was harder mentally and physically and thus more rewarding. Hopefully it’ll pay off in Queens.

4 comments:

DebbieJRT said...

You're a better runner than me. I bailed on the race today. Prepaid and everything and I just couldn't talk myself into making the trek into Manhattan. Ah well, at least I'm not planning a big race - they'll be plenty more runs this spring!

ShoreTurtle said...

That's commendable to run 8 miles before a race to get in a full workout. That you did it yesterday in the pouring rain is nuts! Good for you.

Anonymous said...

Glad I found your blog, I was kinda wondering who might've written about that Sunday race. BRRR! I know what you went through, because I was there. Similarly left puddles on the subway going home! Teeth chattering! Shoes turned to boats! But I'm glad I forced myself to get out there, because it turned out I got an age-group award. Maybe due to the lighter than usual turnout. The speedy women in my age group stayed home. (By the way, you're a darn good runner!With all those miles before the race, you ran faster than I think I ever have for a 4-miler.) Good going! Now, stay dry...

Rich said...

Thanks for the tip on the Queensborough bridge. I may have to try that one day.

Did Harry do the entire run with you? That's quite a feat!