It’s been a rough week at work. So busy, so stressful. Today went by fast, but not without its own level of stress.
So I was looking forward to my run tonight. I didn’t care if it was raining. I didn’t care if it was cold. I didn’t care if it was dark.
I was going to run 5 miles no matter what.
Sure, at the beginning, as I was just warming up, and getting used to avoiding puddles, and starting to feel the wind in my lungs, the voice in the back of my head started trying to negotiate a shorter run. It reminded me of my planned 9 mile run this Sunday, and warned that I might be overdoing it tonight.
I shot back with the fact that my two-week average from last week to this week would still only be 16 miles per week, well within my abilities.
It tried to tell me that I could run a shorter distance faster, be out of the rain and cold, and burn more calories.
I countered by pointing out that longer, slower runs burn more calories than short fast ones.
At the decision point, where I have to turn one way to run my 3 mile loop, or another way to run my 4 mile loop, or continue onto my 5 mile loop… I made the right choice. Actually, thinking back, I think that decision was made just after one mile, as I was powering up the long hill in Sellwood Park, and feeling great.
Running my 5 mile loop backwards, though, is a little harder because I don’t do it very often, and the turning point isn’t obvious the way it is when I run it the other direction. So I actually ran farther than I planned.
But the rain actually kept me from overheating. I dressed appropriately (long-sleeved shirt to keep my upper body warm, shorts to keep my legs nice and cool, gloves and a hat for my extremities, and goofy reflective gear and lights for visibility). And after I stepped in the first puddle, I didn’t even notice that my feet were soaking wet.
I just kept running. In the rain.