rainy 12k

This morning I was to do 12k. I looked outside at 5:55 am, and it was not raining. 5 min later, it was drizzling slightly, so I grabbed my raincoat and threw it on as I went out the door. I needed it. The drizzle gradually increased, and it was somewhat windy at times as well. It was only about 40F (4C), so it was pretty chilly. By the time I was 30-40 min into my walk, it was raining quite hard, and it rained steadily until I finished in 1:21:46 (6:49/km, 10:58/mile; ave HR 143). It was raining hard enough that my rain jacket with its sealed seams did not quite do the trick. The shirt underneath was wet...ugh! I guess I should get a gore-tex jacket or something (recommendations, anyone?).

I didn't see very many people out there. I saw one runner about 6:10 am at the entrance to SugarHouse Park, and about the same time I saw the Army ROTC guys (about 50 of them, +/-) just behind me as I entered the park road. The runner called out to me as she went by (she was doing maybe 8:30-9:00 miles with her dog; she must be a decent runner because it looked pretty effortless) and said something like "Isn't it motivating to have them here?" and I replied, "Yeah, it's fun to try to stay ahead of them." I picked it up a notch to see if I could do just that; I mean, I might as well have some fun out there! I probably did 10:30ish around the park (or maybe 10:15 at some points), and they did not catch me. I think they stayed about the same distance away. After I left the park, they went around for another lap. It was pretty entertaining to hear them chanting all the way around the park as they ran, and trying to stay ahead of them was fun too. I missed them when I left the park!

Then I made my way to Liberty Park, and in the pouring rain I only saw ONE other person all the way over there, around the park, and back to my house. There was a guy walking in the park with a backpack; he looked like a student. I felt virtuous for being out there despite the rain. I didn't get cold, except for my legs. I was wearing tights on the bottom and a long-sleeve and my jacket and gloves on top. My legs felt good for the first 40 min or so but then got a bit cold. Oh well. It was nothing too bad, and it beat the heck out of doing a 12k on the treadmill.