We knew there was a good chance of rain for our 10 mile run yesterday. We got up early hoping that we would be able to beat the rain. We saw patches of blue sky and were feeling hopeful, yet cautiously optimistic. We packed the ponchos skillfully rolled up by Tom. I purchased them at Target on a whim a few weeks ago when I had to pick up a few other items. As Tom kept saying throughout the run, "These ponchos are a blessing."
The first mile was without rain and then there were slow plops of raindrops. The great debate - should we bring out the ponchos now or wait and see....Given the foreboding sky, we decided to put them on. As a runner passed, she smiled and laughed at these 3 runners wearing ponchos when it was barely drizzling.
"She laughed at me," I said out loud. She wasn't laughing at me, Ruth Anne assured me. She was amused by our attire.
The rain picked up a steady pace.
We saw a few runner friends and stopped for a moment to chat and get caught up on what was next on our race calendar. We acknowledged what dedicated runners we are to be out training in the rain.
Since we were running 3 times around the Reservoir, we had the opportunity to pass the same runners a few times; the one who "laughed" at me smiled as we passed her and another runner who waved heartily as she braved the elements in a tank top and capris.
A neighbor from our neighborhood passed by running with her dog. With a hint of sarcasm in her voice she said, 'Enjoy.' Her dog shook off the rain and continued running with joy and reckless abandon. "I'm taking my lead from your dog," I said. "We should all have that attitude," she said.
I know how blessed and grateful I am to be able to run in the rain, trying to navigate (and sometimes without success) the mud puddles.
As a survivor of paralytic polio, lugging a full metal leg brace and then not having the flexibility or freedom in my body as a result of polio and severe childhood trauma, I never had the opportunity to splash in puddles and run in the rain.
Shortly after being diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome now almost 11 years ago, I was back in a leg brace. I had a dream about splashing in the puddles without my leg brace a la Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain. That dream inspired this poem:
Come Out and Play
Arms flung open wide dancing in the rain
pure abiding joy to feel alive again
healing tears fall and blend in God’s puddle
no time to sit in a corner and huddle
all the old rules driven by fears
washed away now by God’s loving tears
the imprint dad left no longer remains
rain washes away all of the stains
baptized with love, Truth lights my way
the sun shines through on this rainy day
splashing and laughing my heart opens wide
embracing and flowing I’m one with the tide
God takes my hand release the old way
bathe in my glory come out and play!
From "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life" available on Amazon
There I was out in the rain without a leg brace training for Bermuda Half Marathon III.
We made a quick pit stop at our home to fill up water bottles, use the bathroom and get on our way for the final miles on our double digits training run.
While standing on the corner of Rt 9, waiting for the light to change, one of our dear friends rolled down her window and honked at us. We waved and smiled. What an energy boost! After I thanked her on Facebook she said how inspiring it is to see us out running together.
On to twice around the Route 9 Reservoir, up the hills back to our house and the last mile up and down Eliot Street finishing strong with another hill.
Another neighbor who we hadn't seen in awhile passed by us; up ahead her daughter was running. It was a day for die hard runners who weren't afraid of training in the rain! Another energy boost as we exchanged hey there - it's great to see you!
I could feel the gravel from the path around the Reservoir hit the back of my legs. Our running shoes were squishy and we were of one mind and one purpose - finish double digits today. This was more than just 10 miles as I wrote about in "Tomorrow It's Double Digits."
I could feel that our pace was picking up as we got closer to the end of the run. I recalled what our personal trainer told us during our 2009 Boston Marathon training. Once you're on the back half of the miles you need to run, you can begin to pick up the pace.
Ruth Anne cheered me on during the uphill as she had during Wednesday's tempo run.
One more mile to go as we passed our home. An out and back .5 of a mile. The rain began to taper off and by the end of the run the rain had stopped. We were soaked and muddy yet feeling incredibly accomplished.
We had shaved off 7 seconds/mile from last week's run and did a negative 59 second split from mile 9 to mile 10!
I have often likened training for an endurance event to being pregnant. You get some pretty strange food cravings, you have sensations in your body that are not there when not doing intensive training, and most importantly of all, after the event is over, you swear you're not going to do another one and then you forget about all the pain in the process and do it anyway. I woke up sore this morning moving gingerly until I could get everything in motion with our core work exercises to begin the day. I am so grateful for a warm pool at Boston Sports Club to continue to gain momentum in training and bring ease to the aches and pains from a 10 mile run in the rain! We all know that sore = strong! But I digress....
Last week I was craving hot dogs but knowing that hot dogs are not exactly a nutritious and healthy choice, we decided that turkey hot dogs would be a great compromise. Tom took off his rain soaked poncho and fired up the grill. Ruth Anne listened to her cravings and she had a breakfast for lunch with a huge breakfast bowl of cereal, granola and fruit, a waffle and a smoothie. Tom and I relished our two turkey dogs and a salad followed by a chocolate smoothie.
I was chilled and damp from the run but knew I had to muster my courage to get into an ice bath with Epsom salts to recover.
Harnessing the power of my mind, putting on a hat, my hoodie and having my iPhone handy to "relax" and read through my stream, I lowered myself into the icy waters.
I kept telling myself that a warm shower was going to feel so good once I completed my 15 minutes of flushing my muscles and letting my body begin to recover from those 10 terrific and triumphant miles.
I saw a Facebook memory from a year ago that reminded me that it was raining and windy for our 9 mile run last year. We opted to go indoors and do 6 miles on the treadmill and 3 miles on the bike.
This year we are training ourselves mind, body and soul with a loving village to surround and fiery determination to have the best race day possible on January 14th, 2018.
Go the distance with strength and courage,
Mary
Be sure to visit my website by following this link.
My books are available on Amazon.
Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life
Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:
And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):
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