<span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">I like running in the rain. Running in the cold isn’t my favorite, but it’s ok. Put cold, rain, and wind together for 9 miles, and there’s a whole new breed of torture.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">Knowing that it was going to be cold and rainy for my long run, I bought a pair of running tights last night. John wasn’t too happy about the price tag, but didn’t want me sick either. So I had my running tights, tech shirt, gloves, and ski cap. I was ready to go.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">When I began my run, it was raining, but only lightly. Nothing that I hadn’t experienced before. TRA LA LA! I ran and ran, splashing through puddles, no mp3 player, just me, the woods, and the rain. No one else was stupid enough to be out there. The rain was never heavy enough to the point where my body heat couldn’t dry my clothes off quickly. My pace was good, my breathing was good, and I could tolerate listening to my own thoughts without going crazy (and there was plenty to think of).</span></span><br><br><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">After my warm up of 3 miles, I began my 4 miles at half marathon pace. First mile, right on target. Next mile, faster. I started feeling a little cocky! <i>YAH! I can do this! No problem. I’m a hard core mother fucking bitch of a runner! Look at that! Even rain doesn’t slow me down!</i></span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">The rain started coming down a little harder. So what did I do? Told the rain the harder it fell, the faster I was gonna go. I was not gonna back down for the rain! I was gonna run like a champ! On the last mile of my 4 miles at half marathon pace, Mother Nature let me have it. A deluge was unleashed. Rain was coming down so hard I could barely see in front of me. My running tights, which I had been pretty impressed with so far, were being soaked so quickly that I could feel the water running down from my waist to my toes. (Very odd feeling) I was running through puddles of ice water. I could think was, <i>I’m not gonna back down! Damn this is like running in an ice bath! I’ll be so numb by the time I get done with this I won’t feel anything! I won’t back down!</i> My shoes were so soaked that I could feel the outlines of the insoles. Cushioning no longer existed. A blister was forming despite having put on body glide. Thunder and lighting and wind were also making their own appearances in an attempt to defeat me, but in the end, I still made it through those 4 miles!</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">2 more miles to go! 2 miles that were meant to be cool down miles, but I wasn’t going to slow down much! The cold water was beginning to sting! I didn’t want to be in this any longer. Finally I conceded to Mother Nature that SHE was the bad ass bitch and deserved her respect. Yes, even though she had not defeated me, I knew that she could. And as I thought of that at the very end of my run, the rain and wind backed down as if mother nature were hugging me to applaud my triumph and makes amends for the lesson she had to teach me; Mother Nature is the bas ass bitch!</span></span>
