Saved by the blog, again!

The fates were conspiring against me, my friends. I declared that I would run, and at about 1 pm, I decided to put that declaration into action. Unfortunately, the universe had other ideas.

First, I couldn't find my Janestrap, which is a vital component of my running attire. I was pretty sure I had put it in the wash after my last run, but it was not hanging with my sports bras, nor did I see it when I put away my clothes that went in the dryer. It is a strange article of clothing, so I thought maybe it got jammed in the washing machine or something. There was no sign of it in or around the laundry area, though. Hmmm. Closet? Nope. Exercise clothes drawer? Nope. Laundry basket? Nope. After about 20 minutes of looking, I gave up. I hate to run without it, but I did just that for the first 8 years of my running career, so I figured I could survive.

Then I went downstairs only to find that my inhaler was clogged. I have exercise-induced asthma, so I have to use an inhaler before I exercise. I started a search for some sort of needle that could fit into the tiny little inhaler hole. I couldn't find one, so I just rinsed it out repeatedly and jammed a paper towel down around the little hole. Somehow that did the trick.

Next stop was finding my iPod. I remembered taking it out before my last attempted run, so now the question was, where did I leave it? I looked all over the house and couldn't find it. As a last resort, I looked in the drawer where it was supposed to be stored, and wouldn't you know it, there it was! Apparently I have been taking my commitment to keeping things organized seriously. I will have to remember that for next time.

Then I went out to the snugly (is this word really spelled with only one 'g'?), warm garage to tell the boy that I was leaving. This swayed my resolve somewhat because here were my two choices:

Rainy, crappy day:

Or cozy, rocking-chair-by-the-fire garage:

But I was strong, my friends. I knew once I started running in the rain, my favorite type of running, I would be happy. I headed out of the garage and was pelted quite hard in the face by some fat rain. This caused me to turn around, head back into the garage, and declare, "Forget it. I will go tomorrow." Then I sat down on a stool by the fire, quite pleased with my decision. 

But then I remembered that I had declared to the internet that I would run today, and I couldn't bear another failure in front of the internet. So finally at about 3 pm, a full two hours after I began this running attempt, I picked myself up, walked out the door and just started running.

It was glorious. I loved it completely and didn't hate it at all. Even when I had to run through a shin-deep lake-puddle on the trail, I was happy to do it. It was reminiscent of my BEST RUN EVER which was also my first 10-mile run that Jenni and I and our Austin Fit running group did in the rain around the Town Lake Trail in Austin.  When I got back to my house, I even did drills. In the rain! I am so proud of me.

Distance: approx 4 miles on pavement, dirt trails and wooden bridges.
Lessons learned: I really love running in the rain
Song that rocked my run: The Skin of my Yellow Country Teeth by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah