….more like cussing in the rain.
Last weekend, right on schedule, I did my 18 miler …..in the pouring rain! Actually, it was 15 miles in the pouring rain, the first 3 miles was only drizzle.
I ‘d been tracking this particular storm for several days and while they were predicting that the rain would start falling in San Francisco around 10am, I was hoping that if I started my walk early enough , that I could beat the brunt of it. Well, I lost that bet. As soon I had made it to the mid-span of the Golden Gate bridge, the sky opened up . With no where to take shelter and the inability to run to get out of the rain faster , I got totally drenched. It rained non-stop for the rest of the day.
Actually the rain and wind didn’t bother me that much (other than the fact that I couldn’t see very well ahead of me). No, it was more the realization that unlike most athletes, my lungs pretty much confine me to a narrow range of speed ( regular walking and fast walking), no matter what the circumstances. I was embarrassed by the fact that I had to walk across the bridge in the pouring rain, while everyone else ran through it. I must have looked awfully weird to passing motorists. What if the bridge was on fire or collapsing? Would I be able to run then? I guess I could do short racewalking intervals?
Anyway, by the time I finished my walk and made it back to my car ( about 3 1/2 hours later), I was soaked to the bone and was starting to shiver. Despite my legs being really sore, when I got home I decided against taking an ice bath and opted instead, for a luke warm shower. I figured that the exposure of cold temperatures during my 5 hour walk, had probably accomplished the same effect that an ice bath would have.
My 20 mile ( and last LSD for the season) is on February 16th , hopefully, not in the rain. Then its 4 weeks of blissful taper. Ah …we live for the taper huh.
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