Insane rainy 12 miles, happiest ever ending

Here is me after running 12 miles in a torrential downpour on Saturday morning. I actually look pretty dry, which is because the rain finally eased up around the 10-mile mark.

How did I come to be running in the most relentless rain we've seen around here in months? Chalk it up to SuperAthlete J, as usual. A few weeks ago, she told me about a half marathon she'd read about online -- and pointed out that it was taking place the same week we were slated for a long run of 12 miles. Not only that, it was free, nearby, and would provide a change of scenery. So we signed up.

The story behind the event is pretty interesting. It was organized by a woman who is attempting to complete 52 half marathons this year. (Yes, an average of one per week.) However, there are a couple significant dry spells in the annual running event calendar -- which meant that she needed to double up on several fall weekends in order to achieve her goal. When she was mapping out her runs for the remainder of the year, she realized that she'd need to run two half marathons on the weekend of October 17 to make her goal. No problem -- except she couldn't find one anywhere near her on Saturday. So what did she do? She organized one herself. She worked her connections at Salty's, a seafood restaurant in West Seattle, and they agreed to let her use their bathrooms at the start and finish of the event. They also offered all participants $10 off brunch after the run. She put the word out on her tiny (non-running-related) website, capped the registration at 75 runners, and waited for registrations to come in -- which they did. Less than a week after SAJ and I signed up, we found out that the event had closed. But not before my stepsister, SuperRunner K, had signed up too. Did you notice my runner's number in the photo? I've never had one with just two digits before.

Friday, the day before the run, did not look promising. It poured all day. But I told myself that there was no way that kind of rain could continue for two days. I woke up on Saturday morning -- at 4:00 am after a night of insomnia and worry, detailed in a previous post -- to calm, albeit dark skies and nary a drizzle. That all changed five minutes before I left to pick up SAJ: the skies opened and the rain came cascading down. In the car on the way to Seattle, it was raining so hard that SAJ and I could only laugh. We couldn't believe we were willingly going to go running in that weather.

Happily, the downpour had dwindled to showers by the time our run started at 8 am. In what felt like a cruel and fateful trick, the showers only stuck around until about 4 miles in, when we were fully committed to the out-and-back run. Then the monsoon began afresh. I was quickly reminded that my jacket is NOT waterproof, and discovered that my wonderful pants, which perform quite well in light rain, become sponges when it's really coming down. In about 5 minutes, I felt like I'd added 10 pounds of weight to my load (and perhaps I had).

All the same, SAJ and I kept chugging along. We both felt quite tired in the first few miles of the run and wondered (privately) if we'd be able to manage the full distance. But I hit my stride at about 6 miles and I think she did too. Between cloudbursts, we talked about how grateful we were that at least it was warm outside (close to 60º and really comfortable) and there was almost no wind. Even better, despite the rain and added weight, we were actually moving along at a faster clip than usual -- and staying in our desired heart rate ranges.

The last two miles were definitely a push, but the rain seemed to acknowledge our struggle by subsiding when the going really got tough. We were both thankful to get to the end of 12 miles and walk the final mile to the finish (even though the event was a half marathon, we both agreed that we didn't want to run any more than was specified in our training calendar!).

The happiest ever ending? I ran those 12 miles faster than I've ever run that distance before, coming in at 2 hours and 10 minutes. Had we gone the full 13.1 miles and maintained our average pace, we would have finished at about 2 hours and 22 minutes -- a full 16 minutes shorter than my time on my first half marathon two years ago. Yahoo! Even though I'm working on accepting my leisurely running pace, it is gratifying to know that all the training I'm doing is helping me step it up a bit, all the while remaining in my efficient, fat-burning zone. What a fabulous surprise and reinforcement after all my worry the night before!