Singing in the Rain.. Not

Plan for today was to meet-up with my new running group, Sole Runners, at 8AM. But, girls and wife had an important tea party to go to by 10am, so I decided to run before the meet-up. It was my first outdoor short run after my Long Beach Half-Marathon last Sunday.

6:30am, and boy was it dark still! And.. drizzly. Yuck! Nothing that any self-respecting Seattle-r would call "rain".. but still, enough to fill me with dread and sink my mood. Speaking of Seattle folks, a few days ago, Slomohusky blogged about the joys of rain, and running in rain.. So, I pulled up my bootstraps (shoelaces), determined to do this run. Besides, it was only supposed to be 45-50 minutes. How hard could it be?

Dreary!

Almost immediately, I could tell I was running tense, fearful of my footing and a slip-n-fall. My legs felt fatigued, tight, and burning almost immediately. But more so, my mind and heart were just not into it. It wasn't my half-marathon 6 days ago, or any injury. I felt fine. It's funny how mental outlook plays such an important role in all things. And this morning, I didn't give myself a chance in h*ll. I plodded out a mediocre 3 miles in ~ 43 minutes, then walked along the water towards the Sole Runner's meeting spot.

My mood improved watching these rowers and stretching. Also, a great song, "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin, came on which really reminded me what a blessing it is that I am pain-free, and can move and be active today, despite the rain.

Met up with some great people at Sole Runners, learned about Chi Running, and really enjoyed the social scene. A really positive, friendly, & outgoing group of runners! Thanks again to TheRunningGreenGirl for persistently inviting me and encouraging me to check them out. Looking forward to running with the group soon.

I'm sure if I did my run after the meeting, with the Sole Runners, I would have had a much better (and more enjoyable) run. It's all mental, baby.

Tomorrow is a new day!
First-ever, open water swim clinic and transition clinic. First mini-Tri next week!

Hope it doesn't rain.