another rainy 5K

(Here we are after the I Am Woman 5K race, soaking wet, still smiling.)

Saturday was my second 5K race. As the day got closer the weather forecast worsened. Oh man, not another race in the rain...and it's colder now, too. The night before the race I woke up several times, nerves I suppose, and every time I could hear the torrential downpour. I'm still going to run, I told myself every time I woke up, but prayed for clear skies by 9am. My alarm went off at 7am. I listened...no rain. No rain? no Rain! I stumbled out of bed and put on my running clothes, put my hair in a pony tail, washed my face...still sleepy, tied my running shoes so they would be just right. Ya know, tight...but not too tight, yet evenly tight. There's nothing worse or more distracting than having my shoes unevenly tight...ok, maybe it's just me. Race number -check... gum for me and my friends-check... mp3player with fast paced music-check... light breakfast-oh, I need to eat a little something before I wake up the family. I quietly go through my routine of opening all the blinds and curtains, I look out the window and... it. is. raining.
*blink*
*blink*
Raining? Raining. I.Will.Run. I am still going to run. I've run in the rain before and I'll do it again. I check the temperature and thankfully it is already 55 degrees! What a joy! It won't be that cold after all. So now, breakfast-check... hat-check... raincoat-check... no mp3 player now, the rain would kill it. Everyone is awake and wishing me well. Now, it's pouring! Oh well. Off to the race I go. Kim and Heather are all prepared for the rain, too. The race begins in the pouring rain but about a mile in the rain lets up, only sprinkling now and the raincoat comes off. It's not easy to run with a stupid coat tied around the waist. Looking back, I should have just tossed it off to the side of the course, I could have gone back to get it after the race, oh well, live run and learn. I kept a good pace, but not as fast as I would have liked. I really think that my fast music would have helped...again, oh well. I did beat my own time by 5 minutes! Yippee!! So I am thrilled about that. Both of my friends killed my time. They beat their own times from our first race and they surpassed what their new goal was for this race! Yay! All in all, I'm pleased with my run, but I'd like to do better. I'd like to run a race when it's not raining so I can have some music to keep me moving along faster. I wonder what it's like to run a race when it's not raining. Hmmmmm.