Prepping for the Wind and Rain: Lessons in Adaptability

Jeff and I planned a 15-mile run for yesterday, but two obstacles resulted in a revised goal: a daunting forecast of rain with a high-wind advisory and a change in work schedule requiring Jeff to be at work by 7 AM. So, we adapted, deciding on a 10 mile run that would begin at 4:30 AM--rain or not. We couldn't avoid the work-schedule requirement, but we could face up to running in the rain and wind.

In preparation for the inevitable I did my homework and came up with this list of precautions for running in wet weather:

1. Lube up. Especially feet. They will be wet, no doubt. Wet feet are more likely to blister and chafe than dry feet--keep a film of Vaseline between skin and socks.

2. Once you're wet, you're wet...it won't get worse, so just settle into the feeling.

3. Be careful to not slip on wet pavement, bricks, branches, flattened squirrels, leaves, etc. Falling is bad.

4. Unless it is torrentially bad (lightning, and persistently dangerous winds--that can lead to falling branches) go for it. Every runner has to run in the rain at some point (and we have, several times in the past few months ran through summer showers).

5. Dress in wicking layers.

6. No cotton on your head--it will get soggy and heavy.

7. Gloves are probably a good idea. Choose gloves that will protect from moisture and are appropriate for the temperature. In the early fall when the temperature is just cool I wear a light pair of running socks--I always have an extra pair and they are cheap--and lighter than my running gloves.

8. Have a back-up plan. We decided to shift our 15-miler to Sunday or even Tuesday--something early in the week so that we could still be faithful to our taper.

9. If you're planning for a half-marathon and you're up to 15 miles, you're really, really ready even if circumstances stop you from the longest run on your schedule!

10. Remember why you're there. A running plan should not be a set of rigid rules. Running (unless you're a professional competitor) is supposed to be for fun, friendship, and fitness. If your plan leads to stress, then you might re-think why you're running in the first place.

And so, with all that in mind, we ran. The temperature was chilly, but we were ready. And, remarkably, it was wet and windy, but not raining when we set out. We trekked along our route--through the city and out to Riverside Park, then on to West River Drive where Jeff had stashed a couple bottles of water for us. We had a few showers and some heavy gusts, but nothing dangerous. We returned to the Y in plenty of time for some steam, good chat with friends, and for both of us to get to work without too much hurrying. 

Oh, and our 10-miler turned out to be 11 miles...15 might happen tomorrow. We're ready.





The photo for this post is from last year's GR Marathon. The city is most beautiful at sunrise.

Some Encourgement to My Running Friends (and to me, too)

I took the photo above onthe morning of last year's Grand Rapids Marathon. I hope that we get to enjoy a sky that blue this year.

Jeff and I will run our longest training run of the season tomorrow morning--15 miles, starting at 4:15 AM. The forecast is calling for showers and gusty wind...not ideal. But, we're hanging on to our commitment.

This morning, as we finished our second 8-mile run of the week I remembered the words of Abram Maslow:

“We fear our highest possibilities (as well as our lowest ones). We are generally aftraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, under the most perfect conditions, under conditions of greatest courage. We enjoy and even thrill to the godlike possibilities we see in ourselves in such peak moments. And yet we simultaneously shiver with weakness, awe, and fear before these very same possibilities.”

Maslow went on in the next paragraph to charge us with aiming higher:
“If you deliberately plan to be less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you’ll be deeply unhappy for the rest of your life. You will be evading your own capactities, your own possibilities.”

So, I suppose we should do our best (and dress well!).

Jeff and I are in peak week, running our longest run on Friday, three weeks before the Grand Rapids Half Marathon. We've 15 miles planned, complete with course picked out and water and Gatorade stashed along the route.

Tuesday morning we ran 5 miles, once again, or at least for the second day in a row, missing the rain (which is coming down as I write this post). The run was great...sprinting along through the city and seeing some ArtPrize pieces.

This morning we faced the rain, consequently running 8 miles or 56 laps on the track at the YMCA. If we have nothing, we have commitment!

Best Week Ever (or at least in recent memory)

What makes a great week? 1. Staying in touch with new and old friends who make a difference. 2. Getting miles in, even when it's hard, and I'm by myself--because we promised. 3. Getting clarity at work--knowing what to do and why-even when it's a lot. 4. Being with friends who get promotions and make progress with their professional goals. 5. Meeting new folks who are so inspired that they are inspiring. 6. Getting to a race that is struggling for runners...debating whether or not to run it (even though we're registered); running the race (which was laughably unorganized--brimming with sincerity, but drowning in confusion)--and finishing in the top 10! 7. Going to Founders Brewery to celebrate the triumph of an acquaintance who is outrunning cancer--and while there, bonding with other caring runners who each have hearts bursting with love. 8. Getting a very long run finished after all the above (16 miles in 24 hours) and having a remarkable conversation along the way. 9. Being with friends who have lost loved ones and feel stronger because of those transitions. 10. Finding deep friendship over peanuts and beer.

I learn by going where I have to go

The Waking

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me, so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.

This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.

T. Roethke

August

The longing is like
a fever
which I hope soon breaks

Allowing Awareness

"We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit."
— E.E. Cummings