Running in the rain

Just when you think there's nothing interesting going on, Mother Nature reminds you that there's usually something interesting going on all around you!

After arriving at the OTC last night and staying up until almost midnight watching Olympic Games coverage, I started testing the first athlete at 7:00 a.m. this morning. By 3:30 p.m., my colleague John and I had performed lactate testing on just over 20 athletes. For those of you not familiar with lactate testing, that equates to 6-8 blood samples from each athlete over the course of about 20 minutes of running! I love testing days, so the day actually flew by! Once we were done, we decided a late afternoon run was in order. One of the interns is a cross country runner for Cornell and is from this area, so she drew us a map of a favorite local run. It's actually a cross country ski trail but is also a popular hiking trail in the summer.

Map in hand, John and I drive the rental car to where we think her map indicates the trail head should be. We go up and down the road a bit and figure out that the dirt washout we keep seeing must be it. We park the car just as the rain starts coming down in a heavy drizzle and start jogging down the road and into the woods. John is a much faster runner than I am, so we decided to go our own paces and meet back at the car in an hour and fifteen minutes. I never wear an IPOD when I run outside, but for some reason I brought it on this run. I stopped at the entrance to the woods and started to put the ear buds in when I caught myself and pulled them out. It had been a long time since I stood in the midst of a forest and heard rain through leaves and foliage. It was a soothing, perfectly tuned symphony to my ears. I tucked the ear buds back into my sports bra and started jogging up hill through puddles, bog, decaying trees & leaves and lots of fern. Living in southern California and running primarily on beaches, I don't get many opportunities to run uphill anymore- and did my Achilles tendons let me know it!

At first, I was trying to stick to the sides of the "trail" so I wouldn't get the only pair of shoes I brought on this trip so mucked up that I wouldn't be able to wear them tomorrow. That lasted until about the second puddle surrounded by thick mud. I started to skirt the mud when a favorite quote of mine popped into my head. This saying was once shouted at me by a crusty senior chief in the Navy when I was falling behind on a run. Unfortunately, it's not fit for posting on this family friendly blog, but let's just say that it always propels me through whatever obstacle I may be facing at the time. So, with a huge smile on my face, I stomp my foot right smack in the middle of the mud puddle sending muck all over the trail and myself. Now that it was settled that I'd be wearing muddy, wet sneakers for the next 2 days I thoroughly enjoyed my hour out on the trail! I drank in the smell of wet leaves and dirt, the beauty of late afternoon light flitting through the trees and dancing with the shade, and the hugely soft sound of water cascading over every surface around me. It was one of those moments where you're reminded just how small you are in the universe but how much everything is interconnected. A bit philosophical for an out of town run I know, but I love how it's the everyday stuff that always grounds me.