Week 10 - 16KM Run in the rain!!!!

We have run in the rain before now. There have been a few Saturdays where the odd shower came along and we were actually grateful to feel refreshed, especially on the warm days.

But this was rain like no other. Apparently it was the wettest April day Sydney had seen in ten years. It even warranted a Channel 7 news slot - one which we featured in! I remember running past the camera-man thinking what on earth would possess someone to stand in the rain at 7:30am to photograph Sydney Harbour on such a disgusting morning. For proof, just click here!

http://au.news.yahoo.com/video/national/248153/?q=rain Look for “Sydney Swamped By Rain (Apr 16th), and skip to 0:34 mins.

Torrential rain. From the start. I foolishly believed if I kept my feet dry, everything would be fine. Alas, they were saturated within 10 minutes, despite my best puddle-jumping efforts. We ran to the other end of Luna Park and back first to get a quick 2km in before heading up through the hills of Kirribilli. Running up hills with wet heavy shoes and socks is a miserable feeling! The fact that there were another 30+ people ‘in the same boat’ must have contributed to my self-reassurance that running in torrential rain and gale winds was not a sign of madness. Or maybe we were all mad that morning.

The rain finally eased - near the 7km turning point! To look on the positive side we reassured ourselves that at least if it rained on race day, we wouldn’t be at risk of being put off. PMA. Positive Mental Attitude! As for me, this run turned out to be one of my best ones yet. I took on the hills really well and my mind was positive and strong. It also helped that I had borrowed a ‘fuel belt’ to carry water with me around my waist and knocked back a couple of Gu Chomps. I took off on my own on the way back and I came in at around 01:50 hrs. The hardest part was trying to keep focused and positive as Dave overtook me on the last big hill into Kirribilli (he was in the faster group that did 18km that morning). It was hard to ignore the fact that he had run an extra 2km and passed me on a steep hill about 1km from the end! But that’s another lesson to be learned for the race. Focus on your own efforts and not on everyone else around you!


“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
Oscar Wilde