Getting caught out in the rain isn't always a bad thing when you're out running. In fact, it can be invigorating, refreshing and life-affirming to be caught in a shower miles from home when you're flagging. I know you might think I'm strange for saying that, and a few years ago I might have agreed with you, but I have been running in the rain a fair few times now and I can honestly say it is no bad thing! It gives you something to think about besides whichever part of your body (or mind) has decided it has had enough!!
There are exceptions to this however.
When the path or road you're running on turns into a stream and visibility gets so bad you can't really see where you're going, that's not quite so much fun. I am particularly recalling a run with my friend Sarah up a road called Church Lane in Arborfield at this point, about halfway into an 8 mile run. Although even though it was pretty miserable and felt a bit like we were wading upstream, we were still giggling about it!
But for me there is one circumstance where being caught out in the rain is really really bad. I mean the stuff of nightmares!
Thunderstorms.
Anyone who knows me will know how irrationally frightened I am of thunder and lightening. When I was a kid I would avoid using the phone in a storm, and hated walking under the light fittings (yes, really...). I'm nowhere near as bad now, however it's still a phobia. I sit in the corner of the office, on the top floor, surrounded by floor to ceiling windows, and in a particularly bad storm I have been known to retreat to the loos because there are no windows in there!!
It has happened to me twice now, being caught in a storm when out running, and it's had such a lasting effect that I am often paranoid about the weather and will completely avoid running on days where there is even the slightest chance of a storm.
The first time I was with Sarah and Sui running around The Lookout in Bracknell. The Lookout is a forest with a load of undulating footpaths and cycleways through it, and is a really nice place for a run. But not on this occasion! Well, ok, so the first few miles of the run were great, and we were having a good old chat and catch-up. But shortly before we finished, the atmosphere completely changed. It's difficult to describe but something in the air definitely changes just before a storm is about to hit. It gets muggy and you can almost feel the electricity in the air. We were shielded from the worst of the rain by the trees, and then the rumbles of thunder started. I stopped looking at my heart rate monitor as it was through the roof!! I could feel myself getting more and more panicky with every flash and bang, but we were nearly back at the cars, and Sarah and Sui were doing a good job of keeping me relatively calm. We got back to the cars and there was a lull in the weather, so we were having a bit of a stretch and not rushing our goodbyes, when all of a sudden there was a simultaneous flash and the loudest clap of thunder I have ever heard. I instinctively leapt for the car, and to my surprise Sarah and Sui (neither of whom are afraid of storms) had done the same. I was literally shaking like a leaf, and for once it didn't feel like an over-reaction!
The second time, I was out running my favourite 5 mile cow loop, on my own. I was about 2 miles from home and had just had a little stop to chat about the weather to a guy walking his dog, who had said something along the lines of 'You'll have to run pretty fast to avoid the rain, it's about to start chucking it down!'. We laughed and carried on in opposite directions - him down a pathway sheltered by trees, and me out onto the very exposed straight road that leads past the dairy farm milking sheds. And then it started! It wasn't right overhead but I could see the forks of lightening and I was terrified. I didn't want to run down the long straight bit of road because it felt really exposed, but I knew I couldn't just stay where I was, getting drenched. So I sprinted! I'm not kidding, I literally ran as fast as I possibly could until I reached the next bit of cover. And that is how I continued until I got home - sprinting from one set of trees to the next, and pausing to catch my breath before the next sprint. At one point I saw a fork of lightening which looked like it had struck some trees just a field away from me, and at that point I did completely lose it. By the time I got home, I was soaked to the skin, not only from rain and sweat, but from tears, because I pretty much sobbed and hyperventilated my way there!!! I remember Pete opening the door to me and giving me a big hug, despite the fact that I was dripping wet - he had been waiting for me to get home, knowing how much I hate storms. He said if he had known where I was, he would have got in the car to come and get me!
So today, I had planned on running the 4.5 mile loop from home, which involves running along the exposed bit of road next to the milking sheds, but because the sky looked really ominous, I didn't have the guts and cut back to the shorter loop. I felt really good though, it was one of those 'winged feet' runs, and so when my phone told me I had got to three miles, I upped my pace, and also added a bit on to the run to take it up to 4 miles. When I got home I was well and truly out of breath, but feeling pretty amazing, and my average pace for the whole run was 11 mins and 1 second per mile. Which for me, is pretty damn good! And even better, not only was there no storm, but I didn't even get wet :-)
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