No excuses: A long, rainy run

I really try to be a "no excuses" kind of runner.

Don't feel like going? Just do it!
Too tired? Get over it!
A bit sore? Run through it!
It might rain? So what?!

But my running really has been interrupted these last couple of weeks by all the rain.  If it was just myself, I wouldn't let that be an excuse, but because I'm taking the kids out in the pram, I don't really like them getting wet (especially since they're just getting over coughs & runny noses).

So, Dean & I really wanted to get out for a long run this week to make up for a few missed sessions.  We bundled the kids up in the pram on Wednesday and with the promise of a play at the park at the end, managed to pump out 13km.  I struggled from the 10km point onwards, and Dean had a bit of an injury to contend with (see photo below!)

Ouch!  Get this guy a man-bra!

We decided to do one without the kids on the weekend, so we could really go hard.  We also had picked up some gels, which neither of us had tried before and wanted to give them a go.  Saturday turned out to be rainy and miserable, but this was definitely a "no excuses" run!

We dropped the kids off to their Nana at Scarborough and decided to run along the bay, past the Redcliffe Jetty, then the Woody Point Jetty, down to Pelican Park, which is just north of the Hornibrook Bridge - and back again.  Our goal was to do about 18km.

We set off in the rain and it didn't let up for the entire run.  Not heavy - it was mostly just a sprinkle, but it did get heavier at some points.  There was also wind - again, not enough to be horrible, but we certainly knew it was blowing.  Then there was the water over the footpaths.  I managed to avoid any major puddles until about the 9km mark, when there was no choice but to power through a massive puddle and I could just feel it penetrating every last bit of sock and shoe that wasn't already drenched.

I really haven't run in the rain much, but I have to say, it was better than I thought.  I wore a cap and that kept it off my face and out of my eyes.  And the coolness was really quite a pleasant change.  The wet shoes and socks was definitely the most annoying aspect, but the promise of a warm shower and dry clothes at the end got me through!

At around the 13km mark, after running for about 1 hour 10 minutes, we decided to try the gels.  As I said, these are new to us, but we wanted to give them a go to see if they will be good to use in the marathon.  So, we opened them up as we jogged along, hoping they would be a great energy boost for our final stretch.  All I can say is YUCK!!!

I had about a teaspoon worth and couldn't have any more.  I hated the texture, that it was so sickly sweet and I felt like if I had a whole one, it would give me the runs, which wouldn't be good mid-run!  Dean was the same and we threw them in the next bin we passed, happy that we'd given them a go and realised they are not for us!

Overall, we felt pretty good and ended up doing 19km in 1:43:00 - an average pace of 5:25 minutes per km.  Our fastest kilometre was the first, at 5:06, and our slowest was 5:47, at the 13km mark.  I thought it was the best I've ever felt over that distance and was a really good gauge to see where I was, considering I haven't run that far since the Brisbane Half Marathon last July.

It's perfect timing considering I've signed up for the Twilight Half Marathon in 3 weeks time, so I'm really keen to get it some good training and have a crack at my PB (hopefully get under 1:50:00 for the half!)

So there it is, a "no excuses" long run in the rain - happy to tick that one off the list!

Drenched!

Happy it's over!