Sunday, August 16, 2009

The Meaning of Endurance...

I got up with the alarm at 3 this morning; thunderstorms in the vicinity. I wanted to do my long run today, and go to a fellowship meeting in Kansas City at 10. The only way to get to the meeting is to drive to KC first and then do the run; which suits me because I wanted to use the flat dirt trail in the park down there. I checked the radar. It looked like my home town was done with the rain, but KC was right on the edge. There was a teeny tiny itsy bitsy line of red colored storms; that should be past by the time I got there. So I decided to go to KC for running and fellowship.

The loop around the park is 2.7 miles (a tad more than 4k). I parked my car and put the cooler beside it with water, Gu, and a pb sandwich. I started my run at 5 am, still dark, 75F, lightening and thunder but no rain.

By the end of the first lap, it was a little drippy.

Second lap, I got drenched. Then it let up. I thought that would be it.

Third lap, I got drenched. It is still somewhat dark with continuous rumbles overhead. Then it let up. I thought that would be it.

Fourth lap, I got drenched. Then it let up. I thought that would be it.

When should a runner get out of the rain? An hour ago I guess.

Fifth lap, I got drenched. Then it let up. I thought that would be it.

Sixth lap, I got drenched. Then it let up. It takes over three hours for me to give up hope. 2/3 of every lap is in a downpour and then it lets up just to taunt me.

When should a runner get out of the rain? Two hours ago I guess.

Seventh lap, I got drenched. Then it let up. Maybe I should have stopped this time. I thought about it. Why do one more lap? Isn't 18.9 miles in a little under four hours enough? I guess not.

Eighth lap, I got drenched. The wind picked up. I almost cried. I think I came close to a transcendental experience when I reached the point of crying. Then it let up. So I added a partial lap so I would have an even 22 miles.

Four and a half hours in the rain...

67 miles of jogging this week.