Rain or Shine

When I got off of work today, it was already getting dark and drizzling a good bit outside. That turned into a light but steady rain by the time I finished my commute home. On a night like this, I have a few tried and true methods to keep motivation up and get the miles in:

1. Overdress. Better to get a little hot later than to feel totally exposed, cold, and wet for the first 3 miles of the run. I've taken to wearing gloves even when it's not strictly necessary just because it makes me feel better.
2. Remember that most of the country has it worse than you (doesn't really work if you live in Alaska or something). We live in San Antonio, TX. While it may be getting dark at 5:45pm here, it's already pitch black anywhere at a more northerly lattitude. Oh and the entire Northeast US is still blanketed with snow from a blizzard. And none of our roads have any ice on them whatsoever. I've run on ice before, and it sucks. Big time. So while I reserve the right to complain repeatedly all summer, I can't quite bring myself to whine about 50 degrees and rainy.
3. Try not to run next to major roads. Okay I didn't think of this until AFTER the run tonight, but Em and I got splashed several times by cars driving 40+ mph through puddles. Less than pleasant.

At the end of the day, my theory is you'll get the miles in or you won't. I've read about a lot of Kenyans having a more relaxed attitude towards such things, often taking a day off entirely if the weather is unfavorable. It could be that this is the more reasoned, wise approach. But I tend more towards the point of view that says if you're going to miss training for a little thing like a rainy evening, you probably won't think twice about missing a few runs because you're tired, or because you just don't feel like it, or because you had a long day at work. Besides, once you get used to having your feet soaking wet it's kind of fun splashing through the streets. And if you're running next to someone, you can splash them too...