Saturday, January 21, 2012

Get Up And Go!

This morning as I dug deep down into my covers there was a battle raging. I was scheduled for a 16 mile run, yet there were dark ominous clouds about to rupture right outside my window. Should I go or should I stay? Do I risk it and possibly trudge through 16 miles in sopping wet clothes and dodge lightning bolts or do I wait for the storms to pass and head out later?

I checked the radar on my phone and quickly realized that if I was going I had to go right then. The time was about 845. I jumped up, got my clothes on and headed out the door. I got to my starting point at about 9:20. The radar still looked very threatening, but the storms were still over Atlanta so I figured I had time. 16 miles takes me about 2 hours.

I headed out from Krispy Kreme. I know...a bit of irony huh? Who starts a 16 mile run at Krispy Kreme? I quickly got into my pace and settled in for the run. For those of you from Spartanburg, I ended up going all the way down to Floyd's Greenlawn Cemetery over at Hillcrest. I stopped by and paid my respects to my granddad and Maudie then turned back. At that point I was at 9 miles. The clouds still looked heavy but not one drop had fallen.

Thanks to a Christmas gift from my friend Matt, I was wearing a new running wallet. Since I actually had some money on me, I decided to stop by Chick-Fil-A for some water and a biscuit....plain, no butter. I knew this was a risk, but I was hungry. I stunk to high heaven! I am sure the people in there were praying it would rain on me so I could wash up! I inhaled the biscuit and took off.

When I got back outside the clouds seemed to have dropped. They hung low like a helium balloon that was just about to give out. I was getting a bit nervous that I would soon be a soggy runner. I tried to turn up the speed, but after 9 miles in hilly downtown Spartanburg I just didn't the speed. Endurance I have... speed is not always there.

I had 7 miles to go, dark clouds looming, the air was moist, people were looking at me like I was an idiot, my glasses were foggy, and I could not have been happier. Something about running against the elements heightens the fun of it all. I had some huge hills ahead of me, which would slow me a bit, but the last 3 miles would be flat. I kept on pounding!

Finally, the glowing hot and ready sign was on the horizon and the clouds were the darkest they had been. My GPS watch hit the 16 mile mark the moment my foot hit the parking lot. I toweled off my face, stretched and hopped in the car. The moment I got in, giant rain drops began to fall. Within a matter of minutes I could not see a thing because of the deluge that was pouring around me. I had just barely made it...but, I did make it! Shewww!!!

All the way home all I could think about was the timing of the whole morning. Had I literally spent 1 more second digging into those covers my run would have ended in a flood of rain. So glad I went when I did! Sometimes it pays to be patient, but sometimes you just gotta get up and go!

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