Running In the Rain

I'm going to save the post about Muffins with Moms for tomorrow because I still have to take some pictures and upload them and it will be a little lengthy (well, not too lengthy, really).

Alright. I said that I would take some pictures during my run today, and I did! I wish that it had been sunny and beautiful, but we'll just have to make due with the rain. I wore my running clothes under the clothes I wore to have muffins with Gabriel because, let's face it, it is not cool to be the chubby mom in running gear at 8:30 in the morning! I'm actually proud to say that my running pants fit under the size smaller jeans I was wearing (you know, the ones from the thrift store trip?)!! So, when I got to the trail, I just had to take my shoes off, peel off my outer layers and put back on my shoes along with my runner's belt (complete with camera case). It had stopped raining while I was at Gabriel's school but, of course, it had just started to rain pretty good again. This is the first picture, before I started running:

Here is my starting point

Today, I actually welcomed the rain because I knew that I would be stopping to take pictures during my "walk breaks" and it was later in the morning than I usually run, so it would keep things cool. I ran about a half a mile before taking this next shot:

About a half mile down the trail

Then, I ran little more when I noticed that I was coming up on the bridge I've been talking about. In this next picture, you can see it, just coming up. I was running at that point. I usually try to walk a little bit before getting to the bridge so that I can run across it!!

Here you can just see the bridge coming up

Remember how I said this part of the trail is really pretty? This next shot is what I'm talking about. These benches sit right before you begin crossing the bridge. They look so cozy. Too bad I have never had the opportunity or the desire to sit on them!

Ok, anyone who knows me at all knows that I have a serious bridge phobia. The scientific term is Gephyrophobia. You can read more about it here. As I was saying, as a general rule, I try to run the entire distance. The very first time I crossed this bridge, I couldn't make it across the entire length and had to walk some of it (trust me, it was very little). I am now capable of running across the whole thing if I am caught up on breath, but today (for the sake of a blog entry with pictures) I walked across most of it.

Here is the start of the bridge

You can see how high up it is. I am looking at the tops of houses!

Here is some of it when you are looking down at the water.

After the bridge, I ran for a pretty good distance before I walked again. The next adventure I encounter along the way is this snazzy tunnel that crosses under the main road. The neat thing is, I travel on this road to get practically everywhere multiple times a day and I never knew about this tunnel! You actually can't see the trail here from the road!!

Entrance to the tunnel

Inside the tunnel

There's really not too much but trees and a curve in the road after that. I ran on until I could see my turn around spot. It's a little hard to see, but there is a post sticking out of the ground on the right. That marks my halfway mark. I generally run to it because I know I can stop for a second once I get there!

See that little post sticking out of the ground on the right near the stone on the side? That is where I turn around

Today, I actually remembered 1) to bring my HRM with me and 2) to turn it on when I started running. Here is my time and calorie count at the halfway mark (1.78ish miles). As you can see, my time is kick-ass (or atleast I think so)!

This is where I can see the bridge coming up ahead. I always think that the way back is faster because I don't have to think about what's coming up. I've already passed it once!!

You can faintly see the bridge in the distance.

I didn't feel the need to take a picture of the bridge on the way back across. The scenery is pretty and you don't really notice the houses, but it was raining pretty hard and I really wanted to run across that bridge this time over! In fact, I didn't really take many pictures on the way back at all. In the next shot, the furthest point you can see through the tree line is the place where I started. It's atleast a half a mile away, but I'm usually pretty determined to get there!

Where you see the sidewalk end through the trees is where the car is parked!!

The last little bit of my run was completed with my camera in my hand because I didn't want to have to dig it out once I was finished. Here is a picture of my HRM with my ending time and calorie burn!

And last, this is me after it's all over and I'm back in the car. The rain was REALLY pouring down at this point!

The 5K is just 3 days away on Saturday evening. This run felt pretty good and I think my legs will have plenty of time to recuperate before the actual event. If all goes well, I should finish in 36 minutes or less!!

Gotta go now. I am baking Death by Oreo cupcakes for Gabriel's teachers at school. I hope they like them!!