36 degrees, rain/sleet/snow - 8 miles

Well, I knew what the forecast was, but I still wanted to get my long run in.

The run started with 36 degrees and it was raining. I was taking off on a new course which was a 8 mile circle. (as a side note, you can see if you look at linked map of my running route, I passed by the Ronald Reagan Parkway - this is where my First Half Marathon will be run in less than a month) After mile two I started seeing and feeling sleet mixed in with the rain. By the time I got to mile 3 snow was starting to make it's appearance. I stopped at a gas station to get some gatoraide just about mile 4 and then continued on in the snow. As the run progressed, so did the snow. By the time I got to mile 7 it was starting to stick.

The picture to the left was as I was walking back up to the house following my run. You can see I actually even have some snow on the front of my shirt just like cars have from driving into the snow. Wow! I must run fast! :) OK, maybe not.

The forcast changed a couple times, but they are still saying we will get between 1 and 2 inches, which is a lot for here in Atlanta. I think I was turning a lot of heads this morning as people passed me by on the roads. I didn't see any other runners and only a couple people walking their dogs.

I almost gave in

If you live in the north, then you will probably laugh at me, but here in Atlanta we don't get this very often. Last night we got some snow, which shortly later turned to a sleet/rain mix. The kids were all excited, both for the snow and the possibility of no school today.

This morning being a running morning I had every intention of getting up and running, regardless of the weather, but when I got up this morning and it was still going with a sleet/rain mix I started coming up with excuses. I figured I could go to the gym and run the dreadmill, but easily convinced myself that if it was too bad outside to run, it was also too bad to drive to the gym.

Here is where the "almost" comes in. At 4:50, I put all rationalization aside and started getting dressed to run in this weather. By 5:05 I was out the door and it was nowhere near as bad as I expected it to be. The 33 degrees kept the road from freezing so I had nothing to worry about as far as ice went. My run went really good with only occasional rain enough for me to even notice. It did start raining more during mile 6, but all in all it was a very pleasant 10k.

Next time I need to not be so quick with the excuses.