First there was sleet, then there was rain, then there was snow, then there was rain again. We knew the weather might get nasty but didn't expect this mess. Hubby and I headed out on the rail trail confident we had at least 2 hours before the precip was going to begin. As soon as we got in the truck it started drizzling, by the time we reached the trail it was sleeting heavily. My plan was to run 12 while he hiked 8. It sleeted for the 1st mile and was kinda fun because it bounced off of my clothes making me feel like a superhero with my forcefield on. That all changed when the sleet changed to rain ... a heavy steady cold rain. I felt like I dressed well because I wasn't feeling cold and I was grateful for grabbing my baseball cap which kept the rain off my face. At mile 6 the mind games began. I started bargaining with myself "its so nasty out here ... you should make this a 10 mile run ... your legs are getting numb ... you could colapse from hypothermia ..." Then I started thinking "how can you do 14 miles next week if you don't do your 12 this week, you know this will mess with your mind". Thats when I started visualizing warm blood flowing to the fat layer on my legs warming them up. It must have worked because I started to forget about the numb parts and concentrate on my stride and pace. I forced myself past mile 10 and told myself how proud I was of me. Then as I started my last 2 miles the rain turned to snow. I felt rejuvenated and held my arms open as if the snow was just for me! I suddenly didn't feel as tired and picked up the pace but it was short lived ... good while it lasted. The snow turned back to rain and a heavier rain at that. Finally I made it back to the truck and I had reached my goal of 12 miles. My husband had the truck running and warm. I took shelter under a pavillion and it was then that I realized just how hard it was raining. My husband said I had steam coming off my back ... wow. | 