It finally happened! After weeks and weeks of training I finally got to run in the rain. I suppose that most people would think that is a little crazy. I mean, it's bad enough that I woke up at 4:00 AM and would be running 8 hills in the dark. The fact that it was raining just added to the craziness.
What some people call nuts, I call passion and dedication. I try to embrace each challenge instead of looking at it with a negative eye. As soon as I let my mind wander into a negative thought process it becomes harder to embrace the challenge. Once I accept what is about to happen AND focus on the actual training itself then things become easier. I've also noticed that I need to work in the present and not the future. What that means is that I try not to focus on the training being finished. This becomes harder when I'm doing a set of 8 hills. However, I try to concentrate on my foot placement for each hill instead of how I'm going to feel after the training is finished.
Nobody is there to talk me into running that early just as there is nobody there to talk me out of it. There are choices that are made everyday which take you down one road or another. It's up to you to decide whether you want the easy road or tough one. In many ways, training for a marathon really mimics the choices I've made in my life. Not all of them have been tough but I like to think that the majority of them have been. Each road has a lesson inherit in it. Sometimes you have to look harder to find those lessons while other lessons are learned more directly and painfully.
I'm happy to say that I completed my 8 hills this morning. My legs felt stronger with each climb. I think the rain had a calming and cooling effect on me at the same time. I have two more hill workouts remaining over the next two weeks and then it will be time to hit the track for some speed work.
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