R & R: Rain & Run

Yesterday morning I ran 9 miles. In the cold. And the rain. Ugh. It went better than expected though. I was 2 miles in before the rain started so at least there was that - lol. I know it sounds crazy that I went out and did that, BUT it snowed last night and today and I had no other time in the work-week when I could get a long run in. I surprised myself with my pace because I was giving myself a break and not pushing hard with the weather conditions. My beloved Garmin told me I ran a 9:49 average mile. Not bad at all.

What should you wear on a 9 mile run in a cold rain? Here is what I wore, with the disclaimer that I like to be warm when I run!

• long cotton/lycra blend pants
• long sleeved cotton t-shirt (I highly recommend Life is Good t-shirts for under a running shirt b/c the fit is perfect)
• long sleeved close fitting fleece
• zip-up running jacket
• gloves (cheapie 2/$1 cotton stretch)
• ear warmer (crucial!)
• baseball cap
• neck warmer

I added the baseball cap over the ear warmer and the neck warmer once it started raining. The running jacket served as another layer and also as protection for my Garmin and my ipod.

It was good to get that long run out of the way and I was only semi-sore the rest of the day. Now I'm working on scheduling my runs for the rest of the week!