Almost Missed Out and Pizza For Breakfast

I walked outside this morning to rain. I was already lacking a little motivation to be out there because none of my running buddies could make it today. My first thought was, "Should I go back inside and go back to bed?" That thought didn't last long because I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep since I had already eaten, brushed my teeth, and gotten dressed. 

I ran to my car and sat there for a few minutes, listening to the rain as I decided what to do. One thing I've learned about Texas rain since moving here about a year ago is that it's usually an all or nothing deal. When it rains, it pours. It wasn't pouring at the moment, but the thought of getting stuck half way through my run with buckets of water pouring over my head made me decide to do an indoor workout at our little apartment gym. 

After about 30 minutes on the bicycle, I noticed the rain had calmed down a lot, so I decided to ditch the gym and head to one of my favorite long run spots. Of course, as soon as I got there the rain was coming down pretty good again. Now what do I do? I just spent 20 minutes driving here. Do I brave the rain, or go back home? I sat in my car thinking for a few minutes as I watched other runners finishing their runs, soaking wet. I was looking at their faces trying to decide if they looked miserable or happy. 

It was too hard to tell, so I made a deal with myself. I only had to run 6 miles instead of my planned 10. That way the rain didn't seem as daunting, and my 20 minute drive would still feel worth it.

14 miles later I was wondering why I always seem to forget how much I love running in the rain.

Less than one mile into the run, I knew there was no way I was going to settle for 6 miles. I didn't care that I was already soaking wet, or that I had already stepped in a couple ankle-deep puddles and drenched my shoes and socks. All I cared about was that the air felt cool and fresh, something I hadn't felt in a looooong time here in this summer Texas drought. 

Needless to say, I was ready to eat an elephant by the time I got home. Rice cakes and fruit weren't going to cut it, but my leftover gluten-free pizza from last night hit the spot (Check back tomorrow for my gluten-free restaurant review of where this pizza came from). When Scott saw me diving into some pizza at 10:30 in the morning he was a little surprised and asked, "Pizza for breakfast?" My response, "Heck ya."  

 I can't believe I almost missed out on what turned out to be my favorite run of the summer thus far because of some harmless rain. Being soaking wet with rain after a run feels so much better than being soaking wet from sweat.

When it comes down to it, do you run outside in bad weather, or choose the treadmill?

Before moving to Texas I despised the treadmill. It wasn't even an option. One run in particular sticks out in my memory when I ran in Utah with a friend early one frigid, snowy morning. When we stopped at a stoplight I looked at her face and saw that her eyelashes had frozen! It looked like she was wearing white crystal mascara or something. It was hilarious. You know you hate the treadmill when you'd prefer frozen eyelashes over it. However, the extreme heat here in Texas has forced me to become more accustomed to running on the treadmill, but I'll still always choose outside if I can help it at all.