RUNNING IN THE RAIN: We are not fair weather runners!

I woke up early Sunday morning to the sound of heavy downpour. It was raining the proverbial cats and dogs but there was never a doubt in my mind that the training run I got to schedule with my fellow 83nean runners at 6am inside Camp Aguinaldo would push thru.  We are after all crazy about running.  In the same way that we are not “fair weather friends”, we are also not “fair weather runners.” 

True enough, when I arrived in Camp A, there were Ernie and Fards with their ready smile.  After a few stretching exercises, our trio went off for the training run – 2 laps around the military camp for a total of 14 kms. As we were at the midsection of the first lap, the drizzling rain evolved into a full blown monsoon.  But I did not notice a drop in our pace nor did I feel a hint of second guessing among my running buddies that what we did was the right thing to do. In fact, Ernie and Fards were one in saying that I had a fast and more fluid pace.  Perhaps an indication that this was the strongest they had seen me run. 

I smiled to myself. I remembered a similar episode of running in the rain. This was a year ago and I had the pleasure of doing it in UP Diliman with a blogger-friend.  

What is it about running in the rain that makes me enjoy it? To paraphrase a song ,why do we love the little things in life like running in the rain?

A blogger by the name of Sybille of
www.clubfatass.com listed down her 10 reasons to run in the rain:

1.The shower afterwards feels really good.
2. It's good for your skin (is it really?).
3. It makes you tough.
4. Nobody else is out there.
5. I like jumping into puddles.
6. People think you are crazy.
7. The air feels purified.
8. You don't cheat and start to walk.
9. You can test how long it takes before you get hypothermia.
10.You run faster to stay warm.

I would like to add another reason. Human beings like running in the rain because of our natural affinity to water. Water makes up more than two thirds of human body weight, and without water, we would die in a few days. The human brain is made up of 95% water, blood is 82% and lungs 90%. Thus, it is but natural that we seek contact with water as often as we can. That is why we find taking a shower as a rejuvenating experience. The feeling of water cleansing your body and soul is inimitable.  It does not require a great leap of our imagination to think that running in the rain is a fun and longer version of showering.

Revitalized runnin8 m3n

Oh well, the best way to realize this is to actually experience running in the rain. I am sure it would revitalize one's mind and body.