Let it Rain

Today was my 35 minutes jog. I have a workout schedule now thanks to my wonderful husband. Mondays I run quarter mile "sprints." Believe me...I use the term "sprint" loosely. My fastest so far is 1:47, and I used to run them under 1:10. Anyway, Tuesdays I just do a long 35 minutes jog. Wednesday I time my 3 miles. I'm still trying to get that down to 27 minutes. Thursday I run half mile "sprints," 4:04 being my best time. Then Friday (if my ankles make it that far) I time my mile.
This morning I woke up around 6:30. I knew it was supposed to rain, so I stayed in bed for about 5 minutes just listening. If it was coming down hard enough I was going to sleep a little longer and then head to the gym when they opened. I didn't hear anything so I got up, went through my normal morning routine, grabbed my water, put on my shoes, and was out the door...only to be met with rain. It was a fresh rain. I could tell it had rained earlier, but that this was a new one. It was a light drizzle, I was already up, so I headed for the track anyway. By the time I got there the rain was coming down a little bit harder, but still not hard enough to turn around. I did my warm-up lap, stretched, and began the jog. By my third lap it was coming down hard enough that I kept having to wipe it away from my eyes. By my fifth lap it was pouring down. I was wiping my eyes and forehead every 15 seconds, and I could barely see. Rather than continue for the whole 35 minutes I decided I would finish up two miles and head home, but by the end of the second mile, it let up, and I vowed to finish. One slow lap at a time, now weighed down with an extra 7 pounds of wet clothing, I approached my 35 minutes goal. The rain came down hard again around lap 10, but I had gone to far to quit then! By my last lap I looked down and noticed that I was raining too. I was so completely soaked that with each stride water was sloshing off of me, but I was smiling like a lunatic.
I wondered, "What must the people passing by the track on their way to work or school be thinking of me?" It may have been my rain soaked imagination, but I really thought they were slowing down to do a double take at the crazy person running in the pouring rain. I figured they were thinking one of two things.
1. WOW! She's an absolute nut!
2. WOW! She's extremely disciplined!
While I am a bit crazy, and it did occur to me that if I didn't suck it up and run it would make it that much harder for me to do it the next day, I'm not an absolute nut, nor am I really that disciplined. What it's about is doing just one thing for myself. Every run I take is a small victory after the years of ankle drama I have been through, and these days, I rarely make the time to take care of myself.
So, yes, as my stopwatch hit 35:00, and I realized I'd had dryer pool workouts, I was smiling...praising God for another great run.
It's funny, because I spent much of my college career dreading our 6:00 am pre-season and post-season workouts, and I knew if I got up and it was raining it was going to be that much worse. But as I ran today, I thanked God for the coaches I've had that have taught me how to push myself through anything. I mean, come on! Back then I had a reason to survive those workouts. I was playing a game that I loved and wanted to excel at more than anything. Now, if I can force myself to run through a rain like that only for the minor victory of getting it done (and knowing I have the kids to take care of the rest of the day), then maybe I am super disciplined. It seems I've underestimated myself, friends. But I digress...
As soon as I got home, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and it was beautiful the rest of the day. It occurred to me that in life we are often thrown a little rain, or in some cases a monsoon, and God wants to bless us through it. He wants us to have faith, stick it out, and receive our reward!
For me, what was once a dreaded torment, is now a simple mother's reward. Trust me, it surprised me too.