Running in the Rain in a Georgia Drought

Christmas morning -

I've been hearing about the drought in Georgia from my family (and the news media) for a while now. This is one of the driest years Georgia has ever had. Lake Lanier (a reservoir that metro Atlanta uses for it's water) hit a record low water depth in November (but then got a teeeny bit of rain shortly after). As the lake dries out, all kinds of crazy debris is popping up that used to be covered by water. Things like antique beer cans, lawn chairs, anchors, ladders, sunken boats, and even cars!

So, I should be able to safely assume that I will not be running in the rain, right? Nope! I got here yesterday, and I think I brought the rain with me. Yes, Governor Sunny Perdue, I have answered your prayers!

It was borderline cold when I went out for my Christmas run at 9:00. I didn't bring my super-warm clothes, but I knew I would warm up enough while running -if it wasn't raining. There was NOBODY out, because it was early Christmas morning. I got about a little over a mile away from the house, and it started raining. Of course, I did not bring my rain jacket or a hat.

At first it was a little drizzle, OK, I can deal with that. Then it got harder, and harder. It was about 38 degrees and raining. That is about the worst. I'd much rather snow than that. Cold rain is really no fun. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that the clouds were thinner in the direction I was headed. When I hit the 2 mile mark I turned around in the pouring rain and headed back to the house. For any of you that read that article in the NY Times "I'm not running, I'm not running," all about disassociating from yourself when you are running -- this article was all I was thinking about. How can I take my head away to another place...

Finally about mile 3 it started to slow down and eventually stop raining. I was so happy! Running got a lot easier. When I got back into the neighborhood (less than a quarter mile away from the house) it started to pour again. Hard. The last stretch of road is a killer hill. Normally I would have taken it slow as a cool down. Not today! I ran up that thing as fast as I could and got back in the house.

I'm smiling because I am so happy to be out of the rain!


After my shower, I had breakfast with my parents, brother, and sister-in-law. I had grits (yum! I'm a southern girl and I still love them) and a muffin. Then we opened Christmas presents and Santa treated me well. He even got me a running jacket. I think that will come in handy!