I got stronger today.

It's not like all of a sudden I can lift 1800 pounds or anything but I did something I didn't think I could do - I ran in the cold, wet rain. Not cold like 50 degrees - but cold like 35 degrees. HELL YEAH!



This is what it looked like on the regional radar. It wasn't just raining - it was pouring - you know - like cats and dogs kind of rain. I should have taken a picture but I think it would have ruined the camera. Yeah, it was raining that hard. And, it was like 35 degrees.

And, I ran in it.

For some of you, this is no big deal. Y'all are freaks. But for me, I grew up in Florida. I was born in Miami and lived a little bit north of Tampa for about 10 years. Just to give you an idea about my experience with the cold - we FREAKED out the first time we had frost - that was in Spring Hill, the little town just a little bit north of Tampa, not Miami, in case you were concerned that Miami got frost. We missed school occasionally - maybe twice, I think, but it was for a HURRICANE - not for ice or snow or sleet. I had visited my relatives and they had snow and stuff like that. It was all very exciting but it was NEVER where I lived (until I was an adult).

If you haven't guessed it, I don't like cold weather. I get grumpy when I'm cold. My extremities are NOT happy and the only thing I can think of doing is getting into a hot shower (which usually has to be lukewarm because that feels hot when you're cold). So, for me to CHOOSE to run in this insanity is nothing short of...well....insanity. I guess that's about what it was - I had some serious bad energy that I needed to use and I did.

You all probably would have laughed at me if you had seen me. I don't have clothes for running in the cold because, well, ...I don't run in the cold. [I can handle 50 degrees but much colder and I'm opting for the bike on the trainer with my book. I can stay pretty warm on the trainer.] I had some tights and some fleece pants, a pair of liner socks and a pair of wool socks that I got for riding on my bike, a louis garneau base layer, a technical shirt that I got at a race last year in San Francisco, a cotton t-shirt, a bright yellow (think safety) rain jacket that has a hood and I wore a baseball cap. I looked GOOD! Not. By the time I was done, my fleece pants were so heavy with water they kept falling off of my _ss. Thankfully, nobody else was at the track.

I started with 10@100m drills. Wow. Who knew I was in such bad shape? I did the butt kicks okay (down and back 2@100) then I did not-so-high knees (down and back 2@100) then I did strides (not so bad really which probably means I wasn't doing them right 2@100) then I did skips (not so bad either mainly because I LOVE to skip and I do it occasionally anyway 2@100) then I finished with karaoke (I'm not good at it in the bar and I'm not good at it on the track 2@100). I couldn't even get all the way to the end of the 100 today without stopping a couple of times. Golly gee willikers Mabel. Do I really suck this bad? "Well," I said to myself "you sucked this bad when you first started doing torture sets and you've gotten a LOT better - so suck it up buttercup." I think I said other things too but I shouldn't write them here.

Oh, and then - I ran (and I use that term loosely) for 3 miles. I ended up having to let myself run one lap and then run/walk the next lap so I could get through it. And, I did.

Did I mention it was raining? And, cold? That's the real strength training for me today - to have done something that I would have never imagined I could do. And, I did it. Today has opened up lots of new possibilities for me. Like, if I really need to run in the rain when it's 50 degrees I can. I definitely won't wear as many clothes.

Now, another thing to celebrate - my totals for the week (although I bailed on doing anything Friday - I did work out the 6 other days):

strength training - 53 minutes (should have been more but the weather got me all messed up this week)

swimming - 14 minutes (I know - not much. It was the Friday workout that I skipped. Bad Donna. Bad Donna)

running - 1:29 (did I mention it was cold?)

biking (all on the trainer - 'cause it's cold) - 2 hours

I'm finally warm (I'm sitting in front of a little space heater).

Thanks for all the inspiration. Maybe I can do this half-ironman.