This morning in San Diego it was raining outside.

A few months ago, I would have looked out the window and thought to myself, “Pffffftttt”, or “I don’t think so”. Immediately after I would have laid back down and never given it a second thought. My former self, was to put it bluntly, lazy and unmotivated.

So now, back to to this morning. I set my alarm for 5:45 am. Got moving, made breakfast, dressed in my rain gear (windbreaker, slicker plants, hat, running gloves)…

Bailey was begging for a run. The rain was really coming down. So I took Bailey out for a short run…I only intended to run a short run today and this run was it. We took off for our usual neighborhood route, then out towards Friars road and by Qualcomm Stadium. We ran about 3 miles. It was a nice way to wake up, the hedges/bushes on the route we take are not trimmed back so I kept getting hit in the face by bushes and water. Not to mention the drenching rain hitting me. Bailey was having a grand ole time. We were running fast though I was in a rush to get to my WW meeting at 830am. We ran about a 10:00 min pace along the way.. (Fast forward to 3pm PST– Bailey is now passed out on the floor as I am posting this not moving. I check him now and then to make sure he is still breathing.)

Later after my WW meeting, I decided that I didn’t want to drive in the rain. I would rather run in the rain. So I decided to run a little more at Liberty Station. I had every intention of running maybe 1-2 miles around the area. Well what was going to be 1-2 miles turned into 10 miles. It was still pouring out by the way. I took off from Liberty Station, and ran over the bridge to the Port of San Diego and then to the San Diego Int’l Airport. I passed Hawthorne St, Grape St, and just kept going. I finally got to Midway. I saw this huge cruise ship that was docked and passengers were either boarding or coming off. It was amazing how large it was. I kept going. Past the museum, and over to the Midway Park. I looked over and saw the Navy carriers, and the Navy Statue.. I decided I should probably turn around now…

The rain started to let up at this point..I was on Mile 7 when the skies started to clear and the clouds hovered over the San Diego skyline. It was beautiful to watch how quickly the clouds changed, within half an hour. It was grey and overcast with the clouds hovering and slowly the clouds cleared and patches of blue started to appear…Soon the sky was so bright. I watched as planes took off into the now perfect blue and white skies and wondered if the pilots were happy about the skies too. The clouds took on the most amazing shapes one could only imagine if you saw.

Overall the run went well, I only stopped for water at mile 6, 7, and 9 at the public water fountains (which I do not recommend). I think I really need to invest in a fuel belt. My splits were great, I didnt stop at all except for water. My first two splits were my best: 9:45/ 9:30… The rest were an average of about 10:30-11:00.

My observations: I saw some really strange things.. And strange things happened.. I had a flock of pigeons fly right at me which really freaked me out. I had a guy on crutches ask me if I would give him a ride. I saw plenty of people covered in tarps, plastic bags, and all sorts of things to protect themselves from the rain as they slept or lived their lives on the sidewalks of San Diego. I found it interesting the way people anchored/docked their boats. Whether it was with the bow facing or the stern to show off their boats. Most people I noticed docked with the bow facing.. There were also some interesting names for these boats: My favorites: “Tabasco Cat”, “Comfortably Numb”, “The Chandelle”.

The best part about the run: I was all alone. Which is the biggest reason I decided to run a long run today. I like the peace of running alone. There was nobody else on the paths. I saw maybe 10-15 people over the course of the time I was running. I had only myself and my thoughts. I was alone. And I was happy. I could listen to my thoughts, I could talk to God, I listened to music.

Running by myself, singing in the rain, it was a wonderful feeling.

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