Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Night Run in the Rain - 11:30 min Pace

Since the races are so close, I thought I would try out my 'rain resistant' hat and jacket, as well as my new long sleeve running shirt and see if they would keep me warm and dry. I ran 1.5 miles non-stop tonight in a steady light rain to find out and learned a lot in the process.
  • My new hat is AMAZING!! Best purchase I made yet. My eyeglasses and my head never got wet and the built in sweat band was very absorbent.
  • My jacket worked pretty darned good in the rain, too. I never felt wet, it was lightweight, and I didn't get overheated even after 17 minutes of running with it zipped up over a long sleeve running shirt. Likewise, I never felt cold in the 49 degrees/rain.
  • My neighborhood has long stretches of road without any street lights. It got very dark twice. I couldn't even see the details of the road. Won't be doing that here again without some form of lighting with me.
  • My neighborhood streets have a lot of wet, slippery leaves on the sides of the road.
  • Not sure if cars could see the small reflective stripes and icons on my hat & jacket. Ordering adhesive reflective tape.
  • There is a lot of chimney smoke on cold fall nights in my neighborhood.
  • When your nose is running, it helps if you have something absorbent with you. Need to carry a handkerchief!!
  • My legs and knees felt better than I thought they would.
  • Going down hill is definitely easier than up hill. ;)
  • My pace in the dark, wet and hills was 11:30 minute miles. Hoping that improves.

I stopped only because I started feeling it in my shins (a first!) and right knee. I was so tense running in the wet dark that even my neck and shoulders hurt when I was done. I didn't want to overdo it. I got the answers I was looking for: My gear will be fine if it is raining or cold.

Below is the GPS graph showing the inclines/hills I ran tonight over the 1.5 miles.




My running cap is from Outdoor Research, and is called The Revel Cap.
My running jacket is from Brooks, and is a men's Brooks Essentials.
My winter running shirt: Brooks Epiphany for women.
My shoes are Brooks Addiction 8's .

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