Saturday was one of those days..  so many good intentions when I woke, but everything slowly got pushed back and back. I did have a good excuse, it was my first day “off” since I arrived back, and many normal boring things needed to be done, so day to day life took over, and before I knew it, the day was turning into evening.

 
My plan had called for a long run or bike on Saturday, however as it was already getting dark it meant today would have to be the run, which I thought I would do in a few hours time when the roads are quieter. The weather had been muggy all day and true to the forecast suddenly turned into a full on summer storm. The air conditioner hid the degree of heat until I opened the sliding doors to check out the rain, and the wave of humidity hit me like a wall.  So there I was, it’s early evening, I haven’t eaten since lunch and I am getting hungry, it’s tipping it down with rain, its horribly hot and humid.. and for some unknown reason I am gripped with the desire to go out and and get the run done RIGHT THIS MINUTE!

 
And that is exactly what I did! The streets were totally dark and deserted, I was soaked to the skin in minutes, rain dripping into my eyes, off my nose, off my ears and off my chin as I splashed though puddles… feeling oh so freaking good, I was at one with nature, I was a lion, nothing could stop me!

 
Well apart from blisters that is.. at around 5k I realized I chosen the wrong socks and they were heavy and swollen inside my shoes. A couple of km later and I decided to pull in for a pit stop before it was too late. I quickly changed my socks, shoes, hat and sweat band, bathroom break and gulped down two large glasses of mugicha, and back out within 5 minutes feeling ready to continue my duel with the forces of nature.

 
The rain seemed harder and was feeling warmer too, my legs got very heavy and my pace slowed below 6m (although I have the feeling the thick cloud cover and humidity was playing havoc with my Garmin GPS). But somehow I was still enjoying the challenge of the run, I felt hard core and hard arsed, again I was a real athlete, taking on the elements, ignoring my tiredness and kicking butt!

 
I ended up managing 22.5k, which was what I had planned, was much slower than expected, and I was totally shattered, but I really felt good inside. I got the run done and I was proud! All that was left was to get to bed and sleep, so I could be up early to do the long bike…..