Rain, Rain....Maybe You Should Stay?!?

I'm filing this under "be careful what you wish for." As I was running (and sweating) through a beautiful 70 degree afternoon on Wednesday, I had that following thought at about mile 3: "It's been a while since I've had to run in really nasty weather. It'd be interesting to run in something like that tomorrow, after running in such great weather today...just to get a good comparison. "

Thursday greeted me with 20-30 mph winds. And about Noon the rain started. And it didn't stop. By the time I got on the road after shoveling 3 yards of dirt into my garden (also in the rain and wind), things were by definition, nasty. I don't know what it is about the rain, but I like it--except for being pelted in the face with raindrops that feel like BBs. Once I get going, and I'm already soaking wet, there's not much to not like about it. I feel like I accomplished something as I walk back into the house dripping wet. Maybe it takes my mind off of things and allows me just to run (external disassociation anyone?). Whatever it does for me, I ran a 7:31 pace for four miles, improving upon my 5.5 mile, 7:36 pace the day before.

In other news, I've had more issues with my Ipod Shuffle this week than I'd care to mention. As noted, the dumb thing died as I was walking out the door for a 13-miler last Saturday. It was partly my fault, the On/Off button was sort of in the middle, but isn't there a default shutoff if it's inactive for a certain amount of time? Fortunately, this is an easy problem to fix.

A more annoying problem is an issue with my earbuds. The right ear bud just stopped working. Earphones rank right near the top as one of the most annoying things for me to have to purchase. It's not really anything I need, but it's much nicer to have a pair that works. Sure, I can buy a cheap Walmart pair, but I know exactly what I'm getting and I fully expect to be back in the store within a month. On the other end of the spectrum, I can buy a pair that has the word Bose on them and pay upwards of $90. And then there's this...for $319. Is it worth the risk though? Do they come with lifetime warranties? Can they survive a trip through the washing machine? Can they be chewed on by an 18-month old? I don't see this sort of information in any of the reviews.

So this is my dilemma for this week. I do have a pair of the generic Ipod earphones. They feel really good in my ears. Picking up two rocks on the side of the road and using them as earplugs would feel just as great. I'll search around and let you know what I find.

Maybe it's best to go without music for a few days. Wouldn't want to be deaf to friendly dogs.

On a completely separate note, check out the Top 100 Running Sites link to the right. There's a variety of different sites and some of them are really good, depending on what you're looking for. This site was #15 on the list as of this morning. Thanks for your support.