Apparently I Have An Addiction…

I woke up to rain and a flash flood warning yesterday morning, but with no storms on the immediate horizon I met my MRTT friends for an eight-mile run.

Personally I think running in the summer rain is delightful, so there really weren’t any complaints coming from me. Now that I have my GoPro and its waterproof case, I can no longer complain that I can’t take pictures on rainy days.  And seriously, half the fun of running is taking pictures along the way!

I’ve been trying to use my GoPro more lately and not let it intimidate me.  Syncing the remote to the camera is no easy feat for me, and every time I feel like I’m figuring it out for the first time. 

We use Rain-X on the outside of our GoPro case so the rain droplets run right off.  I didn’t remember to reapply it after I cleaned the mud off the case after Ragnar WV, so my pictures have a rather interesting look to them.  I like to think they have an artistic flair!

By the time we finished eight miles, the rain had stopped temporarily.  Before we headed to our cars, we set the GoPro beside the trail on its little tripod and took some individual running pictures.  I didn’t change its settings for the cloudy day and lower light, so my pictures didn’t come out all that great.  It’s a work in progress, and eventually I’ll get there.  I also made the mistake of pointing the camera toward the power lines and pole.

When we stopped to take our individual pictures, this little beagle stopped by to say hello.  It was adorable dragging its leash behind it as it’s human stood on the horse trail and watched him come visit us.  My dad had a beagle named Mighty Dog when I was in college.  He was such a sweet dog.

The flash flood warning was no joke and by early afternoon the rain had turned into torrential downpours. After it stopped raining, I walked down to the creek in our backyard and filmed this little video. Usually those four trees you see in the first few seconds are on dry land and well within our yard.  The running path on the far side of the creek was completely underwater, and remained flooded throughout the rest of the day.

The rainy day made me remember baking cookies with my sons when they were little, and I couldn’t help myself and made cookies, albeit from a mix, during the afternoon.  They are delicious!  After getting my cookie baking fix, I wrapped most of them up for Bill to take into work.

And then this happened…  My friends Amanda and Kim were already on our MRTT’s Ragnar Relay DC team for this fall (Amanda is the captain).  Amanda texted to let me know that a slot had opened up on the team and that I was next in line on the wait list. 

I jumped at the chance because I think I’m addicted to Ragnar!  Apparently I’ve forgotten the trauma from the mud at last weekend’s race, and I’m ready to do it again.  I requested Runner 12, so I’ll have a 7.4-mile hard leg, an 11.1-mile very hard leg, and a 10.1-mile moderate leg.  My final leg will be past the monuments in DC, and I’m hoping it will be a gorgeous fall day so I can take in the beauty of our nation’s capital.  I can’t wait until my teammates see me coming and we finish together – happy, exhausted, and proud!

And speaking of Ragnar, please come back tomorrow for my final installment of my Ragnar Appalachians WV recap.  If you like mud, you’ll love the pictures!

• Questions:
• Do you enjoy running in the rain?
• Do you have a dog?  If so, what kind?
  
• Did you race this weekend?