Lucy & Ethel Go Running

Okay, spring break knocked me out of my rhythm...

my blogging rhythm...was going strong with 3-5 blogs a week...and "real" blogs at that, not posting contests and what not...but then off we went on a trip north and then I got all off track and it's taking me about a week to get back into this thing...

and my training rhythm...

I didn't run/bike/swim/exercise ONCE during spring break...unless you count the jog that Beau and I did around a rest area lawn that the kids were chasing birds on...on the last day...but it wasn't for very far, and it was at a VERY high elevation so it killed our lungs (and that's our story and we're sticking to it!)...

so, I'm back...getting my rhythm back...

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the beat goes on

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So my running/training buddy Rayna and I decided to walk/run our favorite loop/hill here in Redding on Tuesday.  The sky was overcast but the forecasters/people that make up things for a living had promised sun...

Trusting in our local forecasters we drive to the bridge (our starting point).  We have now noticed that it is slightly sprinkling so we decided to drive back to Rayna's a pick up a blanket for her son who gets to ride in his fancy new stroller.  We are now confident in both the forecasters prediction of sun and Murphy's Law that states since we've gotten the blanket there will be no rain!

We blissfully stretch our muscles and walk over the rain soaked bridge, still okay with the slight drizzle...yes we've upgraded from sprinkle to drizzle at this point, a good spot for us to question both the forecasters and Murphy...but no, we continue on.

We then cross the second, smaller bridge that leads us to "our loop" and we decided to take the shorter side that leads straight to the hill just in case the rain gets heavier...also a good spot for us to stop & question this outing...but no, we continue on in the rain...yes it's now raining...but really, what's a little rain, right?

I think I've forgotten to mention that Rayna had her hair dyed the day before...and Rayna ...who also likes fun color's in her hair like me...has lots of dark, vibrant purple..PURPLE...highlights in her hair, and her hairdresser (hey Brenda) told her NOT to wash her hair until Wednesday (it's only Tuesday)...but really, it's only rain, and she's not shampooing it, right???

Rayna and I continue on our walk/run in the slight rainy drizzle that the forecasters didn't forecast...but no big deal.  We get to "The Hill" and continue up, not thinking too much of the rain, at this point we really don't notice it too much...then we hit the half way point of "The Hill" and we start laughing at how "hard core" we are that we are doing this in the rain, but still...we don't rethink and turn back...we power through and make it to the top of the hill.  We have also noticed a huge lack of other people on the trail today, but it is mid-morning on Tuesday, who hits the trail at 10 am...it has NOTHING to do with the possibility of rain!.!.!.

As we take a breathier and stretch before our run down the hill...this is when it hits...when the heavens open up and laugh at us...when there is NO TURNING back, we are committed and we have no other option than to finish because there is no out!  About half way down the hill is when Rayna mentions her hair...and how she wasn't supposed to wash it until the next day...and how it feels like it's running down her face...so I take a look, she was a little purple running down the sides of her neck, no big deal, just wipe it up right...but the more she wipes it the harder it runs, and the harder it rains, Purple Rain...

And I begin to notice that the rain has soaked my pants so much that they are about 5 inches longer and I'm now running on my pants under my feet, oh, and they are too heavy to stay up so they keep falling off my bum.  We are, quite a pair, with Ms. Purple Rain and my pants falling off and under my feet.  We stop at the bottom of the hill for Rayna to take off her jacket and shirt so she can wrap her shirt around her head so the purple dye stops running into her eyes, and then we continue on our run.  We felt like an episode of I Love Lucy...Lucy decides to "train" for a triathlon and drags her friend Ethel into the fun and before you know it the two are "training" in the rain with Ethel's hair dye running down her face, neck, back and Lucy having to run holding her pants up because she will trip if she doesn't...by the way, we now notice that we are the ONLY people out in this weather...

We get back across the two bridges and to the parking lot and this in when Murphy and his law comes to play...the rain stops...just stops...

here is a picture of us post run...I allowed Rayna to clean up the Purple Rain that had covered her face, neck, and chest, before I took this picture, but you can see how drenched our clothes are...and if you look closely you can see that the puddles behind us are still, because the rain has now stopped...

And Murphy laughed at us all day, by the time we got home and out of our nice hot showers Mr. Sun had come out and stayed out ALL day!!!