Winter running...Rain, wind and Hi-viz

It's November, so you thing it wouldn't be such a shock to my system that it has been raining
A LOT! I don't mind running in the rain but when its wet the evenings are darker and mentally a little more motivation is needed to move me to put on my running shoes. But with Clonakilty just a few weeks away I needed to put a few more miles in to be ready for the start line.
With the change of seasons, the park changes, some routes can be flooded due to the lake being high, so you have to add a bit or take off a bit of a route to achieve your required mileage. One Saturday morning on meeting the girls for a run we had planned a nice easy run, it was a dry morning but the rain wasn't too far off. Anna fell in beside me as Michelle and Tina ran ahead. By the second mile I was in need of a bathroom, thankfully we were headed towards Ross Castle, public restrooms.

Took a quick picture, the clouds were rolling in. Anna quickened the pace and headed back towards the car. As I ran on I hoped the rain wouldn't arrive too soon. Suddenly the sun peeped through the trees...

Blue sky memory

As I reached the car park, I turned off the Garmin a solid six miles done. I was thankful for the glimpse of blue sky, since that day most of my runs have been in the dark or rain.
To get in my run safely, I headed to the track wrapped up as it was cold and wet. I did a few laps at a fairly consistent pace. My legs felt strong. I timed it well as Storm Abigail began to kick in just as I arrived home. Hi-viz really is the runners friend at this time of the year..

All a glow..

I have tried to make stretching and foam rolling part of the weekly routine. I have been struggling with my overhead mobility at Crossfit so I have been doing some extra foam rolling, it really is a torture device. It really feels easier some days to do a run or a tough WOD than to head onto the floor to foam roll.

Last weekend , was a real wet one were the run was about dodging puddles. But at the same it was warm, half way through I had to take off my jacket so my the time I reached the car I was drenched. Like all runners my car is full off jumpers, jackets and other clothing so after a quick change I headed for a much needed coffee. 
The rain fell for most of the weekend and most of Monday,so by the evening we were down a few numbers for our run. We decided to revisit an old running haunt out by the Gleneagle hotel, Bernie, Mags and myself ran at our own pace. We each had a mileage number we wanted to complete, so we ran.. Amazingly running towards my dreaded stuff of nightmare stop sign wasn't too bad..

I had a good sweat when I was done and felt I had put in a good run.

Hi-viz styling..

I felt happier than I looked I promise!!!

The rain is still falling as I write and the wind is howling. Motivation may be needed by the bucket load if this is the weather for the Winter ahead. I saw a quote the other day which stuck,

'On your good days, run hard. On your bad days, run as long you need.'

So maybe this might be the motto for the Winter ahead!