Running in the rain - my first time and tips for the future.

I set out on my morning run at 6am this morning. I've started a habit of going this early to avoid the overpowering heat and humidity that sets in after 7am. Anyone in Miami understands what I'm talking about. Midway through my 5 mile goal, it began to sprinkle. I cursed. I kept going. A few more minutes and there was a full downpour on me. I cursed hoping it would stop but I kept going. Then a few minutes after that, instead of cursing, I thought of how many times I saw runners in such downpours and thought they were absolutely crazy. It made me smile and chuckle as I kept seeing cars go by me and people giving me that look. I know what they were thinking - "Look at this crazy woman running in the rain!". I smiled at all of them.  

Then it happened, for the very first time, I felt like a runner. I welcomed the rain because it cooled me off. I welcomed it because I remembered loving to play in the rain and running around with my friends under similar downpours. I felt like a little girl that has been caught in a severe rain storm far away from her house selling raffle tickets for her school (this happened with my best friend when we were in 7th grade). I finished my run, soaked, dripping like I had just jumped out of a pool. It wasn't so bad after all. Uncomfortable, yeah. Clothes were sticking to me and I was worried about my GPS watch but it wasn't bad at all. It was, dare I say it, kind of FUN...  

I found several tips online for next time that I will share with you.

• Wear a hat!  I didn't happen to have one and it would have been very useful to keep the rain out of my eyes.
• When you get home, take the insoles out of your shoes and stuff them with newspaper.  This helps maintain the shape of your running shoe and helps it to dry out faster.  
• If you are somewhere colder, you should layer up.  We're lucky in South Florida and can skip this step.
• BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU ARE GOING!!  I am super clumsy and instinctively kept looking where I was going because I didn't want to hit a puddle and find it was a pothole.  
• My personal tip to you - think of being a young kid again.  It makes you run faster and freely!  Oh, one more, try to have two pairs of good running shoes so a rainy day doesn't keep you from going out the next day!