“It Ain’t No Thang.”

Today was one of those runs that looked ordinary on paper but turned out to be anything but. Garmin had me down for a 55-minute base, and I figured it would just be a cruise. Cloud cover hung around most of the day, but lately those clouds have been more bark than bite. Sometimes we get a quick 10-minute rain, sometimes nothing at all. I thought maybe I’d skate through dry.

Five minutes in. Boom! Rain. Not a drizzle either, but a steady 30-minute soak right through the middle of the run. By the seven-minute mark, my feet were fully soaked. I knew right then this was going to be a confidence builder: six miles in wet shoes, zero excuses.

The funny thing is, my body reacted first. “Oh, this is new.” But my mind? My mind didn’t flinch. It just said: it’s raining, keep going. And it actually felt good. The rain was refreshing, almost calming. My sunglasses were useless once they started spotting up, so I ditched them for most of it. Zoned into the music, let the rain wash over my back, and just roll.

Pace came in at 9:14 per mile, HR steady in Zones 1-2, exactly where I wanted it. Aerobic system building, body relaxed, brain locked in. Training effect was 3.4 aerobic, but the real benefit was mental: proving to myself that conditions don’t matter. Wet feet, cloudy skies, rain pouring down. It ain’t no thang.

Runs like this are why I’m confident heading into Boulderthon. But more than that, it’s days like this that make me confident in life. Most people would’ve said no to running with rain in the forecast. Even more would’ve quit when the skies opened up. But I kept going. And the reason why has very little to do with Boulderthon and everything to do with building the kind of mental toughness life requires.