Singing in the rain, I'm singing in the rain

Remember when you were young and you loved to run and play in the rain?
Well, the adult version of that childhood memory happened this weekend at the Around the Bay road race in Hamilton.
In the days leading up the to the race, I monitored the weather forecast diligently, hoping that maybe for once technology wasn’t spot on with predictions.
When I woke up Sunday morning and saw the rain and heard the wind howling, I wasn’t thrilled.
OK, I admit, I was cursing.
In all my years of running, I’ve never had to endure constant rain. Well once, many moons ago at the first-ever Toronto Zoo race.
That wasn’t really a good gauge though, because it was only 10K.
Around the Bay is 30K and I have to say I was a little concerned about chafing with the wet weather promising to be brutal. Trying to figure out what to wear was a challenge, but I knew to stay away form overdressing.
I still have nightmares of that first 10K partially because it was before I discovered dry fit.
Anyway, I have to say I look forward to this race every year. There’s a sense of accomplishment finishing this race that I haven’t really felt in other races other than marathons.
Designed to kill you at the end, the first 19K is flat and then the rolling hills start and as you hit the 26K mark there is one unsightly hill you have to climb up.
This was the third year I ran the race and this year I will admit was the first time I walked up parts of that hill.
My planning for the race was a little less than stellar this year.
OK, it was downright unorganized.
I wanted my running mate, Paul, to pace me to just beat the three-hour mark.
He has paced us on our long runs and has done a great job, keeping us in check when we need it and pushing us when he wants to challenge us.
Well, I didn’t think to get his phone number so that we could meet up before the race.
This will be important later.
As we drove there, the rain pelted down on the car and, inside, I was miserable at the prospect of running for that long in the rain. I was picturing the welts and cuts I would endure in the shower later if my clothes rubbed me the wrong way.
On the outside, I was a picture of positivity as I was riding there with two first time Around the Bay racers. I wanted them to be as positive as ever as they took to the start line.
So, we hid in Copps Coliseum still watching the rain pelt down.
We hid as long as we could and then got down to the start line with two minutes to the start gun.
When I realized the time, I freaked out ran up the line hoping to catch a glimpse of the red and black jacket that Paul wears, but with thousands of runners, this was an impossible feat.
So I found a part of the crowd where I saw some familiar if not very fast faces and made a snap decision.
With no watch, and no Paul I decided to take the words of advice my friend Les had for me at the start line.
“Just relax and run. You’ll probably have your best race.”
Little did I know that Les was clairvoyant too.
I ran and ran and ran. I stepped in puddles, my arms were freezing, my cotton gloves were wet and I was chilled to the point of shivering at times.
But I love that race.
Love it.
It is a well organized and a historic race, older than the prestigious Boston Marathon.
I figured this year there would be less crowd support, but there was still a really strong showing, even a lady with a Kleenex box for our runny noses.
In the end, I finished with a personal best by 12 minutes and was thrilled when I saw the clock. With a quick fist pump I crossed the finished and hugged my running mate Tony, who also ran a PB.
If you’re on the fence about running Around the Bay, don’t be.
I don’t have a bad thing to say about it.
They just need a  weather machine next year.