Saturday's Run Anything But Boring!

Last Saturday I had to bail out on the guys who were running a 30-mile training run on the MR2 route. I really would have enjoyed it, but I had some responsibilities I could not justify ignoring. So, that evening, around 6:30 PM, I left my house into the beautiful setting sun to embark upon my own training run--didn't quite go as planned!

First off, when I left I could feel something wasn't right. I just didn't feel good. I figured it was because I haven't been running like I should, so I just decided to ignore it and tough it out.

I have read that if you run for 10 minutes and still don't feel any better, turn around and go home--you are probably sick and need to rest. I should have obeyed that 10-minute rule, because the next day I found out I was sick--fever, achy body, etc. My kids got sick too, so I can't blame it on the run itself.

But there is another reason I should have turned around and went home. As I said, it was beautiful when I left the house, but I should have watched the news because when I reached Hefner Lake about an hour later, the few people that were at the lake were looking off in the distance at the coming storm. Lightning was flashing like crazy and it seemed to be coming to the lake. I called my wife at home and she said at that time she couldn't find anything on TV about it.

I wrapped my phone in a plastic bag I found so it wouldn't be ruined, and I decided to go for it. By the time I got to the back of the lake, about 8:30, it was dark and the rain started coming down fast and hard. It stung as the huge drops of rain hit against my skin and I just put my head down and picked up the pace to reach shelter. For the next 20 minutes I watched lightning flash all around. I came to a point of the lake where I could stay on the road or go down to a lower level and I chose the latter to avoid being the highest point out there (which I would have been for a quarter-mile or so). Boy am I glad I did!

I don't know much about lightning, but I have heard if the hairs on your body start standing up, you need to get down. I think I felt it, but if not then, I know I felt it for the next few hours.

Every thing happened backwards it seemed. I heard electricity pass through the cable fence that runs along the lake, then I saw sparks flying like fireworks about 20 yards away (still no noise). Then I saw a lightning bolt come down and join the sparks, adding to the fireworks display, and for a grand finale a loud Crack! Boom!Sizzle!

I literally checked myself to make sure I was okay. Then I looked around in vain for shelter, and instead of running like I was, I started tip towing around, afraid to generate too much energy, waiting for the next one to strike.

It continued to flash all around me, hitting trees and such, but thankfully the storm moved on and I was able to jog/walk my drenched, shaken-up body back home to enjoy a nice hot bath. Shew! What a run!