Running in the rain: Be Wetter

Sophomore distance runner Chris Rivas is the highest of the high mileage animals on our team. His days off from running come less frequently than federal holidays. He runs the longest long runs. He doubles more than anyone on the team. Rivas is from suburban Connecticut and goes to college here in Poughkeepsie. Keep that in mind. With all that running, presumably outside in the Northeast, it stands to reason there would be some rain in his running world. And yet … and yet … and yet … Chris Rivas refuses to run in the rain. Upwards of 80, 90 miles a week, in all conditions – heat, wind, cold, snow … he ran through a bout of bronchitis earlier this season – no day off, no abating on the doubles, virtually nothing stops him. Except rain. He won’t do it! This, of course, makes no sense. Ours is primarily an outdoor sport. Rivas does a lot of running. Just not in the rain.

Back during spring break, Rivas was visiting his brother in northern New England. The day’s training plan called for a segment run workout. The beauty of the segment run is it is very transferrable – a time-based workout that can be done anywhere. But, it’s long and hard. This was March. In northern New England. Yep, a cold, rainy day. Rivas reported in the post-run text that he did the entire workout – almost 12 miles -- on an indoor 200-meter track. No rain, no pain. Fast-forward to Sunday, the day after the MAAC meet; it was time for a long run, as is our custom. But it was raining. While his teammates slogged through the rather warm and rainy fall morning, onto the treadmill Rivas went, for 14 miles of belt-driven torture. I walked past him in the fitness center, caught his glance, and he gave me a vintage, New York Yankee-style thumbs down. Like most of us, he hates the treadmill; but he hates running in the rain even more.

This is why this morning’s text was so startlingly refreshing. The big rainstorm we got yesterday spilled over into this morning. Rivas got out early for his first run of the day, before morning classes. It was raining. In an amazing, breakthrough performance, Chris Rivas ran in the rain. Here’s the post-run photo to prove it. This is a skill set he does need to work on. Last time we checked, cross country and outdoor track races are run, well, OUTSIDE. Where sometimes, it actually RAINS. Treadmills don’t work on race day. Indoor tracks are fine – during the indoor track season. For today, Rivas’ Be Better shirt should more accurately read Be Wetter.