I have been looking forward to running my first 10k for around 6 weeks. My guide runner and I have been training hard, determined to put in a good time. So when I awoke this morning and it hurt to stand there was no way I was missing this run.

The pain was mainly on my heels, this makes running slightly easier as my footfall is front/mid so I never strike my heal. So I was quietly confident this wouldnt be an issue. The journey to the drop off point was full of chatter about how the rain may effect us, did I mention it was raining? Boy was it raining.

Exiting the car we began being pelted with rain, no matter it wont get much worse I’m sure of it! We began the run with a steady pace repeating aloud the mantra, “keep it slow, keep it slow”. The first mile was a breeze, then the rain really hit us.

Huge drops of rain that could surely fill a shot glass, instantly our clothes became a chafing second skin. There was nothing else to do but laugh. Why did we think summer clothes would be appropriate for this run?

We crashed into the puddles as they grew in size, trying to dodge the splash or at least get a sneaky hit on each other. By now our shoes were soaked through, but hey at least we were halfway.

Passing the 3 mile marker we both found a second wind, our stride length increased as did our pace. Scott bounded into a swimming pool of a puddle, shooting dirty cold water right up my shorts, great a wet crotch! With our 1.5 mile marker rapidly approaching we decided to head home the back way, a long gradual incline followed by a slight decline.

As we dropped into single file we hit water slightly deeper than anticipated. With the puddles being deeper than our shoes it made running difficult. So we quickly hopped onto the road and ran the white line. My iPhone signalled the final 400m so we up the pace and finish on a high.

A record of 50:37 for our first 10k, injured and in the rain. Proud of that time!