Rain is a good thing...

Oh Luke Bryan... You make my heart sigh.

It is hard, as a runner who grew up in the Pacific Northwest, to not enjoy running in the rain.

There is a quiet slumber even throughout a whole day of rain. We curl up with blankets and hot chocolate and read to our hearts content. Wait, that's just me...

And that is post run.

During the run, there is so much to be felt, seen, heard. You could be on the busiest trail, or the most secluded road in town, and it is always just the same.

The earth literally breathes beneath your feet. The sounds of any other human life, from cars, to busses, to literally other people disappears as footfalls quicken and the fwip of spray coming off your worn rubber shoes

Today was just, perfect.

I had a teacher in high school, and English teacher, who taught us perfection is boring. But I think it depends on how you define perfection.

Is perfect everything falling into place? Or is perfect seeing the imperfection and embracing it?

Some would find a rainy day imperfect, it messes up plans, ruins picnics, trips to the beach. 

For me, it is the best time to run. 

Today, I ran, I floated, I felt. I finally felt something beyond pain. It was a beautiful, perfect kind of pain. I wore an oversized cotton T-shirt as the rain poured down from the sky, drenching the earth and overflowing into the streets. The earth quieted and all I felt was the breath it breathed as I felt the ground quickly racing beneath my feet. The fwip fwip was almost nonexistent as breath matched breath. No cars were heard, although seen as people sped through the raindrops to jobs awaiting. Rivers flowed through trees and bushes, and concrete barriers as it was overcome from the summer long drought we have had. We needed the rain. I needed the rain. To cleanse is the simplest of things a rainy day can do. My heart has been hidden, my feelings too deep, afraid to be shown. I had forgotten what they were. And finally it all came back. I wiped away more than sweat, more than rain from my ruddy cheeks, nearing the final stretch; a giant puddle the only thing in my way from the ascent to my home. The rain washed away dirt, pain, sweat, blood. So much. 

Rain cleanses deep, revealing the most beautiful of perfect imperfections.