Careful what you wish for...

So 18 miles in the pissing rain inclement weather today. In my opinion, if you don't have the determination to complete a scheduled 18 mile run in heavy rain, you probably don't have what it takes to run a marathon (or 4!). Then again, you've also proven you're not crazy.

I'm pleased to report that I completed my run this morning. Although it wasn't all plain sailing...

Mile 1 - bloody taxi driver covered me in water as it went past (it wasn't the only car to do it - bloody motorists).

Mile 5 - I genuinely feared for the life of my iPhone. So I stopped, got my emergency flapjack out of its sandwich bag and sealed my phone in it. This now meant that I could not take any photos en route, but also crucially I could no longer see my GPS :( I need a Garmin!!

Approx mile 10 - flooded Leith Walkway meant I had to run up a muddy embankment or potentially drown.

Approx mile 13 - brain tells me I have an awful blister on my right foot. Excess water leads to all sorts of rubbing. On checking now, I don't have one. Weird what your brain will tell you on a long run.

Approx mile 17 - diverted route slightly to take in a big hill. The Loch Ness marathon has a hill at mile 18, so I was trying to simulate that experience.

Approx mile 18 - got phone out of sandwich bag to realise my internal mileage counter is slightly out at 17.46. So I ran around a section of the park until it ticked over to 18.

So this is what your running kit will look like after running 18 miles in the pissing rain inclement weather. Wesley certainly wasn't impressed!

Despite all of this, it's hard to imagine feeling more alive than I do now. Did I enjoy it? Of course I did - who doesn't enjoy jumping in and running through puddles?

I'm warming up now, then I'm off to see Hugh Jackman half naked in Wolverine later. Brilliant.

Today's run: 18 miles
July running mileage: 97 miles
2013 running mileage: 645 miles