Running in the rain, swimming in the rain

Rainy start of the race

Once again, I registered for a half marathon in an exotic location based on the photographs they advertise on their website. In much the same way as I thought it might be fun to run the Angkor Wat half marathon in Cambodia last year (in extremely hot and humid weather) I wanted to try the Reykjavik half marathon because I thought it would be nice and cool. The photographs on the website show runners in shorts and short sleeves running under a blue sky. The reality is rain, wind and cold.

But, what could I do once I was already there and ready to run. I dressed in warm running clothes which I brought with me just in case, gritted my teeth when stepping out of my pleasantly heated hotel into the awful weather and joined the hundreds of other runners who were there in the same conditions.

Running along the coast

The race route wound around the city in two large loops, allowing me to see the outskirts of Reykjavik that reach all the way to the ocean on two sides. I'm sure I wouldn't have gone to these areas otherwise so I'm glad that the race allowed me to go there.

View from the race route

Many local people were cheering us on along the route. There were music bands and makeshift cheering squads where people used pots and pans and wooden spoons to make noise. There were plenty of water stations where I forced myself to drink even if I wasn't thirsty. The water was so cold! No, it wasn't refrigerated, it was just standing outside where the temperature was about 9 degrees Celsius.

No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get my pace to under 7 minutes per kilometer. I used up too much energy just to keep going in the cold. I made it to the finish line without incident, happy that it was over and deciding that this was another of those experiences that feels good to have done but I wouldn't want to do again.

So happy this one was over!

After the race, Marko and I took advantage of the free entry vouchers for a swimming pool that were given to us in our race packs. We had heard that Iceland has numerous hot water swimming pools built around geothermal water sources. A soak in hot water in the Laugardalslaug swimming pool seemed just right after running in the miserable weather all morning.

And yet there was another unexpected element when I entered the swimming pool area: the pools are outdoors! Well, yes, it's fine to soak in the hot water, even outside in 9 degree weather when it's raining. But how does one get into the hot water? Through the changing rooms where it is first mandatory to shower before entering the pool and then by walking outside totally wet, wearing only a bathing suit. I ran straight into the hot water as fast as I could before freezing for good.

The temperature of the water in the swimming pool varies. It's very hot near the water source and cools down further away. Thus I could wade as close or as far away from the water source as I felt depending on how hot or cold I was. After the soak, my body was warmed up so much that it wasn't too difficult to get out of the pool again and walk outside back to the changing rooms. And I felt warm even for hours after that. Yes, Icelanders definitely know how to keep themselves warm.