Running or Swimming?

This past weekend I completed my third 15k as part of the Istanbul Eurasia Marathon. It is something that I've done every year I've been in Istanbul partly because it is just really cool to be able to say that I have (1) run across the Bosphorus bridge and (2) run from the Asian continent to the European continent. I can't think of many places where you would have that opportunity. I have to admit though, that this year was a bit of a downer. I didn't even marvel and smile at the signs that say "you are now entering Europe/Asia." All because it was raining the entire run. And I don't mean a nice drizzle that just keeps you cool. No, we had so much rain that some of the stairs we passed looked like waterfalls, I splashed into numerous puddles that were ankle deep, and the whole view was greatly missed due to the heavy clouds and dark weather. So the best that I can say is that I finished the run this year with a slight improvement to my time (not as much as I had hoped, but that too I will blame on the weather). In the three years that I have run this race I've gone through snow, rain and sun. I hate to think what I could face if I do it again next year. Perhaps a wind storm strong enough to blow me off the bridge? As for this year, I am still deciding if I was really running or more like swimming.

*I do have to give kudos to the marathon organizers, who despite some of the normal nonsense did manage to give us dry t-shirts and cheap rain ponchos when we finished running. That is the only reason that I didn't freeze on my way back across to catch the bus back to my land of a hot shower.*