It’s official. The Chicagoland area now has a new all-time record for most rainfall in the month of July: a whopping 9.75 inches.

Record rainfall total in Chicagoland for July: 9.75 inches...and counting...

With the number of downpours, power outages, wind gusts, lightning strikes, days over 80% humidity, days over 90 degrees, and days as black as the dark side of the moon, it’s shocking that I’ve made it nearly two full months without having to resort to the treadmill at the gym. Fortunately, a lot of that rain has come down while I’ve been sitting at my desk at work or sleeping…so I’ve managed to squeeze in all my runs between the downpours.

But this morning, the lightning was pretty…and pretty terrifying. Not the best day to temp fate wearing wires, a battery-driven watch, and a battery-driven iPod Shuffle. So I made the trek to the gym, hopped on the treadmill, and emerged five miles later as soaked as I would have been outside.

My old friend "Tread" at the gym.

It actually felt kind of nice to force myself back into the semi-robotic running style I enjoyed all of last year when I was solely running on the treadmill. Since January 1, I’ve let all kinds of bad habits and kinks work their way into my stride and form.

Let’s just hope my old friend “Tread” and I don’t see too much of each other in the coming weeks as a half-marathon and two marathons are on tap for the fall…