Rain… rain… sleet… and more rain…  I had not been this wet and cold in a long time. Up until yesterday’s hike at Sugarloaf Mountain in Dickerson, MD, we had been incredibly lucky with the weather on our training hikes. At 9am, it started out at about 55 degrees and drizzling, but when we reached the summit, the temperature dropped into the 30s and we were pelted with freezing rain. It was so dark out that the flash came on for all the pictures I took (click here), making the day seem deceptively brighter. It would not have been so miserable if I had been prepared for that drop in temperature. Unfortunately, I was wearing a thin rain jacket (that ended up wetting through), a lightweight long-sleeved t-shirt and a fleece vest. About halfway through the hike, I crammed my vest into the front of my jacket to give me some insulation (which is why I looked pregnant or stuffed in some of the photos). We hiked a combination of the Northern Peaks and Mountain Loop Trails, a total of 8.2 miles in about 4.5 hours. I believe that came to something like 20,934 steps. Wow…