I don’t do much running or riding in the rain. Here in Southern California it’s usually only a day or two wait until better weather so I just accept it as a rest day. And while this El Nino season hasn’t exactly delivered on the higher than normal rainfall, I have had a few opportunities to get out in the rain. Three days in a row now, actually - run, ride, run. And I’ve noticed something. After some good suffering (not struggling, mind you!) in the rain I find myself calmer and more alert back in the real world, so to speak. A bit like a meditation practice might do—a rain practice…
3 comments:
I once sat in a bar just off Bourbon Street and watched the second-strongest rainfall I have ever seen. The door was open. It sounded like gunfire. Some of the marbles of rain hit the street with such force that they rebounded and splashed the ceiling. The bartender was from Catalina but he hadn't been back since the 80s. It was my 24th birthday.
I go out in the rain quite a bit. As you know, there are some nice comforting rains, like walking in the rain at night in Paris. And there are rains like the one mentioned above in NOLA.
My favorite rain experience was last summer, as we rode directly INTO a thunderstorm. It was a 'learning' experience, to say the least, and we decided to turn around when the lightening was just a wee bit too close for comfort.
Running in the rain is a different matter - I find that it can be invigorating and love how I feel afterwards. As you said, so alive!
Glad that there's been some rain in SoCal!
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