Day 19: Rain

Soon after we were married, JE and I lived in Michigan. One night after a movie, we were walking back to our tiny apartment. It had begun to drizzle and within minutes, in true Midwest fashion, it was dousing us full force. Our saunter home turned into a laughing jog. Our laughing job turned into a full fledged sprint when a crack of lightening hit one of the light poles in the parking lot where we were. It sent me screaming and running. It sent JE running.

Rain in Southern California is a rare thing. Lightening and thunder are exceptional. Since we moved here 7 years ago, I can count the number of lightening storms we have had here on a high school wood shop teachers hand.

This morning we ran in the rain. It sprinkled while we warmed up. By the time we rounded the corner that marks the beginning of our run we were in an outright downpour, accented with lightening and thunder. It's fun to run in the rain. My mind concentrates things like not slipping on the algae flourishing on the sidewalk or stepping in the current of water in the storm gutters.

I work in one of the only costume shops in the world that actually has windows. Today the view from the window was amazing. The sky was so dark and stormy, with flashes of lightening on and off. At one point, a huge bolt of lightening lit up the room and the thunder crack was gunshot loud. One of the students screamed. Another student asked, "What would Julie Andrews do?"

No cycle commute in weather like this. I don't live in Seattle, where drivers are aware of the crazies who ride in the rain. Not so here! People have a hard enough time navigating rain without throwing something, like a cyclista, under their wheels. Rather than wait for JE to get me, I headed out in my sweet Marmot replacement rain shell (my first rain shell wore out after only 11 years. I sent it back to the company and because the lifetime guarantee covered that particular wear and tear, they sent me a new jacket) and walked in the rain a couple miles.

Foodwise: Intake 2306 calories--mostly leftovers from our uber extravagant weekend. Output: 1044 calories from our 50 minute run in the rain and my hour long walk.