Everyone has that one indulgence in their lives that gives them a sense of escape from the pressures of being someone in society. For some, its chocolate ice cream with sprinkles. Others like to indulge in a corny-love-story-with-a-sappy-ending movie. Smokers, I will even excuse you and allow your addic- indulgence to be yours. For me, its rain; particularly running in the rain. Like the sugar high or relaxation that comes from chocolate ice cream or a cigarette, I get both when I run in the rain. It’s almost as if the rain separates me from every dreary aspect of my life and allows me to be in my favorite solitary state.
I go through many thoughts and feelings when I run in the rain. At first I get excited that a rare day has come that it will rain (born and raised in SoCal, I will face the stereotype and agree that it doesn’t rain as much as in other places). The excitement is shortly overtaken by an uncomfortable feeling. It is always uncomfortable getting wet when you weren’t planning on it or expecting it. That feeling is quickly washed away as I am soaked from head to toe and all I have left to do is to keep running. Finally, I have to get over the fact that people driving by in their heated, dry cars will probably think I am a nut for running in the rain. And from that point on, it’s just me running in the rain.
It finally rained the other day, and I took that to my advantage and, well, I ran. Most people use the rain as an excuse of why they won’t be able to work out. I use it as an excuse to do more. I ran, got drenched, felt like people thought I was crazy, and enjoyed every step of the run. Indulge in your chocolate ice cream if you want to, I am going for a run.
I’ve got just the thing for you Erin.
Treadmill in the shower!!!
Crank it up to running speed and turn on the water.
No need to to wait for that once-a-year rain in Southern California….
…or… just move to Seattle… where chocolate little sprinkles will cover your ice cream almost every day.
Of course, you might get too much rain in Seattle. Then… just like the person who works at an ice cream store ends up hating ice cream because they ate too much of it, you might have one less indulgence on your list. That would suck. We all need our indulgences, but they can’t be too frequent. All right, scratch that idea. Stick with the treadmill!!! It’s bound to break with all of that shower water getting sucked into the motor. Treamills are expensive, so it’s going to take awhile to replace it. While it’s broken, you would be longing for the rain again. No concern about overindulging with the treadmill idea.
Can you tell I’ve thought of being a writer too?
Sorry we did not have too much time to talk the last time you came by… but would I be the legendary “Mr. G” if I did not keep your sticky note and check out your website.
I’ve read through some of your articles. They look good. Keep up the writing. You should be submitting articles and editorials to various newspapers or magazines. Get your name in print in as many places as possible. Just keep submitting stuff. Eventually, some reader or editor will accept it. Then another. Then it snowballs.
Perhaps start a local column in a small newpaper. Pick some topic of interest. An example could be “college life.” You know all about that now. You could describe all of the little nuances of being a student. It would bring back all of the the fond memories of old students like myself… or prepare future students of what is to come. Just an idea.
You know I am always rooting for you! Keep up the yearly visits. You looked so different the last time. So mature. What happened to my little Erin?
Comment by Mr. G — December 29, 2007 @ 6:27 pm