Sunday, January 27, 2013

Wet, Wet, Wet And Prune Toes

Yep, it's been a bit wet here. Constant rain for over 24 hours. A weather radar that looks like this.


Now the rain has settled a bit and the wind has come up. But I'm one of the lucky ones - no flooding and haven't lost power.

This weather makes it hard to actually do anything. And I'm not that great at twiddling my thumbs so I've taken a few teaspoons of concrete (it's more palatable mixed with chocolate powder) and gotten good and wet.

I've become a bit of an authority on human nature in my almost 50 years on the earth. When it starts to rain, the majority of the population like to hide in their houses. And yes, that includes the vast majority of cyclists that usually get out there in their lycra-clad droves every Saturday morning. Their absence was definitely noted this weekend. We runners were still out there pounding the pavement but not our two-wheeled fitness companions. 

Which begs the question - where do they disappear to when the weather turns foul? Do they send out cancellation texts from under the safety of their warm blankets to the same numbers that they usually send texts coordinating their weekend outfits? Do they set up their bikes on wind trainers in front of their televisions watching reruns of the Tour de France and pretend they're making that climb up the Pyrenees? Do they get their spouses to speak to them in French accents and prod them with baguettes if they start to slow down? 

We runners would never think of pulling out the treadmill in front of the television and watch the Boston marathon, pretending we could run like a Kenyan. And we'd certainly never do it with Chariots of Fire played loudly on endless repeat. No, a little bit of torrential rain and gale-force wind doesn't keep us indoors. We just pull on a cap and splash through the puddles like we're three year olds. And then we get home and pull off our socks to find that we look more like ninety-three year olds. Prune toes are particularly attractive in strappy sandals. 



Saturday's prune toes were from a lovely 12k with the group. Sunday's prune toes were from a long walk with my two pooches who also don't do house-bound very well. They'd spent a happy hour on Saturday night trying to burn off pent up energy in our lounge room. Our lounge room isn't really big enough to burn up any energy. They were climbing the walls and straightening pictures and generally making a nuisance of themselves.

"Almost straight - just a little higher on the left"

An hour and a half walking was enough to get them good and tired ... and wet. Our house smells a bit like wet dogs and wet shoes. Nice!!



Today's prune toes were thanks to an expedition into the city to check out the flooding and the damage. Sam kept me company and we both had a fun time jumping over downed branches, little lakes and random debris. The rain coming in side-ways and the wind gusts that kept buffeting us were not quite as much fun.

The river is well up and has started flooding all along the bike path that's our usual Saturday stamping grounds. The other side of the river is lapping over the boardwalk that leads to Southbank. And that's just the start. There's more water expected as it flows into our catchment area and more water = more flooding. It's not expected to be anywhere near the flooding of 2011 but it's still heart-breaking for those who were just starting to get back on their feet.

I'm really hoping that this weather settles soon. Aside from all of the damage and havoc, I'm down to my last pair of dry old runners and I really don't want to use my new ones.

17 comments:

  1. Running in the rain is awesome! As long as its not freezing cold :)....but anything is better than the dreadmill!! I usually put my wet shoes in front a small fan to get them dry and ready for the next day.

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  2. Please, please don't run in the new purple or red shoes in the rain!!! They should get to look new for at least a month!!!!!
    Don't 'new' shoes make you (everyone) run faster?!

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    1. I ran in my purple bra. Actually I chose my outfit carefully just in case I got blown into the river. I thought the lime green would be easy to spot in the water and the purple bra might give my rescuers more incentive to rescue me. Although a red "hussy' bra might be even more effective if I owned one.

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    2. I love the thought process on choosing a running outfit!!!

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  3. Purple bra, I hope you had a white shirt over that!!!

    No rain here, just lots of wind and sun.

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  4. Hi Char

    Thanks for dropping by good to hear from you. That area you live is certainly no stranger to rain and floods! It will pas, hopefully without too much damage.

    That is an excellent shot of the dog straightening up the picture ;)


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  5. (One of my favorite posts of yours ever) Michael and I have the same discussion about the little biker uni's every weekend. She is pro matching shirt and pants. I think it looks ridiculous! All of them dressing up and pretending to be little Armstrong's ... with their little fake sponsor patches adorning the sleeves and chest ... so cute. Debates over what is harder ... running or biking ... can often be heard in our home. (I think their both tough, but one of them you DON'T do while sitting down)

    And that is the best picture of your dogs straightening the artwork. Awesome. Have a great week!

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  6. Those of us who are politically correct, tend to define them as "dried plum" toes!

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  7. Love this! I have prune toes very often. We are also experiencing a very hot summer with flood type rain in between. I'm not a huge fan of the biking community. We have two big races here every year and I always comment on how any fatty and his kids can complete it. Not like Comrades where we have to train our butts off...

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  8. Sorry it is so wet for you right now! I hate long days of endless rain.

    So as someone who began as a triathlete, I can tell you that riding in the rain is just in general far more miserable than running in it. You get to a whole different level of soaked, you have to come home and immediately clean your bike, and it's a bit dangerous to boot. So the trainer it is for most cyclists!

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  9. We're having gales and heavy rain this week too, and I don't want to get my new shoes wet either. Your dogs are hilarious - so house proud!

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  10. I have definitely ridden in the rain but it can be dangerous for falling depending on the size of your tires. I agree with Ms.Zippy. Running in the rain is kind of fun but biking gets you a whole other level of being soaked.
    And how did you get that dog picture? Too funny.

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    1. The dogs were chasing a moth that landed on the picture. I just managed to snap it at just the right moment.

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  11. We are expecting torrential rain here tonight, which will inevitably flood since the ground is frozen. The Caveman finally hooked up the TV in front of the mill so I will totally be running and viewing and jamming Chariots of Fire tomorrow. Our news showed a part of Australia that's buried in sea foam. Is that near you??

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    1. That's about an hour's drive north of here. Impressive wasn't it?!

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  12. We were on our windtrainers at the bike shop Char! The wet weather makes punctures a whole lot more likely though we did go out in a downpour a few weeks ago. I love running in the rain though!

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  13. I was wondering what Liz would have to say about the post...

    Quite frankly I'm not keen enough to exercise in the rain. Or at all, at the moment it would seem!

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Thanks for taking the time to comment. I love hearing from you.