Deafening Robes of Dawn

 

As we've already stated here many times, on every other day since March 27, we have walked at least four miles, usually five, and occasionally as many as six. That streak ended today.

Up until now, we've ben pretty successful at getting our steps in before or after the passing rainstorm. We didn't let chilly days in March stop us and we didn't let sweltering temperatures in July deter our miles. We were determined and always found a way. Until today.

We've had two weeks now of overcast rainy weather,  with either rain or the threat of imminent rain present just about every day. Getting up this morning to about the 15th dreary day in a row, I actually started to feel some sense of seasonal affective disorder.

The forecast was for some chance or rain, ranging from 20 to 80%, all day. My phone said the peak probability would be at 11:00 am, Yahoo weather predicted the worst at 2:00 pm, and weather.com thought it wouldn't come until 6:00. Every time I looked out the window, Mother Nature seemed to think it was about to hit the fan any minute. 

I decided to risk it around 2:00, Yahoo be damned, but even as I was starting to change into my workout clothes, I heard the roll of thunder for the first time today. I cancelled my plan.

It's okay to miss a day. After four months and 400 miles, I think I've earned a day off. My concern was that if I miss a day, I'd be primed psychologically to miss more days and less likely to sneak a daring walk in between two rain events in one day. But life is change, impermanence is swift, and nothing lasts forever. Instead of putting on my workout clothes, I threw them into the washer (they needed it) and I'll try again tomorrow.

Besides, the long term forecast looks like this god-awful humid and rainy spell may finally pass sometime in the next couple of days. I look forward to that.      

Update: Just as soon as I posted the words above, I saw the day's first patch of direct sunlight on the ground outside. The three oracles of Apple, Yahoo, and weather.com all agreed that I had a window of opportunity for at least the next three hours, so I took my workout clothes out of the dryer (they weren't yet fully dry, but they'd soon be soaked in sweat anyway) and started walking. It was still oppressively humid - it felt like walking through chicken broth outside - but I got in 5.3 miles anyway and the streak remains unbroken!  I have to admit that I feel better about myself for not giving in and getting out there despite the weather.