It is with great frequency that I hear or make a comment regarding the weather, especially in the midst of weather as unseasonable as that which we've been experiencing. With this in mind, I present some mindless musings regarding sunshine and clouds, which have been generated during runs this week:
There are two types of weather in Western North Carolina, as far as I have observed, Type 1 is Perfect Running Weather. This is defined by a temperature where wearing minimal clothing is comfortable for the entirety of the run, additionally, hopping in a creek or lake afterwards is not considered lunacy, the sun will typically be shining, you can see forever in every direction, etc...
Type 2 is called running weather and is further divided into sub-categories (i.e: good RW, great RW, really great RW, awesome RW, almost perfect RW), which can be created to an infinite number as, presumably, there are an infinite different combinations of temperature/humidity/precipitation/trail conditions/time of day/forever and ever, Amen.
Not to tote my glass as half full, because I'll likely knock it off the table, but I enjoy the weather every single day. If its pouring down rain, I know that Luna and I are going to be dancing and hop-scotching through puddles all day and have muddy legs to show for it; Oh?, its sweltering out, you say? Well, we'll just have to plan a route that allows us to stop and soak or splash in a stream or two during the circuit; if it dips a few degrees below freezing with a windchill to equal the temperature, then I know taking the brunt of the wind and freezing air will wake me and shake me like no amount of coffee ever could. The possible conditions go on, and the excuses I find to enjoy it remains a step ahead.
Funny related scenario- On Friday, when I was running at Umstead on the Sycamore Loop, (which I would highly recommend to anyone as it felt like a soft sidewalk covered in pine needles- a lot of fun to run on), it had started to rain a little bit, not bad though, and the sun had tucked away and taken some of the warm temperature with it. Anyways, to finish setting the stage, I'm running on this great trail with wings on my feet, grinning from ear to ear, and approach a family. We exchange a quick "hello", and then I proclaim, "What a great day to be out here, huh?!" And one of the children in tow responds, visibly grumpy, "What are you talking about, its rainy and cloudy?!". Startled by the retort my grin grew, perhaps stretching from temporal lobe to temporal lobe at this point. And I then noticed that, to the untrained eye, he was spot on with the weather description. Poor kid, instead of noticing that the weather was allowing him to create a unique experience as dictated by these particular variables that had aligned and represented this particular day, he thought it to be a lousy day just because it wasn't sunny.
Now, hear here, Sonny, and anyone else who may be weighted down by such an attitude, I encourage you to try this: 1) Go outside in weather that doesn't necessarily align with your preferences, 2) Do something you enjoy (dance, sing, laugh, read, cook, run, whatever, anything, everything) 3) Repeat.
I believe that folks like Umstead-Kid just need to introduce a couple of positive experiences in poor/inclamite/down-right-dangerous weather, and then, perhaps overnight the paradigm or schema for what is delightful weather can be completely redefined.
Just go outside and LOVE it!
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