Outdoor investment.

It rained all weekend in Sydney. The clouds were so thick they blended into one shade of grey making their movement untraceable. Just a colour, reflected in every surface, and within every mind.

After sitting inside for most of the weekend, I felt an urge early Sunday afternoon to get wet. To be outside when you shouldn’t. I love a rainy Sunday spent on the couch as much as the next person, but for reasons attached to a childhood spent body boarding down swollen creeks and skimming across wet footy fields, memories so intrinsically linked to being a kid who doesn’t care, that when they revisit, tugging the heart strings, sometimes you need to be reminded.

And so I got changed. Picked a colour code of running attire I was comfortable with, pushed the ear plugs in while worrying about the iPod jumping out of my cycling-shirt-come-running-shirt, and was soon feeling invincible. 

Not sure about your ego, but mine likes to think that people in cars are watching me, and resenting me. This eggs me on. Kinda been addicted to doing something different my whole life, and for this short pocket of time, if that’s what it means to me, then fine. It feels good.

Pit pat, pit pat, pit pat, pit pat, the rubber sounds with each slap of my feet. I used to run a tonne when I was young. Middle-distance. I was ok at 800m but I really excelled at Cross-Country. Not sure what it might be called where you’re reading this but that entails following a continuous line or course through parks and around paperbarks, jumping over creeks etc.  A bit of variety = my kind of race. And the longer it was, the more relaxed I was. 

I haven’t actually run in months. Perhaps even 12 of em. But yesterday, I was cocooned in a bubble of bliss. I even did my usual gym routine on the empty exercise equipment near the boats of Rushcutters. I had started my run with Kanye and was now listening to Kasabian when it started to rain. I instinctively flinched, but remembered why it was I had wanted to be out here, and so relented, feeling the rain soaked synthetic grass bleed into my shirt with each sit-up.

Heading home, I felt compelled to visit Redleaf for a dip in the big blue. Well, the Sydney Harbour equivalent.

Turned to head that way.
Made it.
Jumped in.
All alone.

There’s two resting/diving/floating platforms with pool ladders on em ready for Summer.

But in yesterday’s grey, I was shining on the inside.

…

My legs hurt today as does my lower back.

So worth it.