Rainy workout

I had an unexpectedly nice workout this morning. Originally, I planned to walk around Paddington while Jane was swimming, and I’d packed a resistance band to do some exercises along the way—not planning anything intense, just a few supplemental exercises with the idea of doing my heavy squats later in the afternoon. Of course, it started raining as soon as I hopped out of the car.

My mood soured a bit as I took shelter in a little barbecue area overlooking the dog park next to Ithaca Pool. But, as it turned out, the rain was a bit of a left-handed gift. It grew heavier, and I realized I wasn't going for a walk after all, but at least I was under cover and dry. There’s soething very pleasing about being dry while others are wet. The air was cool for this time of year, and I got to watch three dogs happily tearing through the mud chasing their balls—and the best part was they were not my dogs, so no cleanup required!

Since my usual Monday morning gym routine wasn’t an option, I started improvising, substituting band exercises for my usual weights. It all ended up being quite pleasant. I grabbed a coffee from the pool’s café, paired it with a protein bar, and worked through a full-body workout over an hour, stopping during my rest periods to watch those dogs absolutely tearing it up in the mud. It’s not something I’d do every day, but it was a nice change of pace and left me in a pretty good mood.