I woke up to the sound of dumping rain... which is not totally unusual here on the windward side of Oahu. I used to joke that if it's raining anywhere, it's raining at my house. Seriously, sometimes it is raining in this valley but is dry like a mile down the road toward the ocean. Whatever. That's not the point of this post.
Today it wasn't just raining at my house- it was raining all over. This side of the island, at least, was socked in completely and it did not look like it was going to let up. I held out hope that maybe it would change though so I rode my bike to the pool anyway (got wet!) and crossed my fingers that maybe this storm would pass and I could get my ride in after all.
1500M into my swim I was regrouping before starting the next set when one of the lifeguards approached me and told me they were going to close the pool. "Oh no?! There's lighting? I didn't hear the thunder," I told him. Oh no, there's no thunder, he explained to me. It's just that the heavy rain is causing them to not be able to see the bottom of the pool in the deep end so it's a safety precaution and they need to ask us all to leave.
Huh???
Seriously?
Several other swimmers there were also rather dissatisfied with this decision so we kind of hung out in the shallow end in disbelief for a while... like... are they really closing this pool right now because it's raining? A couple of us discussed the idea of swimming over to the deep end and diving down to the bottom to test out their theory that if one of us were to accidentally start drowning while lap swimming that they would indeed be able to see us go down....
In the end I decided not to be a smart ass and opted instead to stand in the hot shower until the water was no longer hot. Then I rode straight home. Normally I would have gone ahead and done my planned ride in the rain, but today, I just couldn't shake the thought of Sally Meyerhoff who got hit by a truck yesterday and died instantly while riding her bike. After that, the idea of riding in flash flood conditions like those this morning, with very limited visibility and slippery white painted lines, just seemed ridiculous. RIP, Sally.
7 comments:
Reading about the tragedy that happened to Sally and then going to her blog gave me chills. That is such sad news.
Oh my God, that is so tragic. Even more poignant reading that last post on her blog about being so happy in her life right now. Her poor family.
I usually never ride in the rain for safety reasons; I have to contend with too much traffic in the city, including crazy cab drivers who are a danger on a good day.
The pool thing s weird though.
That's a little crazy about your pool. Of course, I sometimes was wishing last summer that our lifeguards were a little more conscientious. I had to go to the pool office on a day the pool was full of kids playing to point out that with the glare of the sun, the shape of the pool and the diving board open, one lifeguard really wasn't cutting it.
For the bike, a good choice - I have found on my mtn bike at least that as soon as I find myself thinking about falling, I do.
that's ridiculous about closing the pool - lightning, yes - rain, no.
so incredibly tragic about sally.
LOL! We were kicked out last week also due to thunder and that was FIVE minutes after I got in.. I was so upset since I would now have to take a shower, comb my hair etc. before proceeding to the next workout -grrr!! Sorry that happened to you too! I heard about Sally yesterday.. so truly sad!
What about your lovely trainer?! I did 45 on Tuesday. Better safe than sorry. Check the Andy Pots article on inside triathlon. Also Rinny and some other pros are using it, better ride quality no tailwind to help you out:)
It's so sad what happened to her. I think you made the right decision to stay out of the rain on your bike today!
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