Mental Margarita from April 9, 2008

As Raymond and I enter our third month here in Seattle, I am beginning to understand something my mother has been telling me about Seattlites for a long time: They are in serious rain denial. She has lived here about 10 years, and when I would visit, I would notice people going about their business in the rain, sans umbrellas, sans hats. I had it chalked up to a kind of blase attitude about the rain, or a kind of "if I wait until the weather's nice I'll never go running/get groceries/walk the dog." But it goes deeper than that, and I'm not afraid to name that depth for what it is: denial.

How I discovered this is that I am a runner, more or less. Before we moved from the Bay Area, we enjoyed a particularly wet winter. Perfect Seattle prep, I thought. And when I'd come home from a run with sopping running shoes, I figured I'd get the scoop on how to keep the feet dry from those who should know best: Seattle runners.

Well.

I have been met with absolute blank stares when I have asked multiple running store experts, "How do you keep your feet dry?"

If you're not aware, running shoes are partially made of mesh, to allow the feet to breathe. So anyone wearing proper running shoes here in the rain is getting wet feet. Yet no one has an answer for me. In fact, they look at me like I'm off for even asking. Back California, I was imagining some sort of rain coat shoe dickie, but no. Or a killer rain-proof sock. I haven't even been able to find water-proof running pants (I know they're out there, I just haven't found them yet.) Why can't I find products to help me stay dry?

DENIAL. Who needs rain-proof clothing when it's not really wet out?

Well, even though I am a native of the desert, I also will not wait for the rain to stop to go outside. I'm right there with the Seattlites on that one. However, I will NOT get as wet as the rest of you deniers. I'll invent my own little shoe raincoat. So there.