If you'd have told me 3 months ago that I would spend ages looking at the difference between hard shell and rain shell jackets and the minutiae between different brands I'd have told you that you were smoking your socks. But.... this morning that is exactly what I have done.
I don't have a suitable rain coat for the race. I have loads of coats. Believe me, loads. I like matching coats to outfits, that is when I get to where anything other than sports kit. I am a girl after all. Although my family often seem to forget this, seeing me either as 'mum' or as a mud-covered sweating blob after various training sessions. I digress. I need a coat for the race. On Wednesday night we sat and went through the kit list for the race. I seem to need quite a lot of stuff. I obviously have the basics such as shoes and a bike but apparently there are some things I haven't got and a good-quality lightweight rain coat that doesn't turn into a sieve at a sniff of ran is one of the things I need.
I woke up early today, naturally, it being Saturday, when I could have stayed asleep longer, my body alarm clock decided to wake me up. So, as people of the modern age often do, I reached for my phone and flicked through my emails. There was one from Ross (who, incidentally, was lying in bed next to me sleeping deeply) His email came with a link to Amazon for a particular coat. It looked good. But, I read the amazon reviews and felt it might be a good idea to seek expert opinion so I made the mistake of trawling the internet looking for comparisons and reviews and as it often does, my search snowballed and now, I am even more undecided than before.
Instead of sticking to comparing apples with apples and simply looking at rain jackets, I got caught up into the world of hard shell versus rain shell. They are both breathable and water resistant but did you know that the hard shell is slightly better but heavier? No, nor did I. I found that hard shells have three layers and rain shells 2 to 2 1/2 layers. I know that hard shells are better than rain shells for professionals who spend long periods of time outside in extreme conditions. Does 40 hours in Irish rain count as extreme conditions?
I have learnt about the science behind waterproofing and breathability. I have discovered that you should roll your coat into its hood to protect its durability and waterproofing. I now know that I should wash my coat regularly and re-waterproof frequently but that it is better to use a spray on rather than a wash in product. Well that is useful to know.
In the last hour, I have become something of a self-taught expert on it all which will be great when I actually get my coat because so far I haven't made any progress on what coat I am going to buy...although I have narrowed it down to three colours!
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