March 19, 2022, one of my closest friends - Munya, was on her trip to Istanbul. It has been some time I was pondering and looking far ahead for autumn and winter running clothes. I messaged Munya to see if she can visit local Decathlon store in Istanbul. Even if she didn't plan, she would find time to check if she can find what I was looking for. That's the type of friend she is.
Unlike everyday clothes or business clothes that I wear normally and to which I pay no specific attention, when it comes to running clothes and gear I am very picky about what I choose. Partly that's because with right type of clothes you will have much better running experience than let's say a shirt that rubs your nipples and makes you swear that you will never run again.
It's always LMFAO when talking with Munya. We used to work in one telecom company and we know each other for long time to have fun talks, most of the time, not all the time. After several attempts of live video calls, I went ahead and ordered three types of running raincoats from Decathlon.
265 Turkish Lira = 15 USD = 150 TJS
145 Turkish Lira = 8 USD = 80 TJS
400 Turkish lira = 22 USD = 220 TJS
Why on Earth I would buy three of them when originally I wanted to buy only one. Simple. I just didn't know which one would fit me and I took a shot and asked her to buy three different types she sent the pictures earlier. In total, besides shorts and other clothes I bought, these three came to 450 TJS or around $45 USD. Not bad for three items.
But more importantly, I have been wearing all three during early spring in the rain and now during October/November, I must say I love them all. Totally worth the money! When I got them fresh from Munya, I even tested under tap water in my house to see if they were really waterproof. Two of them (pic 1 and pic 3) were, the one in the middle was more like windbreaker but I love that too. We don't have too much rain here in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, so it's totally fine for me.
Today, I went out for lunch near my work and was wearing the one pictured on top (option 1) and it rained heavily. I was socked below my waste because I was wearing these raincoat and was so happy to have them on. Came to work, took off and my shirt was all dry. Didn't have even one drop of water, while my pants looked like I have been under water 😂
So, the morale of this whole writing is if you want to buy something that you really care, be smart and think ahead. And don't be afraid to take risks and make mistake. With each mistake you will learn something new and I am so happy to come to love all three of my raincoats. Never on Earth would I think I would be so happy about a raincoat.
What began as nothing more than a spark of a thought has now taken shape before us, alive and undeniable. We didn’t just imagine it, we lived it, we felt it, and we proved that a simple idea can become something powerful when we dare to believe in it. This journey reminds me that every dream starts quietly, almost invisibly, yet with courage, effort, and heart, it grows into something that touches our lives and inspires us to keep reaching for more.
At the top of the Double Pass (northern), my brother Firuz asked me about our estimated plan of when we will be reaching the finish. Based on the information we had, I said: “Best plan is we reach by 7 PM, given or taken plus/minus 1 hour.” Little I knew how things could go wrong so fast.
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