Half Mile of Wackiness

Day 43 – October 19, 2007

Bizarre – That’s the only way to describe the last half mile of today’s run. The morning started like most lately. I refused to acknowledge the alarm clock’s nine minute reminder and was perfectly happy to deny the accuracy of the time it was shouting at me. Eventually though, I roll out of bed, took the dog out, and got my running gear together. The light mist that was falling was welcome and I was actually looking forward to running in the rain for some weird reason. Maybe it was to prove to myself that a little weather would not put an end to the streak. I know a lot of people hate running in the rain, but that’s not an excuse I’m ready to use yet.

So I did my normal dance of dodging potholes and cars as the cloudy skies held onto the darkness in fear that the rising sun might chase away the much needed rain showers. I was really slow and could not get loose this morning, but I enjoyed the spray of mist as I plodded along. As I entered the last half mile and started cruising down the hill, my thoughts drifted to the finish and the rush that would be required to get the kids out the door and onto the bus in the next 10 minutes. Completely lost in the upcoming reality, a voice boomed out – “What’s the capitol of Ohio”? What??? Did a trivia troll move into the neighborhood? Was this some challenge I must fulfill in order to end my run? Well, actually it was just a kid arguing with his brother. I gladly settled the dispute – “Columbus” and got back into my slow but steady pace.

As I crested the final hill, I noticed the front door of the house on my left was wide open. The bright light inside caught my attention just in time to see two boys running back and forth at warp speed, screaming like banshees as their mother tried to corral them and get them ready for school. I couldn’t help but laugh, ya know cause they weren’t my kids, and immediately made me appreciative of my morning hating children. I may have to remind them to get dressed, brush their teeth, and go to the bathroom every morning, but that’s way better than the Flubber boys racing around that house.

The wackiness of that last half mile put a smile on my face and made the morning rush enjoyable. Thank you Trivia Troll and Flubber Boys.

Chris

Day: 43 Time/Date: 6:50AM 10/19/2007 Weather: Light Rain, 68F
Run: Geranium-Amicus Miles: 3.5 Time: 27:25 Pace: 7:50min/mile
Miles to Date: 163.6 Total Running Time: 20:25:22