BA Degree in Running

Tags

bad ass, Marathons, rain, Running, thunder

Earned a BA the other day on the roads.  BA meaning Bad Ass Degree.

Thought about running and thought twice when I saw ominous dark clouds off to the west.  The weatherman genius in me says probably going to rain at some point. Should I run or not run.

Then a realization hit me and it pushed me out the door.

Suppose on Sunday morning, November 22nd when I’m in Philadelphia getting ready to run the marathon the weather looks iffy.  Am I going to say, Naw, looks like rain so I’m going back to bed.

The short answer to that will be no. So would the long answer and the only answer would be no.

And that thought is what got me out the door in an effort to outrun the storm.

As you might expect I caught in a downpour. I can run in rain.  Running in thunder and lightning which I did not expect is another story.  And that’s when I earned my Phi Beta Kappa BA.  Got up on my toes, dug down for some speed and killed the last mile all the way home through rain and thunder.

My diploma was waiting on the front porch when I arrived home.

Final score: Phil 5.8 miles, Rain headed out of town.

Is it too early to check the ten day forecast for Philadelphia for November 22nd?

Sun Showers

Tags

rain, Running, sun showers

Got caught in a lengthy sun shower this afternoon whilst on the roads.

Started with a humid, sunny sky, miles 2 through 5 were in a downpour and finished with the sun re-appearing and steam rising from the pavement.

I could have stopped and turned around when the rain started but I was already well onto the outbound loop so I pushed on.  Made the turn, headed home and the sun returned warming up me and the asphalt too.

I love to run.

Missing the California Girl

Tags

California, details, fog, memory, rain

On a cool and rainy Thursday afternoon in Pennsylvania.

I don’t recall when or where we were when we discovered him.  It was either before, during or after the good times.  How’s that for a foggy memory?

Songs and friends remain and have a hard time fading away even if the details get fuzzy.  All I know is that we were special.

And then there’s this one:

Run For The Hoses

Tags

Firecracker 5, rain, Running

That was going to be my title for this post as I was planning to run the local Firecracker 5 this morning.  The race is usually run on a scorcher of a day.  An apt description of how I normally felt after the race was that I was a ” churning urn of burning funk.”

But this morning dawned grey, cloudy, cool and rainy.  No need for sunblock.  The spectators all had umbrellas and the garden hoses were kept safely tucked away.  I ran for a bit with a woman who was visiting from Orlando where there are no hills.  I asked how they trained for hills and she said,” We look for overpasses.”  You do what you gotta do.

The rain has cleared out and now it’s a bright and somewhat cool sunny day.

Put another one in the books, save the bib and get ready for the next one.

 

The Running Times OR All The News That Fits We Print

Tags

half marathons, knee surgery, Philadelphia, rain

    Just finished a nice short 3 and half mile jaunt in the drizzle and eventual rain.  After spending a week in Las Vegas where the mercury hit 100 every day I was there it’s nice to have moderate weather with honest to goodness humidity.  It’s probably going to rain for the rest of the day but I don’t mind – I got my work in.

    Regarding Lefty and Dr. Meniscus the verdict is in – surgery during the first week of August after which I will be resting comfortably with my ” toes above my nose” for a week.  No, that doesn’t mean that I need to stand on my head.  It’s now certain that I will miss the Philadelphia marathon in November but I’m not ruling out being able to run the half.  I mean really, here’s my plan.

     I get in great shape prior to getting Lefty fixed, fixed as in repaired and not fixed as in when you get your dog fixed. I can run in a straight line so continuing to train is not really a problem. If I was an NBA point guard the scouting report would read as follows,         ” Can’t go to his left or to his right.”  So what else is new ?  Tell me something I don’t already know.

     I lay off for August, come back slowly in September, stronger in October and I arrive in Philly the week before Thanksgiving to run 13.1.  Maybe even run the Boston half in October too.  Hmm- that’s a big maybe. I did run it last year and had a great time.  

    All things being equal I think the plan works.  All things being equal I’m a runner so normal human non runner logic does not apply.  Being a runner it makes perfect sense to me.  You always have to have a plan.