Break on Through To the Other Side (thanks Drew)

MILES TODAY: 14.84
NIKE + MILES IN 2008: 462.08

I have been not-so-secretly afraid of this week. See, up until today, I had not been scheduled to run more than 13 miles, and in fact had not done so. My one previous 13-mile run was technically 12.89 miles (and yes, at that distance, I want every fraction of a mile counted). I was, in effect, slowly building a mental block up about this 13.1 mile barrier (that's the distance of a half-marathon, for the mathmatically challenged, such as a nameless elementary school teacher). I hadn't run FURTHER than that distance in recent memory, and by "recent memory" I mean "about 5-6 years."

It didn't help that the weather started spitting rain the literal second I walked out my front door this morning. The sidewalk wasn't even wet yet, and here I was getting slapped with those famous Memphis raindrops, the ones the size of small water balloons. Oh, this is NOT shaping up to be fun.

Then about 1/2 mile into my run, it completely stopped raining. This is NOT a good thing, though: I had donned my rain gear (okay, a "waterproof" jacket I bought a few years back) and now had to decide between A) running back to the truck to put it up (hate that, makes me want to quit running when I see the truck) or B) unzip & do the cheesy '80's "tie it around your waist" move (hate that more than A, BTW). Chose B, and good thing, because about 5 miles later, it started again. Then stopped 4 miles after that. MAKE UP YOUR MIND!!

Tangent alert!
Have we finished apologizing for all things cultural from the '80's yet? I mean, I KNOW most of it was bad, but do we still need to go all sheepish when admitting to parachute pants, Trapper Keepers, Cabbage Patch Dolls, and the "Take My Breath Away" scene in Top Gun? Remember, this was also the decade that gave us:
--"I feel the need, the need for speed!"
--"Wax on, wax off"
--"He slimed me"
--"Where's the beef?"
--Bill Cosby's cardigans
--Who shot JR?
--Michael Jackson (version 2.0, the sequin glove iteration)
--Bon Jovi (Slippery When Wet iteration)
--Madonna's "Like a Virgin" performance at the VMA, which, well, there's parents reading, so let's just say I heard a rumor that she did that number while "going commando", female-style.

And...I'm spent. Back to the running stuff.

So I'm grinding through my 5-lap dance of joy (each lap juuuust under 3 miles, if you care), feeling...pretty good, actually. I didn't get the whiny face until lap 5, which is high quality. I broke down and started walking, and hit my iPod to see how close I was to 13.1. Uh, try PAST IT!!!!! Just over 14 miles down. Better still, one of my students copied a few songs I wanted to a CD for me, and I got them in the running mix. What comes on at that point, but "Turn the Page" by Metallica. Top 10 "guy song", done by easily Top 5 Metal band? Oh yeah, I'm running now, baby!!! Thanks Drew, there will be a little something in the grade book for you Monday morning.

Oh, then I got home, and Connie had gone to McDonald's for breakfast for the fam, since it's Maddy Shea's birthday. Yes, I ran on her birthday. No, I'm not a horrible parent. She was asleep when I left, and DADDY is the one that picked out her presents, so off my case, ace. Incidentally, and as pennance, my wife decided that this year's party, for a 5-year-old, would be...a sleepover! As I write this, I am recovering from a 14.84 mile run, followed by a "Flight of the Bumblebees"-esque assist in cleaning the house TO CONNIE'S SPECS. Those are only slightly lower than the requirements for a surgery suite, just so you know.

I know it hurts to say good-bye, but it's time for me to fly! (Man, what's with the '80's theme of this post?)

peace love happiness,
Tom
2T4:7