Saturday, December 8, 2007

God Smiles on Us

Well, let's summarize.
I completed the seven-day roguelike
I did not even attempt the 24 hour comic
I did completed less than 1% of NaNoWriMo
I gave up training for the half marathon.

I have really good excuses for all that I did not do. But I don't want to be a man of excuses.

On the upside, I did do a 5K run today, to benefit the Arthritis Foundation, which has lately become near and dear to my heart. I had no team to run with, no friends to share the experience with, but I had my wife cheering me on.

We arrived at Reid Park at 10 minutes until 9:00 a.m. It was pouring rain. Registration began at 9. I slogged through the rain to register, got my bib, tried to decide, do I pin it on my T-shirt or my sweatshirt? Just how miserable is this run going to be? The run was scheduled to begin at 10.

It continued to rain, heavier and lighter, over the next hour. At about 5 minutes before 10, suddenly the clouds dispersed and there was blue sky and sunlight over all of Reid Park. Nina set up her chair near the start/finish line, and I pinned my number on my T-shirt.

The run was beautiful, clear sky, no rain, sunlight but not hot. My goal was just to run the whole course without stopping to walk (I was unable to do this on my first attempt at a 5K). I was one of the last to run across the finish line, my time somewhere around 35 minutes, but I did achieve my goal. I was cheered to the finish by my wife and by some new friends she had made while I was running.

I got my shirt for finishing the race, and we went to Crave to celebrate with a Latté. As our coffees arrived, the rain began to pour down once again.