Running on Empty
The 113th running of the Boston marathon took place today with 26,331 runners signed up for the 26 mile race. I don’t get it. The whole running thing. I tried it once and didn’t like it. It was in the 9th grade when every red-blooded Florida boy was expected to go out for track. I was told to run the mile. Nobody else wanted the job. Cool guys did not run the mile. Cool guys pole-vaulted or ran the hurdles or sprinted in the 100-yard dash, but they did not run the mile. I ran the mile. I ran the mile with fellow competitors, most of whom wore thick glasses and shorts two sizes too big.
Actually, to claim that I ran the mile is a bit of a stretch. The only instruction the coach ever gave me was to pace myself. I was never good at running, but I was the best damn pacer you ever saw. In fact, I think I still hold the Orange County record for pacing the mile. You know how marathoners are always trying to out-do their “personal best”…their PB? My PB was finishing before the bus left!
(read more of this day at www.wrysandwherefores.com)