Blog archives for October, 2002

As the year begins to wind down, my schedule begins to fill up. It is almost like events have slid down the year and bunched up against 12/31. I’m sure that I’m mostly to blame — after all I did sign up to sing in a community Barbershop Chorus, will be leading a group of musicians for a Christmas Eve service, doing holiday shopping, etc., etc., etc. And that is on top of the normal flurry of activity including band gigs, work, friend gathering, etc. I often think it would be nice to send the end of the year in a quite, slow, unhurried way. Maybe next year!

For the past 2 weeks, almost every one of my morning runs has involved rain. I’ve run in the rain before while training for the marathon, but only once or twice over the 9 months of that training. In the last 2 weeks, it rained 4 out of 5 runs. I’m not sure just what it is about rain that bothers me. Maybe it is that we have be taught since child hood that we ought to know when “to come in out of the rain”. Or maybe it is the wet shoes (and socks). Or maybe the fact that I wear glasses and they get so spotted that it is often easier to see with them off. Or maybe it is the random pings of rain drops on my face that bothers me.

What is really strange is I feel much better after I take a shower! Why would taking a shower (indoor rain) make me feel better after being wet from running in the rain? It must be some primal thing. Anyway, rain won’t stop me from running. As the weather turns colder, I may get my first chance to run in the snow. That will be quite different. I like snow. I like walking when it is snowing. Maybe the joy of running in the snow will leave me “singing in the rain”.

The times of my morning runs have not changed but it is darker and darker each morning when I finish. Back in August when I talked about seeing Orion, my run would end as the sky was pink with sunrise. Now, I finish a run and it is just as dark as when I start. However, in another few weeks, the clocks with shift back and the sky will shift ahead an hour so that I can see the sunrise again. But that change is just a short reprieve since winter is marching steadily toward us. Orion is already past the zenith when I start my run and it will soon drop below the trees so that I would have to see it in the evenings. Another change is in the air, literally. It is much cooler in the mornings now. This week I had to begin wearing long sleeves and my have to dig out my gloves. Last year I had trouble keeping up the running after the marathon due to the cold weather. I will try this year to not let the weather completely stop my morning routines. Only time and Jack Frost will tell.