Run for the Roses

So in a spasm of post-new year’s optimism I signed up for the Long Island Half-Marathon back in January. At the time I figured that I would have plenty of time to whip my tired old ass into shape before the gun went off. This week it dawned on me that the race is this Sunday and the last time I ran more than my usual 5 miles per day was quite some time ago. February, maybe? I considered blowing it off and diligently started coming up with a handful of excuses that wouldn’t sound too lame when spoken aloud, but at the end of the day (at the end of yesterday, actually) I decided to just get out there and do it. I remember back in the distant past when I wouldn’t have even considered 13 miles to be a decent training run, but that was back in 1993 when I was young and spry of step and the future held great promise. Now I’m old, creaky and cynical but I think I’ll be able to finish anyway. One thing that hasn’t changed from back then is that I’m too dense to realize when I should quit. That, plus the contact high from running next to a whole bunch of well trained people should be enough to carry me through. Erin will be keeping an eye on Jack and “meeting me at the finish line”. If I were her I’d lurk around the 9 mile mark in case one of my parts wears out. Wish me luck.