Ironically, These Colors DO Run!

So, I ran the Philadelphia Half-Marathon today...it was the end of what I've been calling "Running Season".  I wanted to run a series of at least 10 races this year and this one made 11...the playoffs, the championship game, the one for all the marbles.  I was looking to clear 13.1 miles in under 2 hours for the first time this year.  So, since today was the big game, I put on my team colors.  I had on my custom New York Giants jersey and a fresh new matching skullcap.

Knowing that I was going to be running through the hometown of a fierce division rival on the day of a game against said rival that will decide who leads the division, I expected to take a lot of heat from the Eagles fans in the crowd...and maybe get "accidentally" jostled around by the Eagles fans in the race with me.  At most, I got a little bit of good natured ribbing from the hometown fans and a little commentary about the upcoming game.  What I got a LOT of, was love from other Giants' fans out there.  Some were watching and cheering for me, others were fist bumping me while racing.  New York was in the house!

At first, I thought "Ha! What kind of football town allows a jerk like me to run free AND get support from the crowd?"  But then I started looking at the other runners...there was a guy in a Brett Farve jersey...one with a red Spartan cape and Greek sandles...there was a dude in a "Where's Waldo" costume...multiple Hit Girls and a guy dressed as Superman who was completely separate from the woman dressed as Wonder Woman.  Judging by their official looking uniforms, I think the Mexican National Women's Distance Running Team was out there today.  In this and other races, I see mothers running with daughters, fathers with sons, best friends, loving couples, people with no shoes and sometimes people with no legs.

I came to the realization that, even though this is the Philadelphia Marathon/Half-Marathon, this is way bigger than Philadelphia.  There were roughly 23,000 people out there, they came from all over the country...all of the world, really, to do the same thing I came to do.  People fighting the same fight for drastically different reasons.  So in wearing my Giants gear, I wasn't an opposing force.  I was part of a patchwork of beautiful diversity...and I'm pretty sure I'll use that as my excuse to do it again in the future.

Great race...great times...see you next season!

Running is the reason I...

FYI: My Toes Are Never This Happy

So, at one point in the movie that inspired this blog, Edward Norton's character says "Fight Club became the reason to cut your hair short or trim your fingernails."  It was part of the dedication they built to the ideas Fight Club represented.  They weren't grooming for looks or hygiene...they were grooming because not grooming damaged the fight or at least the chance at winning the fight.  Running is the same way.  Over the last 18 months or so, a lot of my personal habits have been either inspired by or adjusted for running.

It starts with the toenails.  I never paid much attention to them....I'm so tall and they're so far away.  If I did, it had to do with the women in my life...they didn't want me scratching them with my hideously long foot talons.  One even went as far as cutting them herself...had to marry that one.  These days, long toenails get impacted by the front of my running shoes, turn black and fall off.  I've lost about 5 of them this year alone.  So, I cut them regularly now.  For Run Club!

Now, if you see me looking at the sky at night, I'm not stargazing.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Orion's Belt as much as the next guy, but I'm really trying to get a read on the moonlight.  Y'see, if I've got a full moon, I can put on some light clothing the following morning and not need to wear my reflective vest.  No moon?  Cloudy sky?  The vest is a must.  Safety first, right?


A lot of my daily operations are influenced by the addiction, as well.  I can't just put on underwear in the morning...I've got to think about the next morning.  Am I running?  Then I need running-appropriate underwear.  Can't have myself swinging around banging off my legs while running...and God forbid it's cold outside.  The word 'discomfort' does not begin to describe it.  During the day, I find myself sitting up straighter with my feet flat on the floor.  Can't risk creating a random ache or pain that might turn into a lingering injury during my next 10 mile run.  At night or on the weekends, I've cut out damn near all of my alcohol consumption.  It kinda sucks.  What doesn't suck is being able to wake up fresh in the morning and NOT conking out 3 miles early because of dehydration.  Even when I do drink, I fool my friends by loudly ordering a Long Island Iced Tea to start the night and then quietly ordering Shirley Temples for the rest of the night.

They get drunk, I stay sober and no one is the wiser...oh wait...