who was the oaf running along the river?

Have you ever seen the craigslist "missed connections"? It's a section of craigslist where people can post a message about a mysertious 'person of interest'--usually a highly attractive member of the opposite sex--they saw while out in public, but didn't have the nerve, time, or courage to speak to them and find out more. It's usually pretty amusing.

Well, if anyone saw me running yesterday afternoon along the Charles River, their missed connection post might have read "Who was that oaf in a yellow jacket and black spandex running along the river? And who told her it would be okay to run in PUBLIC???" They would be writing not in hopes of finding out more about a highly attractive, agile woman. Nope, none of those in sight. Rather, they would be writing to question her sanity, her coordination, and her physical well-being.

Yesterday's run was rough. It was beautiful outside, I was running along the river, I had a new mix on my ipod, and the sun was still high in the sky--but my body just did not cooperate. It was one of those days where you feel so slow, and so heavy, and so uncoordinated, that you just want to give up. I felt certain all the other runners were laughing as they passed--and that everyone else out enjoying the sunshine was thinking "good god, I hope I never look like THAT when I run."

I labored through 9 miles, then figured I needed something to boost my spirits...so I took a turn onto Boylston (thanks Mike), and decided to run across the marathon finish line, just for kicks. Mind you, there were no balloons, no neon clock, no giant archway or mylar blankets, or finisher medals, and certainly no fans on this Thursday afternoon....but there was rush hour traffic, slushy puddles, and just the tiniest hint of the faded finish line on the pavement. That, and my imagination of what Marathon Monday will be like, made the whole run just a little better.