If That's What It Takes To Make It Rain

It's sunny now...



...but here's what it looked like this morning.

Saint Tim and I have been volunteering at the local 5K races. After the last one - with a super cute hot dog running across the race t-shirt I might add - I decided there was really no reason why I couldn't do that.

I used to run before we moved to the farm. Tim was a big time cross country runner in high school and college. We are both a lot older and fatter now. I'd tried a couple of times to get back into it, but each time gave up due to injury, lack of motivation... I knew I needed a different angle. I decided to train in secret.

Tim always works the finish line. I go wherever they need me. For this race - as everyone but Tim knew I was going to run it - I was assigned "guarding a pothole out on the course". The game was to hopefully surprise Tim as I crossed the finish instead.

"So, you're basically a traffic cone, eh?" he asked when I told him my "assignment".

"Yep."

Dr. Barron and another tech (not Louann ;-) and a friend from the local TSC ran with past me. As I rounded the last turn and headed for the finish I could hear the cheers. Folks I didn't even really know were all yelling for a runner finishing 166th (out of about 400). I'm not even sure who took the picture above (forwarded to me by the Director of the Chamber of Commerce), but what a fun way to make a middle aged running debut.

We live in a great little town...and I'm gonna get me a hot dog shirt next summer! :-D