We've had absolutely beautiful weather the past few weeks. Each morning, when I've gone out for my run, it's been in the mid-50's with virtually no humidity. It's been almost fall-like weather.
Today was no different. When I headed out at 6:30AM, it was 56 degrees, the sun was already shining, and I was the only person in the world outside enjoying the morning (except for my neighbor, who I passed coming back into the neighborhood as I was heading out -- and I thought I was motivated). Eight miles later, I was back in the driveway, feeling great. The thermometer showed that it was now 59 degrees. All in all, a morning run can't get much better.
I was feeling so good that, after getting cleaned up, I decided to quit stalling and finally register for the Baltimore Half-Marathon. I've been putting it off for no good reason other than my fear that I once again won't be able to break 1:40. That's been my goal ever since I finished last year's race. I've been tantalizingly close each of the past few years but I've not been able to crack that barrier. "This will be the year," I told myself as I logged on to the Baltimore Running Festival web site. "After all, I'm not getting any younger."
Just in case I wasn't aware that I wasn't getting any younger, do you want to know how many times the registration site told me how old I was? That would be three separate times. The first time was after I read the waiver language. If you're under 18, you need to get an adult to sign the waiver for you. So, you have to enter your birth date after you read the legal text. I did that and the site very kindly automatically calculated my age for me. A big bright "45" popped up onto the screen. Then, twice more during the registration process, I had to enter my age. Who knows why. Couldn't they simply carry over my age from the first time I entered it? Do they do this to everyone or only to recent birthday celebrants?
To top it all off, I had to order my CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield t-shirt. I know that I shouldn't be wearing the competition's logo (or even have it in my house). God knows they don't need any more free advertisting. But, each morning, I find myself pulling on one of the four that I already have. The problem is that they're actually pretty nice. Hopefully, none of my co-workers will ever see me.
