Lights... Will Guide you Home

Thursday - No Running. Nik has a cold again. This first year of school has been a monthly cold (in the winter) after another.

Friday - No running. I was busy at work and just didn't have it today to run.

Saturday - 14.5 miles, in a light snow and strong northerly wind. It was a great run. I intended on only running 10, but I just felt it and wanted to capitalize on that. Who knows how long I'll be dialed in like I am now. I wore a new piece of clothing. It is made by Zensah. There was a 50% off coupon making it reasonable. I wore it as a base layer. It is tight and I had absolutely no nipple chafing, which I get with all my long sleeved shirts for runs longer than 1 hour. My first impression is that it is very good as a base layer.

I started and finished my run with a song by Coldplay, "Fix You". I was already in a very spiritual mood. I was thinking that it was early, cold, windy and snowing, but I was out there pounding the pavement. I fast forwarded in my mind, to the end of Badwater, when I will have the priviledge of watching N.N. cross the finish line, knowing, I played a small role in helping him get there and that that is why I was out there on a day like today. Or, when I cross the finish line at Chicago this year in 3:14:59 and know that it was days like today, that got me there. The reason that the Coldplay song hit me so hard is the line "Lights will guide you home". This line made me think of a passage from the movie "Apollo 13" where Tom Hanks character is describing a flight where all his electronic equipment went out while he was flying over the ocean, trying to find his way back to the aircraft carrier. Without the lights, he was totally lost. However, because all his lights went out, he was able to see the phosphorescent algae Being turned up in the wake of the carrier, and it guided him home. So, you never know what events will transpire to guide you home. Then that got me thinking about the movie in general. As a former engineer, that movie embodies what I loved about engineering. The fortitude and perseverence to come up with solutions that had life and death repercussions under extraordinary time and mental pressure. They came through. (I know, very disjointed thought process to start withColdplay and end with Apollo 13)

So in my philosophical mood, I used that movie and Coldplay's song as a metaphor for my running right now. Don't give up. Keep plugging. You never know what events will transpire to get you to the finish line.